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Originally Posted by eslai
This is why I said "drive like a grandma". Do not put a lot of load on the engine--drive the car like you're trying to get the World's Greatest Gas Mileage. Any kind of load is going to cause problems so yeah, doing a hill climb with a trailer attached probably isn't a good idea. 
My point is simply that if you're in a bind, 87 won't blow up the car. I didn't say anything about it being bad for the cats or what not. Sure, it's not going to be the greatest thing for the car and hell, you might even hear some backfires, but it's not going to destroy the engine. If your choices are to tow the car a hundred miles out of your way and lose a day's worth of travel, it's not a big deal--the computer is your friend!
I'm a bit surprised to see you suggest octane booster though. That stuff has been pretty universally shown to not raise octane by any appreciable amount--in most cases it raises octane by less than one number. You'd need a couple gallons of the stuff to bring 87 up to 91.
Here's one page that has some test figures, veracity unverified by me though:
http://www.gtatech.com/news_au_articl.html |
Hi,
I think our disagreement is a matter of degree. I agree that gingerly operating the Car can, in some instances, get you out of trouble without the expense of a Tow, but not in all circumstances. I believe one should be over-cautious when giving this type of advice to those who may be less knowledgeable.
I just read a post on another forum where the lister heard a strange noise from the engine, but didn't want to pay for a tow, and the engine was still running, so he figured he'd be OK. After the noise didn't go away in
30 minutes, he decided to pull over. Diagnosis: Blown Engine! Sounds incredible to me, but there
are people out there like this.
So far as Octane Boosters, the figures I quoted are from an independent test in which over three identical tests - the
same operator, on the
same CFR Engine got results within 0.02 Octane. 3 identical tests by different Operators, on different CFR Engines confirmed these results within 0.07 Octane.
You can find many conflicting tests, and those which are Dyno-based are within the degree of accuracy of the improvements, so offer little definitive proof. As you know, Internal Combustion is a very controlled and
predicatable process. The Chemistry doesn't lie - these Additives MUST raise the Detonation Resistance of Gasoline, unless one is operating in some Parallel Universe where the Laws of Physics do not apply. And, the difference of even a few 10ths of an Octane can prevent Knock. And, don't forget, the Oil Companies use these very same additives to do exactly the same thing - raise the Gasoline's Octane Rating.
But I agree with you that in 6oz. or 12oz. quantities (like the packages sold in Auto Parts Stores), the results achieved are on the order of tenths of an Octane Point. You need at least a 10% mixture (which on a Boxster's Full Tank amounts to some 1.7 gal. of the stuff). We are talking about an Emergency situation, similar to your advice to driving "like a Grandma...".
I do not advocate it's use in day-to-day Driving on so many levels. Potential Damage to Valves, Exhaust and Emissions Equipment. And the fact that it costs about a third again the cost of a Fill-up. But, in this context, I would recommend having a bottle or two along with you on a trip, just in case...
Happy Motoring!... Jim'99