The Best Octane Booster
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6. NOS 12010 Racing Formula Octane Booster
In the racing world, NOS stands for nitrous oxide, an octane additive that actually provides additional acceleration and performance for vehicles that race. This NOS product doesn’t have the high power of this racing solution; and as a result, this additive is probably the best octane booster for turbo cars.
A problem that high performance, premium cars encounter as they age, is that acceleration hangs and you start to encounter knocks and pings during engine startup. Engine knock or pings are caused in the fuel injection system where secondary combustion occurs when the engine is compressed.
This can actually cause a lot of damage to your fuel injection. This NOS racing formula booster actually prevents this by boosting your fuel’s octane, forcing it to combust at a higher pressure point; saving your injection system the extra damage.
This NOS product is the highest octane booster in our guide and actually does a great job clearing the carbon deposits that can form on your pistons as well. These deposits are typically the source of engine knock and ping, so not only does this gas octane booster reduce this problem, but it also prevents it from happening.
Pros
• This product has a great mixture of MMT (Methylcyclopentadienyl Manganese Tricarbonyl), Powertane, and several key lubricants that reduce fuel injection wear.
• This additive’s solution to engine knock is pretty well thought out. This will revitalize your engine.
Cons
• This product is a bit on the expensive side. Typically octane boosters are a cheap solution, this will put you back a bit.
• This might not provide a palpable improvement for all types of cars.
5. Torco Accelerator 32oz Octane Booster
This Torco octane booster is another octane booster that works to optimize your fuel injection and engine performance by improving the internal combustion process. Private tests illustrate that this additive has a great effect on overall engine performance and noticeable reduces knocks and pings.
The best octane boosters work to make your engine burn more complete, and this Torco product does this by optimizing your system so that you can run at 100 or even 105 octane mode; without filling your tank with race gas.
Similarly to our first selection, the NOS Racing Formula, this octane booster uses MMT to reduce the amount of engine knock. This engine problem can really affect your car’s performance, so any octane booster with this additive is really going to ensure the best performance in your vehicle.
As your engine degrades, carbon deposits form from the constant internal combustion, these are flammable and highly combustive themselves and MMT will help clear these, while also causing your gas to combust at higher pressure levels.
Pros
• This really does what it says. Many drivers actually ask “do octane boosters really work?” Well, this product, as well as the other selections in this guide will all grant you a heightened fuel mix performance.
• This is definitely one of the best octane boosters for cars; it even has a safety measure for running nitrous in your system.
Cons
• This substance is very light-sensitive, which is why it comes in a metal can. When using, don’t let any of it get exposed to direct sunlight; it’ll ruin the blend.
• You’ll also need to be very careful when handling this product, the substance is very toxic on the skin or through its fumes.
4. Klotz Octane Booster (Gal)
Klotz has been providing its signature products for 57 years. This Klotz octane booster will provide significant gain in your car’s low-end torque. This means that your vehicle will feel more powerful, you’ll accelerate faster, and get the best octane boost possible out of your premium vehicle.
This octane booster will even alter low octane fuels like 87 so that they will have less internal detonations within your car’s fuel injection system. This reduction of pings is important in an octane booster, and Klotz’s product can add up to ten numbers to any gasoline; changing low grade 87 to a 97 level of compression performance.
This added octane performance will add years to the fuel injection system of your vehicle; ensuring that, in addition to the added power and acceleration, you’ll also be able to expect high power gains well into the life of your car.
On top of this, we’ve found that this is the best booster for revitalizing your engine of all the products featured in this octane booster review. Klotz is known for its synthetic lubrication products, and this booster also uses a tetraethyl lead substitute for added lubricity. It is also recommended for gasoline or ethanol enriched fuels, as it will absorb moisture in your fuel injection system and carburetor.
Pros
• This is also great for outdoor equipment light gas-powered lawnmowers.
• This is one of the best octane boosting products for ethanol-powered cars and trucks.
• The fact that this also promotes upper cylinder lubrication is amazing. For the lastingness of your car, the lubricant is the best octane booster additive.
Cons
• Some users have reported that this doesn’t work well for some newer cars. It’s even reportedly caused some vehicles’ check engine light to come on.
3. Royal Purple 11757 Max-Boost Octane Booster
There are few brands as synonymous with auto racing that Royal Purple. Since they are so prevalent in Nascar, drag racing, formula one, you know that they’ll provide an excellent gasoline octane booster. This max-boost product will provide at least 30 points of octane boost (about three octane numbers; in fact, this product will even restore some lost power if used regularly in an older tank.
One of the best features of this product is its price, this is one of the cheapest options on the market right now for octane boosting. Despite this, it still contains MMT, which reduces the number of engine pings and knocks in your fuel injector. As a matter of fact, according to most octane additive reviews, this product is one of the best for turbocharged, supercharged, or nitrous fuel injection systems.
This is a great product because, not only does it boost your octane, it also will significantly curtail any phosphorus build up in your catalytic converter. This will return lost functionality in this vital car component and is a feature that many of the other octane boosters on the market don’t have.
Pros
• This product is very inexpensive. It manages this low price-point without losing any of the benefits that it provides to your fuel injection or catalytic converter systems.
• The removal of phosphorous and lead deposits in your car really makes this octane booster shine as a product.
Cons
• You’ll be using an entire bottle of Royal Purple for a single tank of gas, so you’ll have to buy a lot of this product. This is somewhat offset by the fact that it’s inexpensive.
• With this product, you can’t really expect to greatly affect the racing performance of cars that aren’t designed for it.
2. Lucas 10026 Octane Booster
Lucas Oil’s octane boost product is one of the more well-known octane boosters on the market. Its claim to fame is its ability to keep your fuel injection system from pre-igniting. So, does Lucas octane booster work? Definitely; as a matter of fact, this product is even rated for fuel carbureted and fuel injected engines. It even works well for a car’s oxygen sensors and catalytic converters.
This is another one-and-done product, so while it is cheap, you’ll be buying this Lucas Oil octane booster every time you refuel your car. When it comes to knock and ping reduction, this product does a pretty good job of optimizing your engine’s performance, but it doesn’t quite perform the miracles that some of our previous entries accomplish.
This being said, it may be slightly safer for cars with catalytic converters because of its low emission formulation. Despite this, during the combustion process, manganese vapors can be deposited on your spark plugs, which can cause slight impedance on exhaust flow.
Pros
• This product comes in a very portable container; if you are a motorcycle enthusiast in an area with few gas stations, this product can be used for a little extra power between refueling.
• This low emission formulation is perfect for vehicle owners who want a little more power from their cars, without producing excess contaminants.
Cons
• Our Lucas octane booster test found that this product wasn’t quite as effective as some of our other reviewed items. Despite this, its ease of use and mid-range performance made it worthy of a spot in our guide.
• Since this product uses MMT, you can have some extra gunk buildup on your valves and engine components. This will have to be resolved by your mechanic from time to time.
1. 104+ 10406 Octane Booster
104+ is the original octane booster, having appeared on the market in 1975. This dual performance booster provides octane enhancement as well as fuel injection and fuel system cleaning. This 104 octane booster was designed in the 70s; a time when the muscle car came into existence. Fuel additives were new; and as a result, many products from that era are no longer being produced, so still being on the market really illustrates the quality of this product.
As with the other featured products in this guide, this additive performed well in our standard octane booster test. It significantly reduced both pings and knocks when added to a standard tank. This product does a great job of increasing the octane rating of the fuel that you put in your vehicle. It also cleans and lubricates the fuel system, so that premature combustions are much less likely to occur in the future; adding performance to your vehicle and preventing costly engine repair in the future.
Most of the products in this guide include MMT, and as we stated before, this is a fairly toxic chemical that can also cause trouble in your catalytic converter. This 104 octane boost product contains none of this chemical so you won’t have to deal with manganese buildup in your catalytic converters and oxygen sensors.
Pros
• This traditional octane booster uses all of the stuff that the octane boosters for the muscle cars of the 70s used. This results in palpable results with far less detrimental effects on your fuel system.
• The extra lubrication function is great for extending the life of your vehicle and increasing fuel economy.
Cons
• The octane boosting isn’t as drastic as you’ll experience in MMT-based fuel octane optimizers.
• The exact amount of octane boosting with this product is a little vague. For the most part, you’ll only get about two to three points of octane boosting.
Conclusion for the Best Octane Booster
Do octane boosters work? Definitively. They can help lubricate, reduce emissions, increase performance, and clean your fuel injection systems. All of the products in this guide are excellent for improving the performance and life of your high-powered, premium vehicle. We hope you found our octane booster reviews useful. Just remember: a real octane booster will work to gradually improve your car’s performance, so it’ll take a few treatments for your car to fully reap the benefits of one of these products.