NOS Racing Formula Octane Booster
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If you are looking for the best octane booster, you have come to the right place. Often times you find them in auto stores with cool flames on them and you will probably think to yourself if I just buy a can of this my car will be a top racer. To clear some misconceptions, the best octane booster is not some magical chemical like NOS that you just pour into your car and all of the sudden you get a surge of power.
There is no free power in the auto world. The real way octane works is it is added to gas to reduce its volatility and makes it less likely to ignite. So when do you need to use an octane booster? Generally it is used when you have an engine with a high compression ratio. Most normal cars have engines with low compression ratios of between 8.5-9.5 to 1, which is ok with regular unleaded fuel.
But if you have a supercharged engine or an engine with a high compression ratio of say 11 to 1 or higher, then you will need to boost your octane rating. Once the compression in the engine reaches a certain point, the gasoline will start to ignite without the need of a spark plug. And if you ignite it too early, it causes pre ignition or knocking, which is very bad for the engine and results in a loss of power.
Extra octane in your gasoline will reduce is explosiveness of the gas so that it doesn’t preignite and gets it to fire normally. So basically you will only need the best octane booster when you are running a high compression engine to protect the engine from pre-igniting and the loss of power associated (check your users manual which usually tells you whether you need to run high octane gas). Read our reviews of the best octane booster below to help to pick a good one.
What is the Best Octane Booster?
- NOS Racing Formula Octane Booster (Our Top Pick)
- Royal Purple Max-Boost Octane Booster and Stabilizer
- Lucas Octane Booster
- Torco Accelerator
- Klotz Octane Booster
NOS Racing Formula Octane Booster
NOS Octane Booster is the best octane booster on the market, hands down. There is simply no comparison. However, it also comes with a hefty price tag. NOS is a brand name we all know in the high speed racing world. Its octane booster will increase the octane rating of your gasoline by 3.1 octane numbers. Since it is developed for high performance engines, it is made with the best ingredients including but not limited to MMT, powertane, nitromethane, and patented lubricants.
By using the NOS booster in your fuel you will eliminate engine knocking, ping, and gas mileage as well as protect your fuel injectors from carbon deposit build up. This all translates to an improvement in power and engine shelf life. Ideally, this product is for people with high performance engines with high combustion ratios or highly tuned cars. Keep in mind there is no magically horsepower gain by using this product. You will recover lost horsepower through increased efficiency in your engine, but it will never go above stock settings. This recovered horsepower will probably not be a noticeable difference.
The most important benefit of NOS octane booster is still to reduce engine knock, which is very noticeable. In areas where the even the premium gasoline’s octane rating is too low, you can add the octane booster to ensure there is zero engine knocking. This is the best octane booster we have tried. Some of the cheaper priced ones do a noticeably worse job in reducing knocking. If you are driving a premium car then spending some “loose change” on this product will help save your expensive engine.
Royal Purple Max-Boost Octane Booster and Stabilizer
Royal Purple Octane Booster is the best octane booster if you want the best value. It is very well priced and delivers great performance. Royal Purple contains MMT and can boost your octane rating by 3 points, which reduces engine knocking in high combustion high performance cars such as those with turbocharged, super charged, or nitrous injection systems. It is safe to use with leaded and unleaded gasoline as well as gasohol and ethanol blends.
It restores a little bit of power and cleans fuel injector deposits, but this is not an extreme change. Just be warned that if you are looking to turn your normal car into a race car with this product, it will not work. We really like the fact that not only is this an octane booster but also it protects against the phosphorus build up in your catalytic converter. Often time if you are using a performance engine oil, it will contains lots of phosphorous, which will build up on your catalytic converter and make them less effective.
By using Royal Purple, you can remove this build up. In terms of reducing engine knocking, it did a good job and reduced the clicking sound when we tested it out. But we think the NOS octane booster is still better at this. All in all, this is the best octane booster if you want a decent octane booster at a low price that also removes phosphorous in your catalytic converter. Since one bottle only really treats one full tank of gas, we recommend that you buy in bulk.
Lucas Octane Booster
Lucas Octane Booster is the best octane booster if you want a solid product from a reputable car accessories company. It has been around the business for a long time and offers a wide array of car accessories. Their octane booster upholds some of the same performance benchmarks as their other flagship products. By using Lucas, you can boost the octane rating of your gasoline and protect your engine from pre-igniting, which damages your engine and makes it less efficient.
It is safe to be used for fuel injected and carburetor engines as well as oxygen sensors and catalytic converters. Lucas claims to provide three times more octane boost than competitors. We found this is but simply not true. We tested this product against the Royal Purple and NOS octane booster and found that it actually has the worst of the three in terms of boosting octane ratings and reducing knocking. Nevertheless, we still find it a solid product at a very reasonable price point. Although we would recommend using Royal Purple or NOS, if those two products don’t work for you can give Lucas a try. It is the best octane booster if you trust the Lucas brand and have a history of using their other products.
Torco Accelerator
The Torco Accelerator is the ultimate race fuel concentrate. It is designed to raise your octane rating by up to 105. Realistically, it is a bit less but still very effective. The Torco Accelerator does a great job in making your fuel burn more efficiently. Best of all, it helps your engine realize its full potential.
If you have a muscle car with a high compression engine, this product is great for letting you run high octane without pinging. With this octane booster, you can completely eliminate engine hesitation at high speeds. It also gives you improved acceleration and better stability at idle. In terms of mixing, if you put one 32 ounce can in 20 gallons, it will raise your octane by 4 points from 93 to 97. You can use it on all types of engines from 2 stroke dirt bike engines to race car engines.
We tried this octane booster on various engine types and it worked marvelously. We will fully admit that it doesn’t make your car go significantly faster. It is not a miracle booster in a can. We think you will like The Torco Accelerator Fuel Additive as long as you keep your expectations low.
Klotz Octane Booster
The Klotz Octane Booster is renown in the auto accessories world in making a very efficient octane booster. Although the packaging and marketing is not very appealing, don’t judge a book by its covers. The Klotz can increase your gas octane rating by up to 10 points, which is more than most octane boosters on the market. You should really be able to feel the power difference when you add this fuel additive to your tank.
The Klotz really does a great job in controlling to pinging detonation of low octane fuels. It is a cheap way to get higher octane fuel without paying the premium at gas stations. The Klotz Octane Booster also has a tetraethyl lead substitute that increases lubricity. Additionally, it controls the burn speed of your fuel and stabilizes the flame front. You can use this fuel additive for all sorts of gasoline and ethanol engines to increase performance.
In terms of efficacy, we think it is safe to say that the Klotz octane booster works better than most of its competitors. While the average run of the mill booster will increase your octane rating by less than a point, the Klotz adds at least a point. It doesn’t damage your engine or the carb. We recommending draining your fuel more often while using octane boosters.
