Gas stations that sell 100 octane near Reno or Sacramento ??

[mfanatic325]

Originally Posted by pokeybritches

Higher octane fuel burns more slowly.

Really? That wasn't the case for my tuned MR2 turbo when I ran 100 octane

jk
It was probably cuz I was throttle-happy whenever I pumped 100
The car had a dual-map ROM tune, so at the flip of a switch, I could run 91 OR 100.

[pokeybritches]

As you compress air, it gets hotter. FI requires higher octane by nature, especially when running higher boost levels. However, the point of diminishing returns is still there... it's just slid further up the scale. It all depends on how much the air is being compressed, and how hot it is.

[Z4Murder]

so here is a question that people seem to go back and forth on. okay, so our ecu is an "adapting" one. now while i wouldnt go straight 100 octane, would i see any performance benefit in a 93/ 100 mix? or what about an ESS map that had all the same parameters as my original tune, just switched to 100 octane whenever i'm feeling rich enough to pump 100 oct.?

[mfanatic325]

Originally Posted by Z4Murder

so here is a question that people seem to go back and forth on. okay, so our ecu is an "adapting" one. now while i wouldnt go straight 100 octane, would i see any performance benefit in a 93/ 100 mix? or what about an ESS map that had all the same parameters as my original tune, just switched to 100 octane whenever i'm feeling rich enough to pump 100 oct.?

I remember a good friend of mine telling me about the current E90/E92 M3's and how from the factory, their ECU's were much more capable compared to the E46 M3, in that just by pumping 100 octane and allowing the ECU to adapt by itself, they were able to get like 8whp increase, or something like that. Someone on their forums actually did a before-and-after dyno to prove this.

With that said, it is known that our ECU's in the E85/E86 M's share similar capabilities as the E90/E92's. Therefore, I personally would not be surprised if our ECU's could squeeze out some hp/tq just by pumping higher octane

And of course, if we do a specific tune for higher octane, we will see much higher gains. How much gain? Who knows such things...every car is different after all

[fr8tdog]

The octane rating of gasoline tells you how much the fuel can be compressed before it spontaneously ignites. When gas ignites by compression rather than because of the spark from the spark plug, it causes knocking in the engine. Knocking can damage an engine, so it is not something you want to have happening. Lower-octane gas (like "regular" 87-octane gasoline) can handle the least amount of compression before igniting. Most normally aspirated engines won't see any benefit to running higher octane and could reduce power.....but mostly it's just a waste of your hard earned money. The Z4 M on the other hand is high compression engine that can suffer from heat soak on the track and the DME will pull timing when it senses knock. If you're running 93 octane or higher the DME will most likely not pull timing. If your just driving around for fun or DD then it's a complete waste of money unless you add a race gas tune. For superchargers and turbos....a completely different ball game. The ESS tune does allow for race gas adaptions and if you get a custom race tune then it will be that much better. I need 100 because my VT2-500(smaller pulley) requires 93 and 91 is all that I can get, so blending 91 with 100 will get my 93 or 94 desirable octane without damaging this awesome motor. I also want 100 for a custom race tune and also some added insurance from not getting a bad batch of gas and then kaboom. With my water/meth and a good mix of 91 and 100 I'm very confident avoiding knock and not loosing power from timing being pulled. Cheers

edit: one other thing.... not all race fuels are created equal. Some are highly oxygenated and produce more power and torque then others. An example would be VP 109(highly oxygenated) unleaded compared to Sunco 100 unleaded. This could be good or bad depending on your use. If your running nitrous or very high boost(turbo) then oxygenated race fuels are NOT good. Nitrous and high boost you should be looking for 110 leaded or something similar(leaded)

[fr8tdog]

Originally Posted by cmark8

do we actually lose horsepower after a certain amount of octane with our NA engine? I always thought that higher octane is healthier for our engines as it prevents it from knocking. But for fr8tdog, he actually sees a horsepower spike as he's FI and ESS must have a program to run 100 octane. I know for a fact that with VF Engineering + 100oct, my car ran so much smoother and there was a noticeable increase in power compared to 91oct.

On the Z4 M, because of the high compression and sophisticated DME, it is very unlikely you will loose any power from higher octane above 93. I think it would come down to just wasting money on expensive gas. If you are an NA track junkie, you might notice the power holding longer as opposed to timing being pulled during a session on a hot day. I think on the ESS tune you will notice gains up to about 98 octane and after that it becomes a waste of money again unless you get a special race gas tune to fully take advantage of the slow burning fuel. VP109 is a highly oxygenated race gas and this will actually provide more toque than many other unleaded race fuels. With my VT2-500 and VP109 race gas I gained about 30whp on the standard tune.

[The HACK]

Originally Posted by fr8tdog

I expected at least 1 comment like that..that's cool, but I actually did a google and didn't find much, which is the reason I asked. Thanks for the constructive input though. Cheers

Did you actually BOTHERED to click on the link I provided for you? The very first result is a list all stations in California that sells 100 octane fuel.

Last I checked Sacramento is still in California.

And the exact search terms I used were a simple variation to your thread title.

[fr8tdog]

Originally Posted by The HACK

Did you actually BOTHERED to click on the link I provided for you? The very first result is a list all stations in California that sells 100 octane fuel.

Last I checked Sacramento is still in California.

And the exact search terms I used were a simple variation to your thread title.

Actually, it just appeared to be a smart ass reply, kind of like this one^. I was really trying to get some local feedback...as in people on this forum that live in the area. Like... "hey Joe, I know of these stations" Thanks for clarifying, and yes Sacramento is still in CA

[F360C]

Originally Posted by Dubbedown

in nj, the local airport carries it as well as some local performance shops who buy it in the barrels

You can also get it at the Sunoco in Ledgewood at their 100oct Purple Pump. Last time I filled up the turbo with the go juice it was around $8ish per gallon

[fr8tdog]

pokeybritches
Lieutenant

pokeybritches's Avatar

Drives: 06 MR, 03 3.0i
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Fresno, CA

Posts: 586
iTrader: (1)

As you compress air, it gets hotter. FI requires higher octane by nature, especially when running higher boost levels. However, the point of diminishing returns is still there... it's just slid further up the scale. It all depends on how much the air is being compressed, and how hot it is.
__________________




This is exactly correct.