Octane Booster

[Falchoon]

I used to have an XY 351 Clevo with flat top pistons and closed chamber (2V) heads that had fairly high compression and it used to ping and run on and was a general pain in the backside and I tried octane booster and could detect no difference. I was wondering if anyone has tried using the stuff in a XR6T?

[bcl]

If you detect pinging on a turbo car you have a disaster waiting to happen.

Many years ago on 2 different turbo cars I had cracked heads, but that was before the more tunable cars that we now have and when aftermarket ecu’s were either not available or sophisticated.

Octane boosters or methyl benzene are only a temporary solution, although I’ve come across people who use MB all the time. I like MB, and have used quite a bit of it (but not in the Ford), as the car runs a lot smoother.

If the car is stock then you most likely have a bad batch of fuel, so either change fuel quickly or go back to the dealer…. But take it easy in the meantime.

If the car is modified then get the tuner to knock back the timing at the load/rev points where the pinging is occurring. I have an adjustable ecu in my Sti, and can and have knocked back the timing to stop pinging via a hand controller that modifies the ecu real-time.

You should note that aftermarket tuners are now leaning out mixtures to get more power, as the factory settings run more on the rich side. Thus you place a lot of faith in the ability of the tuners, and whether they properly road test as well as dyno test their changes. If you get your T modified and use an XEDE, Unichip or other ecu mod, I’d advise people to immediately give the car a good road test, and try to test as many load/rev points asap. If you are not happy, either in terms of drivability, smoothness or detect pinging, go straight back to the tuner… I speak from experience here. Also test out drivability at light throttle openings.

If you get your car tuned on 98 ron fuel, then fill up with 96 or lower ron, be careful or temporarily use octane booster.

Turbo cars are now running 8.7:1 to 9:1 compression, compared to around 8:1 years ago. Higher boost levels now put a lot more stress on the motors internals, so correct tuning is critical. Pinging is unacceptable.

Brian

[Adam]

I once read an article in motor mag where they were talking to some big wig at Subaru and he said that they would prefer that you used regular unleaded if nothing else was available than add an octance booster because certain components of the booster can have a negative effect on the car.

Just out of interest do you mean adding the octance booster to regular unleaded or premium?

[bcl]

I think the issue with the rexes was that many octone boosters stuffed up the oxygen sensor, so they are not recommended with rexes.... but MB is OK.

Brian

[Falchoon]

I was meaning as a suplement to PULP.

[Cobra]

strewth ...

[bcl]

The car does run smoother with MB.

Brian

[ktford]

My car ran happily on 95 till my Exede went in. It now runs on 98 happily though I've had a couple of 95 loads when I couldn't get 98 at which time I added Octane booster & haven't detected pinging.

Worth a mention though, chiptorque detected pinging in standard tune on their dyno (with Ampol 95 ron) with bonnet up that I couldn't hear whilst driving.

[teebone]

thought in std tune it was OK to run on ULP so Pinging would be of concern on PULP 95 ron. The few times I've used ULP 91 ron I have detected what might have been a mild pinging during early warm up (normal driving).

If a modified chip is fitted does this rule out any future use of 91 ULP or can the mappings be "de-tuned" to accomodate?

[ktford]

teebone,

In reality for best engine performance & protection you should use 95. But once the anti is upped you should try for 98 to ensure best fuel quality, be suprised to see pinging at warm up. Lots of the time you won't hear pinging whilst you are driving.

Scotty