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Originally Posted by HardlyDangerous
Sorry to dampen your spirits but octane fuels don't make more HP. You have just bought into one of the automotive world's most famous gimmicks. (kinda) BUT please keep reading and I will explain the power difference you felt using the lucas products or any octane booster for that matter
Octane boosters do several things but bumping up the octane is not one of them. Octane boosters only bump up the octane 1-10 points most are about 4-7 points. That means is you add an octane booster that had a boost rating of 7 points it will change and 87 octane fuel to 87.4 to 87.7 (NOT 94 octane) add it to an 94 octane fuel and it will change it to 94.4 tp 94.7.
With that said, the higher the octane the less HP your engine will make.
Higher octane fuels don't make more HP and burn hotter. This is a MYTH. Burn rates remain the same or very littler difference. Higher octane fuels simply have a higher flash point meaning it will take more heat to ignite the fuel. Use too high of an octane in your engine and it's not able to ignite the fuel as easily and it costs you hp and causes carbon build up which also reduces HP over time. Use only the octane you engine needs to run with out causing pre-ignition or detonation and THAT fuel mixture will ALWAYS make more HP then a higher octane fuel. If your engine runs fine with no detonation with 87 octane it can't make more HP using a higher octane fuel. Do a dyno run with the same engine running both fuels and the lower octane will always make more hp.
How an octane booster works is simple, octane boosters contain chemicals that remove or neutralize free radicals in pump fuels that can promote detonation. What does this mean? it means that the fuel still and 87 octane fuel but acts like an 89 octane fuel.
So why use octane boosters
The perfect examples when an octane booster is needed would be while towing. If you were hauling a heavy load with your truck towing a trailer or something and using an 87 octane... and on steep grades or during acceleration the engine was suffering from detonation/spark knock. adding a bottle of octane booster will help neutralize the free radicals in the fuel that promote detonation and will help to reduce/eliminate the minor knocking/spark knock from the slightly too low of octane.
OR lets say you were running a turbo charged Subaru WRX or Mistsu GSX and running 20 psi of boost and 94 octane pump fuel was not enough to eliminate knock at WOT, then an octane booster can be added to help reduce the detonation so the car can run the higher boost levels safely.
The only time you need to use a higher octane is if you have changed the compression the compression and/or timing and the engine is suffering from detonation. Even then bumping up to the next available octane at the pumps is usually good enough. For instance my VT600 had milled and ported head, putting the compression up over 200 psi, timing advanced 4 degrees. The engine still runs ok on 87 octane while riding it easy but for WOT riding or riding 2 up I need to run at least 89 octane to eliminate any knocking.
And on that note some slight spark knock is ok it simply means your engine is operating efficiently. Heavy knocking/detonation will destroy an engine. If your engine is stock stick with the lower octane fuel.
Now for what you really wanted to know...why does it feel more powerful?
Simple answer.. top end lubrication and jetting.
PART 1
The Lucas products use mineral and synthetic additive that also help to lubricate the top end components of the engine such as the valves, cylinder/rings, and piston. This allows the engine to run cooler and with less friction + more HP
PART 2
When adding lubricants and chemicals to the fuel you actually change the jetting mixture. Think of it as a two stroke where you mix the fuel and oil. A 20:1 uses 20 parts fuel to 1 part oil a 50:1 mixture uses 50 parts fuel to 1 part oil That means using the same main jet the 20:1 fuel mixture will cause the engine to run much leaner because there is less fuel per volume. The same goes with your motorcycle because you have added other lubricants to the fuel that do not burn you have lowered the amount of fuel per volume that will pass through the jets making the jetting slightly leaner.
It's a simple FACT that leaner jetting produces more HP
a richer mixture costs you hp. That's why race engines are tuned and jetted to run right on the ragged edge of safe heat/detonation levels, to produce the very most HP possible with out overheating/causing detonation.
You can save a lot of $$$ if you wanted to by simply buying a small bottle of 2 stroke pre-mix oil like Amsoil Dominator or injector HP and use 87 octane fuel but just add a cap full of the 2 stroke oil to each tank of fuel. It will do the exact same thing as the Lucas to lubricate the top end and also lean the jetting slightly, at a fraction of the cost of regular octane boosters. also you could always play with the jetting slightly to dial it in and make more HP, obviously is slightly rich and could stand to be slightly leaner.
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Very very cool read. You shed a lot of light on this and I had no idea. Thank You for taking the time to write this reply. I learned a lot from this post. Thats why I love coming here nightly to read up and get educated. Thanks again.