I'm runing my z at the track on sat. and i am planning on adding 1-2 gal of 110 race gas to a 1/2 -1/4 tank of gas. Would this damage the o2 sensors? Would i even gain anything by doing this? I also just got a cable from akm, so maybe i'll scan it before and after the race gas. Although it would be my first time using the cable so i may not understand all of the data untill i play with it a little more. At the least i think the gas would keep the knock count down around 0, am i right?

 

Race gas wont do a thing. Even if it kept the knock count down, you shouldnt be seeing any knock that is above negligeable anyway or something's up. You're not running insanely high compression 12:5+ or large amounts of boost. IOW, save your money, fill up with some premium unleaded and have yourself a great time.

 

Yea, i was thinkin it wouldn't do much... although i ran a tank of it in my old 79' z with a 10.6 cr 350 and i felt a diff. but i don't know with computer controled cars. i always run 93 oct though, so we'll see how my 173 k mile lt-1 runs

 

Any one else?

 

the *** is not very accurate

 

There is no reason to waste 3.50 a gallon for race gas. Your setup is pretty stock. Save your money and buy a hot dog or something at the track

 

I would have to agree that when I filled up with some race gas (101 octane) the car felt slower. That's why I think it's a waste to spend $3.50 a gallon on that ****. Unless you're a turbo'ed car or a race car that needs it, don't waste your money.

 

Thanks guys, i'll let you know what i run

 

High octane is a slower burning gas (so to speak) to help retard detonation in high timing advanced apps, and more radical setups where detonation is a concern. Stock or mild over stock it is unnecessary, and may even slow you down as was mentioned.

 

The higher octane is more resistant to detonation which is what causes knock. The 93 octane will produce more power. The only reason to run higher octane is because of CR higher then stock or if you are trying to rule out false knock. In any case you would not run the 110 octane but would want to find some unleaded 104 octane if you still have O2 sensors.

 

Just to clarify... octane can NOT be correlated to burn speed or energy content. With regard to energy content, you need to be aware of both the BTU/LB content, and the specific gravity of the fuel. Using these two data points, you can arrive at a "specific energy content", which will allow you to evaluate a particular fuel's impact due to the "volumetric" nature of our fuel delivery system.

Supporting documentation:

A good source for "facts" regarding gasoline, rather than "urban legend" :

Gasoline FAQ

To repeat what others have said, save your money. Unless you are having problems with knock retard, and you have proven that it is true knock, you shouldn't require anything more than your local high octane pump gas. If you do need to improve octane to resolve a knock issue, look at 100-octane unleaded, or investigate the use of toluene or xylene.