Minimal mods, best octane rating?

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Jan 22, 2003 | 03:24 PM

mmboost

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From: Longing for my ol' white '02 WRX :(

Car Info: 2016 Acura RDX ... meh. Um, nice subwoofer?

Minimal mods, best octane rating?

With Vishnu IC hoses, HKS Hiper, no resonator, and an EBC limiting to 15.7psi I've been wondering what's the best octane to use? When I say "best" I mean two things. 1) Prevent any damage, although on 91 I have not heard any pinging, although I have experienced some timeing retardation. 2) What will make the ECU happiest in letting me use my mods and 15.7 to the fullest?

I'm in SFBA with basically one choice in gas quality and price: 91 @ $2.00/gal ... either that or burn 1/2 a tank to find something better. So, I'm going to start mixing toluene. From what I have read up on, it seems that I really do not need that much. With 2 gal of 114 rated toluene I can hit 93.9 on a full tank complimented with that nasty 91.

jason

Jan 22, 2003 | 07:14 PM

Mindspark

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From: 9250x

Yes, toluene is teh cool.

I think a mix of toluene, ethanol and automatic transmission fuild is what I will run in the long term but I'm still doing research. Ethanol will make the gas burn even cleaner while providing a little more octane boost. ATF acts as a cleaning agent for the fuel system.

I plan to run with just 1 gallon of toluene + 1/2 quart of ethanol + 2oz of ATF / full tank of 91 octane on a regular basis. ~93 octane. I think this would be the ideal mix.

I noticed some timing being pulled on 91 gas with my VS1 so I ran 2 gallons of toluene in 3/4 tank of 91 this weekend and it made a huge difference. I need to borrow a local datalogger and get some hard data. :P

-Bernard

Jan 23, 2003 | 06:09 AM

ocelot

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Give me your address.. i send you a care package of Sunoco 94.. $1.85 in Good 'ol Albany, NY. This morning they even chilled it to a pleasant -6 degrees F for me!

Jan 23, 2003 | 07:34 AM

wrx216

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I live in socal, and have to deal with the 91octane (which is I suspect closer to 89) also. I was running a unichip with a very agressive tune for a while, and had to "boost" the octane on every tank or I would get det. I got the best results adding 1 gal of Trick 101 octane unleaded to every 10 gals of 91. It was the most cost effective also, I was buying a 5 gal can at my local speed shop for $30, so it was only $6 a tank. Interestingly enough my gas milage increased about 3 mpg, this may have been due to the ecu not seeing det and retarding timing/ riching mixture. I just installed a UTec with stage 2 map and have tuned it to run 91 oct, works like a champ! I probably lost a little power, but oh well I can actualy just go fill up without playing mad scientist. Also if you don't have one I would get a Knock link, by the ttime you can hear det, its major league!
Chris

Jan 24, 2003 | 11:56 AM

holdtight

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Lucky

I guess we are lucky. I got some Sunoco 94 for $1.59. They also have 100 octane but I cannot remember the price I think its $2. Just joking its more like 4 or 5. One time I got a tire fixed there and the guy said they have a barrel of 105. They cannot legally put in in a pump but they will sell it.

Baltimore, MD

Mar 18, 2003 | 10:05 PM

Irok_1_wrx

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baltimore

where is this i also live in baltimore. waazzz up? Maybe we can hook up and kill some honda's

Mar 19, 2003 | 06:10 AM

holdtight

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hahahah "the honda killer"

The Sunoco is on the corner of Loch Raven and Tayler. Even though gas prices have gone up the good thing is that the 94 is only a few cents more than the 93.

Mar 19, 2003 | 06:14 AM

holdtight

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Sunoco

Oh yeah sorry to get your hopes up but I never actually bought any of the 105. So if you ask for it and they look at you funny don't be upset. However the 100 octane is in the pump. I have yet to try this but I will soon when my tank is empty and I am ready to raise hell.

Mar 20, 2003 | 11:32 PM

SuboobaruWRSEX

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From: Michigan

Car Info: Viper ACR & H1

Try Alcohol injection. It lets you run lower octane gas such as 91-94 and get the effects of 100. I have it on my 1987 Grand National (turbo 3.8 V6 w/21lbs of boost). Runs great and makes a noticible top end. Also cleans up you engine internals. I don't have it on my WRX but will soon. Also you can get Alcohol (rubbing alcohol) for a hell of alot cheaper than 110 octane and a computer runs the SMC system so its safe for daily use. Check out the site for more info. http://www.geocities.com/rad87gn/tech/SteveCkit.html