Octane boost vs. Race Fuel

[quadman21]

Hey, just want some opinions. Since fuel prices are skyrocketing, what do you guys think of octain boost? I'm running 11:1 so it's not like I really "need" race fuel but I like running it but it's getting real expensive. Any thoughts?

[forum]

race fuel has other additives that aid your engine. not just the octane

[yellow400rider]

i can only get 91 here in cali :mad: i think its sufficent since im stock right now. but the manual calls for higher. would it b smart to run some kind of octance boost? it runs great right now and i have ridden in some pretty warm weather. if u could give your opinion on a brand and how much if i should that'd b great. thanks

[Nausty]

Originally posted by yellow400rider
i can only get 91 here in cali :mad: i think its sufficent since im stock right now. but the manual calls for higher. would it b smart to run some kind of octance boost? it runs great right now and i have ridden in some pretty warm weather. if u could give your opinion on a brand and how much if i should that'd b great. thanks

From what i've always understood is that octane booster should only be a emergancie thing if you can't get the fuel but anyways if you don't have and big motor mods you should be fine with 91 for sure.

[310Rduner]

where ats do you live in cali?

i live in san jose, in silicon valley, and here you can buy vp 50 gallon barels of 100 octane, or if you can find a Cyclegear near you they should have competition 110 in 5-10 gallon barrels, or they sell it at 5-6 dollars a gallon

[lilpoppy]

Im in cali too and some of the 76 stations just replaced their diesel with 100 octain race gas. It is going for 4.19 a gallon so check around they might be switching around you too.

[yellow400rider]

310Rduner i too live in san jose CA :D we should meet up and ride someitme. there r quite a few nor cal people here we can ride with. lilpoppy and mopar440 are 2 otheres. for now i think 91 is plenty good for stock. but i do know of a 76 where i can get 100 octane at the pump. ill have to try it sometime. will 100 octane be ok on a stock 400? i dont expect any pwr increases but what r the pros and cons? thanks

[phatswinn]

i got 103 octane at my kiss carwash :cool: ...30 miles away:D

[Colby@C&DRacing]

I would recommend mixing some race fuel with pump gas to get you a higher octane. I have seen to main engine come in for a top end that have large amounts of deposits on top of the piston from using way to much cheap octane booster. You can use a good quality booster in small amounts, but alot of people will dump a hole bottle of 104 octane boost in a 5 gallon can. If all you have is octane booster than use it but mix it to the directions.

Colby at C&D Racing
308-696-7805
cdracing@atcjet.net

[Str8Wicked]

On the way to Glamis they have high octane gas in Brawly. Forgot how much it is but I know it wasn't that bad....

some of the 76 stations just replaced their diesel with 100 octain race gas. It is going for 4.19 a gallon so check around they might be switching around you too Cool now thats convienant.

Maybe try a little carb cleaner with your booster, but then again most boosters have the same crap in them so you allready are.

I would suggest only using the booster in an emergency when you have no 110 around etc.

[northeast400]

plus mixing octane booster in small amounts is a pain, just try to find race gas

[310Rduner]

hey, where abouts in san jose do ya live? i live near gunderson highschool and oakridge mall.

wheres that 76 at? and how much for 100.

id be up for a ride, next ride were going on will be feb 14 at pismo, rebuilding top end, just got pistons and all today, plus a lil ESR red billet ma gcover, then im having pappy bling my a-arms if possible, bumper, and if not a-arms then steering stem, so bike in pieces for awhile lol.

im 15 right now, and no permit so if we were to go riding to hollister or metcalf (dont like metcalf) then id just have to see if my mom wants to go riding that weekend, she prolly would.

warning you tho, she might want to ride your 400 ( she has 300).

Don't run octane booster. It screws with your jetting, so if your mix is slightly off, the bike will run flat. There are 2 main types of octane boosters - those with toulene, and those with Methyl-tertiary-butyl-ether (MTBE). Toulene is cheap, and readily available, as is MTBE. There are also 2 types of octane. Motor Octane (MON, this is the number you are concerned with) and RON (Reasearch Octane.. Relatively useless for our purposes). All of the octane boosters on the market mainly raise the RON octane, not the MON, thus not offering any performance gains. Octane boosters based on toulene wreak havoc on valve seals in 4 strokes, and reeds in 2 strokes. Those based on MTBE leave high amounts of engine deposits, which requires more freuqent rebuilds. At 11:1, you want to run an octane around 93 or higher. I would suggest finding a source of C12, or VP red, and mixing it with high octane pump gas in order to achieve an octane around 94 or 95.

[jb400exxx]

where did u get all that information? not saying it's wrong, but i don't think a little octane booster will hurt anything. i put 2 capfulls in every 5 gallons of 93 or 94 octane i get. my engine is stock, and i did notice a tiny increase in power and response. probly runs a little cooler too. they have special blends of it just for off-road vehicles like atv's and bikes.

[lilpoppy]

Ya I'm up for meeting up with new people any time. Me and two of my friends are headding down to Pismo this weekend on saturday the 18th. Both of my friends have 400ex's too. If you guys want to meet us there you are more than welcome to. The only other place I really ride at is Hollister and I actually have met up with Mopar in pismo before and I know hw goes to Hollister too all the time. Whenever you guys want to meet up just PM me.

I got it all from one of the papers the legendary Ron Rohrich wrote..

[310Rduner]

lemme blow 300 bucks rebuilding my lower end first, then ium ready ta go riding . should be done in 1 or 2 weeks at most, ordering tomorrow and hopefully get all parts soon after then assembly.

i have 100, and my mom nicely figured out that she happened to have an extra 200, my pockets kinda taxed, just spent 354 for top end rebuild as well 2 days ago, plus the billet mag cover.

if only id known low end was dat bad lol