Octane Boosters. Waste Or Worth It ?

[FlaAveo5]

Are the octane boosters ,you know the ones at auto parts stores, that say they boost octane to 105-108...are they worth the cost? Do they do anything BAD to the engine or any of the computers in the car? Since I keep the gas tank FULL all the time, with the price of gas going up daily, I fill it to the top after going 50 miles! I could let it go 'dry' and try a full tank of supreme, and see if it makes a diffference, but since I drive so little, that would take a month or two to empty it out.
I notice on all the gas station pumps for 'regular' gas....stickers that say, 'may contain up to 10% ethanol'..I seem to recall that that is nearly like putting in flexfuel, something my 06 is not made to take. Could that be one of the reasons I get such crappy mileage? Flexfuel gives you lower mileage, for cheaper gas, you save like $.25 a gallon here if you use flexfuel. Well if regular gas has 10% of ethanol in it, that has to be cutting into the MPG. Right? So would putting in an octane booster, put back in whatever the ethanol is taking out? And give better mileage, performance, and not ruin the engine? Or is it throwing like $8 out the window for a bottle of it?

I dont know if this is a south Fla. thing or not. Putting ethanol in regular gas. It must be a way for the gas companies get more profit, by adding cheap ethanol to the gas. I dont see that sign on the premium gas. So...Will octane booter do anything good, or will it hurt the engine at all? Or is it all hype? I cant belive it took me all these years to think of this ethanol in regular gas as one of the reasons I get such low MPG...but it finally hit my brain. duh! So....anyone know the verdict on the boosters?

[thehunterooo]

The boosters are just a scam. Most places have ethanol in the gas because it is better for the enviroment if you believe in going green. In Florida, they want to take the ethanol out of the gas, maybe the bill was pass soon. If you are still hunting to get more mpg's, the gas will not make much of a difference in the end.

[MoneyMike]

Personally, my dad uses the Gumout Octane Booster on both his Camaro and my Aveo (I don't ask, he just does it). According to this one article, it helps lightly tuned engines (which the Camaro is tuned). And even then, they say to not use it all the time.

Because of the above reasons, a lot of people turn to the boosters as a way of having both good fuel commonly and good performance at the track. The problem with them is most do not work. If you do find one what works, adding it to your tank a day before you go to the track can be beneficial. Despite the benefit, use boosters sparingly as most rely on MMT as a means of boosting the octane. Excessive MMT can cause problems with sensors, injectors, or even the exhaust.
By now you are probably confused again by what all of this means. To sum it up, if your car has no changes to compression, raised RPM limiter, or lots of boost, you should probably use whatever fuel the dealer recommends. If you have a race built motor, stick to a race fuel that meets the need of your engine. If you have a lightly tuned engine and enjoy the occasional track day, throw in a bottle of octane booster the day before and call it a day. Do not rely on boosters all of the time.


Article Source: Octane Boosters and the Truth Behind Them

[petrified.rabbit]

Octane booster is unnecessary in most engines (full injected). It does "jump" the octane up, but often ads other things that might trick the engine into not detonating, or knocking badly. Once in a while it wouldn't hurt to clean out the injectors, if that is a concern in your area. The engines computer adjusts to the change in fuel and "reprograms" the way it adds fuel to the cylinder, for the most part removing the benefits you might see from the extra octane. If you buy good quality gas, and are running the right octane necessary for the engine compression ratio. Octane booster is unnecessary.

[FlaAveo5]

Well it sounds like it is all hype and no 'hope'. I dont have knocking and if Fla. would get rid of the ethanol in the regular gas, it would be a help I bet. 10% of ethanol in regular I think it to much. Heck Flexfuel is like 15% I think? And it cost less! But this year Aveo isnt built for flexfuel. I use the top end injector cleaners/fuel system cleaners every 3-5 months, and it runs fine. Just thought if octane boosters would boost performance, I would try it. Or go to a full tank of premium. Guess I'll stay at regular gas, and no 'fillers' added!

[ontarian_frog]

Flex fuel is 85% ethanol. Don't put it in the Aveo.

[longhaul]

the higher the octane the harder to ignite. high octane is needed in higher compression engines to stop the knocking sound caused by pre detonation. pre detonation is when the fuel combusts before the spark plug ignites the gas. so high octane fuel in a low compression engine actually hurts performance. octane does nothing to clean or keep clean the combustion chamber.