Do any of you run octane booster?

Agree, without "nanny-aids" the 360 has about as much power as you need to get into trouble, and is more challenging/rewarding for it. What fun is there, if the car won't let you crash. (=stability control).
Much above 450hp and you won't actually see it most of the time as one system or another will dial it back on most cars today.

For me I did choose between 430 and 360, my thoughts were.....

430 = can just afford, and looks are better
but would worry endlessly about resale value, depreciation, stone chips, parking, servicing costs etc... (brain ache)

360 = at bottom of pricing,
accept it will need a total going over mechanically (so would the 430 in truth)
can drive it every day and not give a s***.


As for adding OB, really not needed for road use.
Many reports have shown the bhp difference due to fuel (91vs98) is <<10bhp.
But even knowing that I still end up buying Shell VPower nitro $$$ = me stupid.

 

That's a stretch - they weigh almost the same - about 1500 kg...

 

I go by this horsepower per ton list
But yes weight advertised is subjective (curb weight, dry weight, whatever weight)
http://www.autosnout.com/Cars-Bhp-Per-Ton-List.php



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25% increase in power on a 1500 kg car should be noticeable...

 

I think there is a bit of misunderstanding here. Yes...the cars are running fairly properly on premium fuel. Some gas stations in certain states or countries have 93 octane but some only have 91 octane.

The question is...can you get a bit more power out of the motor if you blend in some racing gas or as the original thread starter mentioned add in octane booster.

What is important to note is that some race gas or octane boosters contain lead which is how they get the octane number up. Octane is simply a knock rating.

However...another thing to add is that "racing" gas is generally a better quality fuel which has a better burn rate than regular premium gas.

I have experience with both octane boosters and race gas. My 66 Mustang with a 289 engine didn't run well on just 92 octane back in the mid 80's. The engine used to ping under heavy acceleration. I think the timing was set too high but when I added in the 104+ octane the car ran much stronger and better and the detonation stopped. After a certain point though the spark plugs would get fouled up. I asked certain people about this and they said that this type of octane booster tends to foul your spark plugs.

My first experience with race gas was with my 2001 BMW E46 M3. When I first got my car back in 2001 the premium octane rating was actually 92. CA stopped selling 92 octane some where around summer of 2001 from what I recall. My thinking is that the S54 motor was tuned for at least 92 octane and anything less the timing is retarded by the ECU to prevent any detonation.

The S54 motor has a compression ratio of 11.5:1 which is quite high and even higher than the 360 (11.2:1) and F430 (11.3:1).

I did a lot of research on race gas and learned of the better burn qualities vs that of regular fuel. I believe back around summer of 2002 I decided to put some 100 octane race fuel and mix it with the 91 premium. I only added around 2 gallons (around $5 or 6 per gallon at that time) to around 10-13 gallons of 91 already in the tank. I definitely noticed a difference. I even did some runs against another E46 M3 and yes I know not all cars are equated equal but my car was faster. You can just feel it in the butt dyno. It's not significant but there is more power.

I did the same thing with the F430. The 100 octane race gas is much more expensive now. I think it's around close to $9 a gallon. I usually add during the summer time. I would say I had better experience with the race gas in the F430 vs the M3. The additional power was more noticeable. I still only put in around 4 gallons and mix to almost a full tank which the F430 has a 25 gallon tank.

I'm just sharing my experience. Also...the cars run perfectly fine even after the 100 octane race gas blend. The race gas is better than a can of octane booster in my opinion.

All I can say is don't knock it unless you have tried it.

 

The OP asked about octane booster additives and we spun off into octane requirements, fuel choices and horsepower discussions, again.

.....and my research indicates that the "104" octane booster actually only raises the octane by 1/2 a point per tank, so it will take 90 to 90.5.

Over the counter octane booster is mostly overpriced alcohol anyway.

If you want to boost the actual octane of the fuel then the 100 octane race gas is the way to go, it is simple math, 5 gals of 90 mixed with 5 gals of 100 gives you 10 gals of 95 octane, as it was explained to me.

I use nothing but non-ethanol 90 octane in my 3.2 QV Ferrari, specs say it needs 89 so I am good.

Now, lets get back to talking about oil choices, belt changes, 3 pedal vs F1 and the other things that are REALLY important in Ferrari ownership, it also gives the kids, who are out of school now, a chance to play "real Ferrari owner" on the web.
Alden

 

Hahaha exactly
Seems like you followed the yellow brick road here!!



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Good post indeed. Mixing to get up to 93-95 AKI is fine - but I think running straight 100 AKI is a waste.

But yes, let's move on.

My mechanic changes the oil and I kinda miss my gated 355

 

Short answer, yes.

Interesting comments in this thread about being able to tell the difference in how the engine runs and car performs with higher octane fuel. If the car is running correctly, any changes are likely placebo effect.

I ran everything from 91 to 100+ octane fuels at Road America with the 16M. There is only one difference: how fast the dollar gauge spins on the fuel pump.

Lap times were essentially identical. Engine running temps the same. Driveability the same. Absolutely no difference in performance that could be detected or measured.

One reason to run a higher octane fuel is a bit of safety margin for hot temps, higher elevations, or a batch of "old" or subpar fuel. Even so, the ECU should safely handle the situation to prevent/manage knock detonation.

For the placebo effect, see here:

https://youtu.be/bh1Ez0wsRqg

 

+1 is useless
Anything above 93 is our cars is a waste of money, you would need a tune to run with a map for 100 octane to use it.
I had a tuned A7 with a map for 100 octane (you could switched between 91 and 100 maps) and I experimented a couple of times when the car was running on fumes I would put 40 dollars of 100 octane gas, it was a bit faster but not worth it.

Next time put only 5.56 gallons of 100 octane and fill the rest with 91 and you would get a 93 mix that might give you a bit of gain without spending the extra 100 dollars

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