I'm not sure it is snake oil, but does your MINI really need it? Where I live it is no problem buying 91 or even 93 octane. When I still had an MG I used 104 octane boost with real lead. My MG did not have hardened valve seats so the lead was needed, the octane boost was a plus for me.
I used it on occasion when I had my 94 Del Sol VTEC. The old girl seemed to like it, especially if we were going to go out and do some hard driving. I dunno if it actually added a whole lot, but the butt dyno seemed to think there was a little extra. I also dunno if its good to run that stuff all the time. Others probably know a little more about it than I do, but that's my $.02.
I'd agree with not using it all the time. If one did I'd guess it would be costly. Maybe use it when you are going to track your MINI. As far as it working, a lot of products have a strong placebo effect & that can cause the butt dyno to go out of spec. I'm not saying it does or doesn't, because I just don't know.
I read an article on it the other day. They tried it in a muscle car and put it on a dyno. According to them it did very little and race fuel that was close to the same octane did much better. I'm sure thats true but our MINIs have the ability to change the timing according to the octane. So would we benefit more from it?
Depends... If you had to use a tank of crap fuel. You might...say 90, with a tune for 93/94.. But if added to 93...very little change..if you read the directions on the bottle...you need Much more Than ONE bottle to make much of a difference.... Not sure which product 104+ adds...MMT (DIRTY STUFF..will make you plugs a powdery red/orange)) OR BASICLY dissolved mothballs(one of the 3 common chemicals anyway)..the two most common additives used as a octane index improve...heck many folks buy chemicals at home depot...and make their own mix...same effect...lots of homebrew formulas ...
Yes the MINI can adjust timing to compensate for the octane of the fuel being used. My thought is that it is there more to retard the timing in case you buy a tankful of carp gas. It will advance for higher octane, but I wonder how far it will advance on a stock tune.
It's awaste of money. Only buy Shell or Sunoco 93 or 94 fuel and you will be fine. If you really want to make a real boost in your octane add a Meth kit fill it with 100% VP M1 Meth and have Jan tune your car for it. For bonus fun run a tank of race fuel 102 with Meth.....:devil: whoo Hoo and the smell is awesome.
Those octane booster don't do crap. They say the raise your fuel octane 4 or 5 even 10 points. Most people would think 93 + 10 = 103 right ? Nope ::nonod: it's 93 + 10 = 94 they trick you with the marketing not telling you each point is .01 so 10 points is really 1.0. It's just like wax marketing NOBODY makes s a 100% pure Carnuba wax because 100 % Carnuba is hard as a rock and you could not spread it on a cars paint.
Try a gallon of Xylene or Toluene and a capful of ATF . Back in my turbo VW days, I often heard that adding this to 3-4 gallons of 93 octane would yield a substantially increased octane rating. Was too chicken to try it though.
Yup you are correct nice catch, my bad. :frown2: Fat fingers on and iPad and old are my only excuses. :lol:
Yeah you could do all that or just run VP UNLEADED EXTREME™ :devil: You smell that ? 110 :crazy: TYPICAL VALUES • Color: Clear • Motor Octane: 110 • Research Octane: 111 • R+M/2: 110.5 • Specific Gravity: 0.845 VP Unleaded Extreme can be used in high boost or naturally aspirated applications, or mixed with other unleaded fuels to increase performance and octane. It can handle compression ratios up to 15:1 and with a MON of 110, its detonation protection far surpasses all other unleaded fuels on the market. Whether you mix it or run it straight, this is the best unleaded fuel on the planet!
^^^ yup, my car runs great on race fuel 105 + w/ VP M-1 Meth and I have been told by people behind me it smells great also.
I would rather just go e85. I can understand in a location where e85 is scarce but if it's an option I'd say e85 over meth. It's one less system to worry about, one less tank to fill and methanol is extremely dangerous to handle. So prefer to just pour corn in my tank and not think about anything but my fuel gauge and my throttle.