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John M
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91 octane at BOLA turnoff?
Anyone know for certain (as certain can be in Baja)
John
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advrider
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I don't know but I would be surprised if it was. Could you just pack some octane boost just in case?
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4x4abc
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what would you need 91 for?
Harald Pietschmann
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mjs
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No. Regular only. Never a problem in our bikes but then we don't like pushing.
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bajatrailrider
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My bikes dont run well on Reg have to ride easy so no pinging .
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John M
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Thanks for the reports
I didn't think 91 would be available there.
To answer the question - why? - One of the fellows going is figuring which of his vehicles to drive, one really seems to need the higher octane. Yes.
octane booster has been discussed.
The easy option would for me to put 91 in my gas can and carry it for him, just in case, as my truck runs fine on regular.
John M
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Alm
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There is now a gas station at the BOLA turn-off? I wonder what happened to the old guy selling gas from the barrel, sometimes two of them competing on
the opposite sides of the highway... I don't think anybody ever asked him about "octane" 
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David K
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Quote: Originally posted by Alm  | | There is now a gas station at the BOLA turn-off? I wonder what happened to the old guy selling gas from the barrel, sometimes two of them competing on
the opposite sides of the highway... I don't think anybody ever asked him about "octane" |
No, not yet... just one or two vendors selling canned gas out of their pickups.
A sign, announcing a Pemex station to be built, was placed just south of the junction on the east side of the highway. That was in 2017! I think it
was from the Los Pinos tomato people (of San Quintín) who own the Cataviña and Gonzaga Bay stations and the Misiónes hotels at San Quintín and
Cataviña.
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bajatrailrider
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I have a Honda 250f 2021 stock engine I think it maybe ok with reg. My two Crf 230s at 11.4 comp. not happy with reg. The Wr450s shift them little
more rpm. Trick is to know when they ping hold throttle so they dont ping.
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pacificobob
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Most of my motorbikes will ping with low octane fuel.
Years ago I carried octane booster.....until the bottle leaked onto my sleeping bag
After that I just went easier on the throttle and tossed the octane booster.
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AKgringo
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| Quote: Originally posted by lencho |
Anybody know how octane boosters work? I've always wondered if adding a little diesel would do the same... |
Octane boosters make the gasoline less volatile, so that it won't ignite under compression (like a diesel) until the spark plug
fires.
My Isuzu V-6 doesn't seem to care what I put in it, but the couple of older Kia Sportages I have like the higher octane. The best fuel economy is
with 91 octane, although the difference is offset by the higher cost.
The main benefit of the premium blend is better performance at highway speeds, or pulling a load. My Kia does not ping, or "diesel" after shutting it
off, but using regular while doing a lot of city, or off road driving it seems to start throwing emissions codes.
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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bajatrailrider
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| Quote: Originally posted by pacificobob | Most of my motorbikes will ping with low octane fuel.
Years ago I carried octane booster.....until the bottle leaked onto my sleeping bag
After that I just went easier on the throttle and tossed the octane booster. |
:
I used to only think to bring octane booster in my backpack. Now its how much advil i can
carry.
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RFClark
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Ethanol is a good octane booster needs to be better than 180 proof and only works if you mix it with your gas, not drink it!
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BajaNomad
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Thread Moved
7-7-2022 at 06:28 PM |
BajaNomad
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| Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo | | Quote: Originally posted by lencho |
Anybody know how octane boosters work? I've always wondered if adding a little diesel would do the same... |
Octane boosters make the gasoline less volatile, so that it won't ignite under compression (like a diesel) until the spark plug
fires. |
Some octane boosters increase volatility (alcohol) and some lessen it (aromatics like Toluene and Xylene). The main goal for an "octane booster" is to
prevent engine knock, and the two tests for automotive gasoline only determine the anti-knock ability of that fuel. The two methods are the "research"
method (RON) and the "motor" method (MON). The yellow sticker at the pump in the USA is the average of these two, known as the "anti-knock index"
(AKI). Next time you're at the pump, look at the yellow sticker... it notes R+M/2.
The most common octane boosters on the market have been (and are likely still) alcohol and aromatic hydrocarbons. Alcohols are usually Methanol (wood
alcohol), yet can be Ethanol, Isopropyl Alcohol, and perhaps Tertiary Butyl Alcohol. These are the most common octane boosters in the mass-market
stores and are sold in plastic containers. They're relatively inexpensive. btw... Methanol is highly toxic - and if somehow ingested can/will cause
blindness.
The most common aromatic hyrdrocarbon used as an octane booster is Toluene. It's usually the cheapest of the high-octane components of automotive
gasoline and therefore the most likely one used. The other likely option would be Xylene - as either an isolated isomer, or mixed isomers (there are
three Xylene isomers). Xylene has slightly higher octane numbers than Toluene, however it's usually a little more expensive and perhaps even more
toxic to handle/breathe, etc. There could be other aromatics being used, however I highly doubt it. Toluene and Xylene are standard components of
automotive gasoline at the pump (again, the high-octane components), yet are also sold in stores for paint thinner and solvent. They would destroy a
plastic container and need to be in a metal (perhaps specifically steel) container.
I'd imagine that somewhere along the way someone may have been using Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) as an octane booster. That stuff is great in
gasoline... however it's maybe the most toxic to handle/breathe. For those unaware, MTBE was the preferred oxygenate in street gasoline (at least in
California) in the 90's... until they realized the gasoline with MTBE leaking out of the single-wall underground storage tanks was ruining nearby
groundwater... and when they figured that out, it was quickly removed from the reformulated gasoline being produced (re-introducing Ethanol as the
preferred oxygenate). They were still using MTBE in the Pemex for quite some time after it was removed from the California/USA formulations... and for
all I know they're still using it in Mexico, though I'm uncertain at the present time.
And of course there's always Tetraethyl Lead (TEL)... that was used in the early 1900's through what, the late 70's? I don't think you'll find much of
that easily available... and it's highly toxic - will absorb right through your skin.
Other than the lead, using small amounts of any of those items noted above will work - but only slightly in increasing the octane. You obviously need
to use higher concentrations to increase the octane significantly - and if you were to do that, it would affect drive-ability. It can also affect the
specific gravity, the air-fuel mixture, etc - and there is risk of damaging the engine if using these in higher concentrations in a base fuel
blended/made with drive-ability in mind.
Automotive gasoline has to meet the ASTM D-4814 standard (in the USA at least?) - which changes through the year for winter and summer blends (winter
blends are more volatile to reduce hard starting and drive-ability problems and the summer blends have lower volatility to prevent vapor lock - and
thus drive-ability concerns - as well as air quality concerns). The standard prior to D-4814 was D-439 (changed in late 80's I believe).
https://www.astm.org/standards/d4814
btw... if you want to increase the octane substantially without necessarily ruining drive-ability or the engine... one can consider purchasing
unleaded racing gasoline, and just blending in a portion of that. I'm going to avoid comments regarding use of any leaded racing gasoline (to stay out
of trouble). Certainly if the vehicle has an oxygen sensor and/or catalytic converter... the lead will destroy their ability to function properly.
| Quote: |
Volatility is a measure of how easily a liquid (or solid) will change into a vapor. For gasoline, it is measured by Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP). The
higher the RVP, the more volatile the gasoline. While the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires lower-volatility summer gasoline, aside from
any government regulation, gasoline's RVP must be limited to ensure that the fuel does not vaporize in the fuel system. If it does, the engine can
stop running.
https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=11031
https://www.epa.gov/gasoline-standards/gasoline-reid-vapor-p...
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https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-a-brief-history-...
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Xylene
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK524853/
| Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo |
My Isuzu V-6 doesn't seem to care what I put in it, but the couple of older Kia Sportages I have like the higher octane. The best fuel economy is
with 91 octane, although the difference is offset by the higher cost.
|
I have four different vehicles. With three of them (1995 Toyota 2.7L I4; 1987 GM L98 5.7L TPI V8; 2009 Toyota Hybrid 2.4L I4) the increase in mileage
with premium makes it cheaper to operate them than using regular (with the added bonus of better gasoline ingredients... like Toluene, etc!). One of
them (2000 Lexus 3.0L V6) doesn't get any better mileage with premium than with regular (nor notable performance increase)... and has no knock or ping
issues using regular... so it's gets a straight diet of 87.
fyi
YMMV... literally.
[Edited on 7-8-2022 by BajaNomad]
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AKgringo
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Thank you BajaNomad
Your information is far more educational that my hearsay account of how gasoline works!
If I really wanted to get the most highway efficiency out of my little four banger Kias, going back to stock size tires would do more for me than the
grade of gas I use. Changing out the wheels every time I want to go offroad is not an option, so I pay the piper for performance.
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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Ateo
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Great analysis and comments Doug.
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bajatrailrider
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I hear you AK my mex Nissan turbo diesel after many mods All somg delate open pipe ,free run hubs got to 33mpg. at 65mph real good for a truck .
After 7in total lift 33in tires engine tuner down to 25 mpg. Price you pay for off road performance. On top of that when I visit so cal . There crap
fuel hurts MPG and power so i bring extra 10 gal from Mex.
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pacificobob
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| Quote: Originally posted by bajatrailrider | | Quote: Originally posted by pacificobob | Most of my motorbikes will ping with low octane fuel.
Years ago I carried octane booster.....until the bottle leaked onto my sleeping bag
After that I just went easier on the throttle and tossed the octane booster. |
:
I used to only think to bring octane booster in my backpack. Now its how much advil i can
carry. |
X2!
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David K
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'Aleve' has been my old age pains miracle pill!
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bajatrailrider
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