Amsoil Series 2000 Octane Boost

nicrfe1370 · Feb 25, 2003

Hello,
I have a 02 Subaru Impreza WRX. This is a 2.0 Liter, 4 cylinder turbocharged motor. It is multi-port fuel injection (does that go without saying these days

)and is heavily controlled by the computer (ECU). The owners manual calls for gas with an AKI of 91 or better, which means here in the northeast I use 93 or better. I have owned turbo Subaru's before (91 Legacy Turbo) so I am all to aware of how much authority the ECU has, and how much it fears any sign of detonation or pre-ignition. But the WRX sure takes it to the next level of paranoia. When I use straight 93 (Mobil, Exxon, which are probably the same now) there are noticeable and discouraging plateaus and dips in the torque curve (as measured by the ol' butt dyno). Being an Amsoil user, I tried their Series 2000 Octane Boost. Once the ECU slooooowly adapts, these dips and such are drastically reduced. Any return to straight gas brings back the dreaded dips. I have even tried some of Sunoco's GT100 gas, that stuff is beuatiful. It is drastically better than 93 AKI/Amsoil octane boost brew. If it wasn't $4 a gallon, or if I won the lottery, I'd use it all the time.
So, does anyone have any hard data on Amsoil's Octane Boost? They claim something like a 7 point boost in AKI in 87 AKI gas, but does anyone know it's effect on 93? Obviously it does something for my car.

MolaKule · Feb 26, 2003

Amsoil's Octane Booster contains the same MMT octane booster that does Outlaw and other's.

I have never seen any treatment rate charts verses base fuel octane, but in your case, it must be working at least by virtue of the "butt" dino.

mdv · Feb 26, 2003

quote:

Originally posted by nicrfe1370:

So, does anyone have any hard data on Amsoil's Octane Boost? They claim something like a 7 point boost in AKI in 87 AKI gas, but does anyone know it's effect on 93? Obviously it does something for my car.

I'm curious about this too. I haven't seen much info on this product at all. Does anyone know anymore about it and is MMT okay for O2 sensors?

hk33ka1 · Feb 26, 2003

Well not to knock the product or any other boost for that matter (I am gld we have these types of products available) but even being an Amsoil kinda guy myself I think the labels on any boost may be slightly misleading. From what I remember they usually say up to 7 points so you may only go up 1-6 points maybe 7. Next each number in the antiknock index or octane rating 87,89,93 etc. is made up of four points, so in theory 87 octane plus four points is 82 octane. 87 plus 8 points is 83 octane etc. So 93 octane plus seven possible points does not mean 100 octane gas but more like 94/95 octane gas. I know there are guys that know way more about fuel than I on this board so please chime in and help us here.

digitaldrifter91 · Feb 26, 2003

quote:

Originally posted by hk33ka1:
Well not to knock the product or any other boost for that matter (I am gld we have these types of products available) but even being an Amsoil kinda guy myself I think the labels on any boost may be slightly misleading. From what I remember they usually say up to 7 points so you may only go up 1-6 points maybe 7. Next each number in the antiknock index or octane rating 87,89,93 etc. is made up of four points, so in theory 87 octane plus four points is 82 octane. 87 plus 8 points is 83 octane etc. So 93 octane plus seven possible points does not mean 100 octane gas but more like 94/95 octane gas. I know there are guys that know way more about fuel than I on this board so please chime in and help us here.

really...so if i run 87 and i put some boost in mine, the octane will go down?? why do i feel an increase, or did i musunderstand u

unDummy · Jun 24, 2003

I read that a point is what it is---decimal.

10 points brings you from 93 octane to 94.
5 points bumps you from 93 octane to 93.5!

Or, I've been spending to much time in the sun and am hallucinating

I've received bad gas before from gas stations in that area. If I were you and since your vehicle is fuel sensitive, I'd visit every gas station in town until I found some superduper unleaded that doesn't cause that issue. Call the gasoline police and complain that certain gas stations sell cheaper gas as super. Or, find out which stations already logged 'octane complaints' and avoid.

Another thing is to make sure your car is running correctly. Numerous things affect the ECU. Something could be causing a sensor to overreact.

Remus · Jun 25, 2003

I use toluene every track event. Goes for about $4-8 a gallon at most hardware and paint supply stores. toluene has a octane rating of 114. go here for more info http://www.elektro.com/~audi/audi/toluene.html

VaderSS · Jun 25, 2003

quote:

10 points brings you from 93 octane to 94.

This is correct.

hk33ka1 · Jun 25, 2003

Sorry I made some mistakes with my numbers in the previous post. It goes something like this: 87 octane plus four points is about 88, 89 plus four is 90 etc. So if the highest in your area at the pump is 92 adding a 7 or 8 point boost should get you around 94 octane. I guess the cost of fuel plus boost comes into play. Is it worth buying regular when you need mid grade and adding boost? Or is it just cheaper to buy 91/92 or 94 Sunoco if you have one in the area. If you need more than the low 90's level will the boost make enough differece? Maybe if ya have a street strip stroker with a blower you might have to take your jerry can down to the track to fill up with 100 or 110 avgas?

[ June 25, 2003, 12:27 PM: Message edited by: hk33ka1 ]

Leo · Jun 25, 2003

I second Toluene. I use it sometimes when I know im going to drive my 300hp (SR20DET) 200SX hard and I need to make sure its gettin all the proection from detonation I can afford.

I find that Toluene is the octane booster that actually makes a difference and im not putting additives like MMT that coat the plugs and stuff.

Personally I think Amsoil 2000 octane booster is crap. The only decent one on the market up in USA is "Nitrous Formula" in the black bottle..

mdv · Jun 26, 2003

quote:

Originally posted by Leo:

Personally I think Amsoil 2000 octane booster is crap. The only decent one on the market up in USA is "Nitrous Formula" in the black bottle..

Why do think it's crap? What doesn't it have or does have that makes you feel this way? I've had good results with it at my track events, but don't want to continue using it if it's going to pose any problems.

Leo · Jun 26, 2003

Ok sorry I shouldnt have used the word 'crap' but I feel you can do better than Amsoil. Just get toluene. You really cant substitute octane with a lil 10oz container into 10 gallons. Octane boosters are full of nasty stuff and shouldnt be used on a regular basis. I did some damage to my platinum plugs using a bottle once. No probs with toluene tho..

I dont know if we're allowed to post URLs in this site but I have a HUGE discussion on everything u want to know about octane boosters. PM me if you want it..

Shannow · Jun 26, 2003

quote:

Originally posted by Leo:
Ok sorry I shouldnt have used the word 'crap' but I feel you can do better than Amsoil. Just get toluene. You really cant substitute octane with a lil 10oz container into 10 gallons. Octane boosters are full of nasty stuff and shouldnt be used on a regular basis. I did some damage to my platinum plugs using a bottle once. No probs with toluene tho..

I dont know if we're allowed to post URLs in this site but I have a HUGE discussion on everything u want to know about octane boosters. PM me if you want it..

As to the comment that octane boosters are full of nasty stuff..........toluene is nasty stuff also.

It's not something that you should be exposing yourself to long term.

Please be really careful with the stuff.

MolaKule · Jun 30, 2003

I found it interesting what they did NOT discuss.

And that is solvency. Toluene is very solvent and with concentrations of same, will degrade elastomers such as rubber hoses, etc. Better switch to stainless steel hoses and tubing if you're going to be using this stuff on a regular basis.

I posted a racing brew in another thread.

For a per-gallon mix here is what I recommend.

IF the base fuel does not contain ethanol:
1 Qt. of Neutra, 2.5 qts of Fuel Power, 1 bottle of the Pennzoil Octane booster (with MMT),
1 oz. of Toluene, 4 oz. of Ethanol.

If the the base fuel is going to be a 90 octane 10% ethanol blend:

1 Qt. of Neutra, 2.5 qts of Fuel Power, 1 bottle of the Pennzoil Octane booster (with MMT),
2 oz of Toluene.

Add one gallon of mix per nine (9) gallons of base fuel.

Note: Not to be used as a daily fuel additive. Use only for qualifying runs and the actual racing event.

[ July 01, 2003, 11:35 AM: Message edited by: MolaKule ]

Santo Fontana · Jul 27, 2004

Posted by Molakule

quote:

For a per-gallon mix here is what I recommend.

IF the base fuel does not contain ethanol:
1 Qt. of Neutra, 2.5 qts of Fuel Power, 1 bottle of the Pennzoil Octane booster (with MMT),
1 oz. of Toluene, 4 oz. of Ethanol.

If the the base fuel is going to be a 90 octane 10% ethanol blend:

1 Qt. of Neutra, 2.5 qts of Fuel Power, 1 bottle of the Pennzoil Octane booster (with MMT),
2 oz of Toluene.

Add one gallon of mix per nine (9) gallons of base fuel.

Note: Not to be used as a daily fuel additive. Use only for qualifying runs and the actual racing event.

Sorry to bring this back from the dead but I found this "racing brew" very interesting.

What affect does the mega dose of FP have?

Why so little toulene?

Santo Fontana · Aug 1, 2004

Bump for my question above

Don Stevens · Aug 1, 2004

Check this out:

http://www.gtatech.com/news_au_articl.html

Don

GT Mike · Aug 2, 2004

quote:

toluene is nasty stuff also.

Actually, toluene is no more "nasty" than gasoline itself. It's an ingredient in gasoline, so there's no way it can harm anything that isn't harmed by gasoline. Any aromatic hydrocarbon solvent should be handled with care, including gasoline itself, but by no means is this stuff as deadly as people make it out to be.

Gasoline was once used as a paint thinner too before things like internal combustion engines were around. It was considered a fairly useless byproduct.

Edit: MolaKule, what sort of end octane would one expect to have with the brew you mentioned if they added it to 93 octane non-ethanol gasoline? What about 91 or 93 octane with 10% ethanol?

mikep · Aug 2, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by nicrfe1370:
Hello,
I have a 02 Subaru Impreza WRX. This is a 2.0 Liter, 4 cylinder turbocharged motor. It is multi-port fuel injection (does that go without saying these days

)and is heavily controlled by the computer (ECU). The owners manual calls for gas with an AKI of 91 or better, which means here in the northeast I use 93 or better. I have owned turbo Subaru's before (91 Legacy Turbo) so I am all to aware of how much authority the ECU has, and how much it fears any sign of detonation or pre-ignition. But the WRX sure takes it to the next level of paranoia. When I use straight 93 (Mobil, Exxon, which are probably the same now) there are noticeable and discouraging plateaus and dips in the torque curve (as measured by the ol' butt dyno). Being an Amsoil user, I tried their Series 2000 Octane Boost. Once the ECU slooooowly adapts, these dips and such are drastically reduced. Any return to straight gas brings back the dreaded dips. I have even tried some of Sunoco's GT100 gas, that stuff is beuatiful. It is drastically better than 93 AKI/Amsoil octane boost brew. If it wasn't $4 a gallon, or if I won the lottery, I'd use it all the time.
So, does anyone have any hard data on Amsoil's Octane Boost? They claim something like a 7 point boost in AKI in 87 AKI gas, but does anyone know it's effect on 93? Obviously it does something for my car.

Just curious if you've tried Sunoco Ultra 94 and if so, how that performed in your WRX?

Santo Fontana · Aug 4, 2004

quote:

Just curious if you've tried Sunoco Ultra 94 and if so, how that performed in your WRX?

I used to use it in my wrx and couldnt tell a difference between it and Mobil 93. Sunocos dont have 94 anymore in Mass.

Amsoil Series 2000 Octane Boost

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