Octane booster

I need to find a good octane booster. Have 48 Flat Head Ford bored and stroked. 160HP on dyno. Runs good on 93 octane but hard to find. Thanks
 
Maroso Spelling maybe wrong was a good one years ago. I knew a guy when I was In the Navy that had a blue print engine in his Ford car and could not drive away fro am gas station with out adding some of it to his tank
 
You should be able to find Lucas octane booster at most auto parts stores.
The company Old mentioned is Moroso.
 
Without going into specialty products or hard to find etc, you should be satisfied with 104 brand or Lucas. Going from 91 to 93 is within reach of most octane boosters you will find on the shelf anywhere.

What is the compression ratio on that flathead? These were low compression engines that ran on less than 80 octane, I just can't imagine a 160hp flathead needing 93 octane, maybe a radical build flatty though. High octane fuel does not allow an engine to produce more power. High octane fuel does not have any more energy than low octane fuel, it simply has a higher resistance to knock.
 
Most, if not all, of the little bottles of "octane booster" you can buy are little more than snake oil, and really don't do much. The real solution is to find higher-octane gas. You may be able to find it at a pump at your local gas station, or you could buy 55 gallon drums of actual race gas and mix it with pump gas and come up with a good octane level without burning pure high dollar race gas.

But, like mentioned below- on a flathead Ford that started life as a pretty low compression engine, that thing would have to built to full-tilt race specs to really "need" really high octane fuel. Do you know the actual compression ratio you are running?

You said it "runs good on 93". What does it do on 87? Does it ping, knock, detonate, etc?? If you have detonation on 87 or lower, then yes, by all means, you need a higher octane fuel. People are fooled by octane numbers. In reality, lower octane will burn hotter and make more power in an engine that can tolerate it. Higher octane is harder to light off, making it more resistant to detonation and pre-ignition. If your engine really needs it, then by all means find some. But don't be fooled into thinking higher octane gas will give you more power on an engine that can't really use it.
 
I suggest going to a local airport and buying 100LL airplane fuel, you could mix it 50/50 with regular gas to get the octane you need.

Rich
 
Years ago, Moroso sold octane booster that was genuine tetra ethyl lead, highly frowned on by the current EPA.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but that Moroso octane booster has been taken off the market.
 
That is strange that you have trouble finding 93 octane gasoline. All our stations around here have 87,89 and 93 octane at the pumps. I would be afraid to use Lucas octane booster.
 
Like others said, unless it is highly modified, turbo charged, or super charged, it should run on pump gas.

If this is a serious racer, whatever you decide to do needs to be done with scientific consistency if you intend to get it dialed in.

If that is that case, go to the local race track, or find a supplier, and buy cans of the octane rated fuel you want to use, and stick with that brand and octane always. Otherwise you'll be chasing your tail trying to get it right.

Buying fuel with higher octane than needed, or specialty fuels like av-gas have unnecessary additives that actually lower the BTU ratings of a given volume of fuel.
 
We have one "Pure" old time fuel station here in Crackerville, FL.
Has pumps for all common gasoline and diesel.
Plus offroad diesel, three types of kero, hydraulic fluids, even 104 octane [u:c60c9d5c39]leaded[/u:c60c9d5c39] Sunoco racing gasoline.
 
Just add more corn ethanol, it has 113 octane and is very popular on this forum. :)

Paul
 
Bored and stroked and 60 hp over stock you definitely need a good octane booster. I would try the Lucas. If that doesn't work find the closet 93 octane station and keep enough gas to get there.
 
Take a drive over to your little local airport. Most of the gas is 100 and 110 juice. Very stable stuff with a shelf life of four years in an Eagle saftey can. Store this in a cool dry place. Also has a tiny bit of lead in it.
 
(quoted from post at 08:48:40 10/15/18) Just add more corn ethanol, it has 113 octane and is very popular on this forum. :)

Paul

Yes. Just fill-er-up with E85. That is what the antique tractor pullers use.
 
Isn't all high test gas 93 octane now. Aviation gas will leave carbon deposits in your engine Read up on google. Toluene will also raise octane.
 
. As previously stated try a 1/4,1/3 and 50/50 mos of 100LL with the pump unleaded premium .
Odds are 25% will be lots to prevent detonation . Liberals
 
There are a few good ones out there that work,VP Racing Fuels 2855,Royal Purple,Race Gas Race Gas Premium Race Fuel Concentrate and a bunch of snake oil octane boost products that don't work.
Octane booster
 
..... Toluene will also raise octane.

That's what I use when the toy car goes to the track. 1 gallon of toluene to 5 gallons 93 octane gasoline.

That combination works to let my turbocharged 120 cubic inch 4 cylinder hit 430 wheel HP on a dyno.
 
Correct me if I am wrong: I believe aviation gas and auto fuel use a different way of measuring octane.
 
Bored 1/4 , stroked 1/4",10 to 1 heads,3/4 cam, 3- 2 barrels, ported & releived , 3 ring pistons, balanced, what else did you do to get 160hp out of that old flathead? My sweet running 47 Ford in the 50's,Happy to see these great running engines are making a comeback with hotrod group again.
 
(quoted from post at 19:26:33 10/15/18) Correct me if I am wrong: I believe aviation gas and auto fuel use a different way of measuring octane.

RON and MON . 100LL is 99.5 RON and 93 octane pump gas is about 84 RON .
100LL is higher octane than almost all race fuel .
 
Sunoco, VP, and Turbo Blue racing gas are the brands most used in my area, and typically have higher RON ratings than 100LL with most falling in the 104-110 range. A few as low as 97.5 and some over 120.
I can't imagine a flathead making enough compression to need racing fuel.
A word of advice to the OP..... If you're going to experiment with fuels start off jetted rich and ignition retarded and tune from there.
 
(quoted from post at 10:54:12 10/16/18) Sunoco, VP, and Turbo Blue racing gas are the brands most used in my area, and typically have higher RON ratings than 100LL with most falling in the 104-110 range. A few as low as 97.5 and some over 120.
I can't imagine a flathead making enough compression to need racing fuel.
A word of advice to the OP..... If you're going to experiment with fuels start off jetted rich and ignition retarded and tune from there.

Other than C16 race gas . I don’t see any pump fuel with a higher RON .
 
(quoted from post at 17:07:01 10/16/18)
(quoted from post at 10:54:12 10/16/18) Sunoco, VP, and Turbo Blue racing gas are the brands most used in my area, and typically have higher RON ratings than 100LL with most falling in the 104-110 range. A few as low as 97.5 and some over 120.
I can't imagine a flathead making enough compression to need racing fuel.
A word of advice to the OP..... If you're going to experiment with fuels start off jetted rich and ignition retarded and tune from there.

Other than C16 race gas . I don’t see any pump fuel with a higher RON .
http://turboblue.com/products/
https://vpracingfuels.com/master-fuel-table/
https://www.sunocoracefuels.com/fuels/compare-fuels
 
You want to be careful using 100LL in a flathead engine. While you will see it says Low Lead but it still contains 3 times more lead than old leaded car gas had. Lycoming and Continental both had warnings about lead build up on valve stems causing sticking.
I have used it quite a bit especially when storing for winter I tried it in my Farmall Cub and she would always stick valves did a little research and found the Lycoming bulletin from years ago.
No problems at all with the overhead valve engines they love it.
 
I thought my 48 Ford V-8 was pinging, 93 octane with octane booster. Same sound. Out riding to and was pinging going down hill. What it was is a loose bolt in conv. top. Tighten it and went away. must be losing it.
 
(quoted from post at 05:05:06 10/19/18) You want to be careful using 100LL in a flathead engine. While you will see it says Low Lead but it still contains 3 times more lead than old leaded car gas had. Lycoming and Continental both had warnings about lead build up on valve stems causing sticking.
I have used it quite a bit especially when storing for winter I tried it in my Farmall Cub and she would always stick valves did a little research and found the Lycoming bulletin from years ago.
No problems at all with the overhead valve engines they love it.

Mix the 100LL with premium pump gas if you are worried about lead fouling. The octane rating won't drop very much.
As for the lead content of 100LL being only 0.56 grams per litre , that is not enough to worry about.
 
(quoted from post at 05:05:06 10/19/18) You want to be careful using 100LL in a flathead engine. While you will see it says Low Lead but it still contains 3 times more lead than old leaded car gas had. Lycoming and Continental both had warnings about lead build up on valve stems causing sticking.
I have used it quite a bit especially when storing for winter I tried it in my Farmall Cub and she would always stick valves did a little research and found the Lycoming bulletin from years ago.
No problems at all with the overhead valve engines they love it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avgas
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top