Well well discovered high octane, have we boys and girls?

1. Cannot possibly harm modern FI engines, 3 way catalyst will remap for octane just as it does for altitude, temp etc. Now how fast and how much is up for discussion as I have only recent experience with BMW Mpower (M3, M5)
2. With BMW the improvement is noticeable and immediate, like RIGHT NOW. Not sure what compression ratios G's run at but if memory serves Higher compression engines love high octane. Should be similar with G cars as the AFTA mapping is pretty sophisticated across the board now.
3. Find your high octane in the SF bay area in San Jose (somewhere downtown) , In redwood city (76 station on woodside blvd) and at infineon raceway with a healthy selection of 3-4 boosted octanes.
4. AS far as the cost goes, well I'm cost sensitive (and drive an M3??!!) but ya gotta just try it and see if it a) works on G cars, b) works for YOU

 

Make 100% sure you are not putting any LEADED race gas in your car!

Even a small amount of leaded gas will fry your O2 sensors and converters! I am 100% sure that Infiniti will not cover that huge repair cost under warranty.

As Dave stated, increasing octane levels only help to a point. Higher octane never creates more power by itself, it only helps to prevent knock and ping. Thus allowing an engine to operate at its maximum potential at a given time and conditions (air temp and humidity ect) Many people make the mistake of assuming that higher octane must produce more power just based on the fact that it has a higher number than another gas.

Something that has not been mentioned in this thread is gas additives and the impact they have on performance. Many states have laws that require certain gas additives to reduce emissions. Sometimes referred to as "seasonal blends" these gas mixtures have a HUGE effect on performance even if you buy premium gas. In fact many of these additives lower the octane level of the gas. Race gas is not approved for use in road going vehicles (read the fine print on the pump), and is not regulated by the state, thus does not contain the emission reducing additives.This is why many people seem to feel that using race gas has such a big effect on performance. It is not so much the higher octane, but the fact that race gas does not contain all of the other junk your state legislature feels you should be burring in your engine.

Funny thing is that in Arizona for example research has now been done on many of the state mandated additives, and they have discovered that they INCREASE emissions and are causing damages to peoples engines!!! After reviewing this new data the state decided to do nothing about it.

Boy... there is your tax dollars hard at work!

 

I just went back to the fuel station (Speedway fuelstation which sells sunoco race gas). The pump read exactly "GT CAM2 Racing Fuel" it is 110 Octane and the pump says Unleaded. It also says that it is to be used for off road?

BTW I got my prices wrong last time, its not 4.1 its 4.6 per gallon.

 

Cam2 110 unleaded will work fine. The reason it is listed as "off road use only" is because it is listed as race gas it is not regulated by the state and does not have the emissions additives.

Oh... One other thing. Most race gases do not contain many of the detergents that are added to gas to keep your fuel system clean and prevent deposits. Using a gallon or two at each fill up will not hurt a thing, but do not use race gas as you only source of gas.

 

My brother did injection molding design work for the Big 3 for several years and told me a long time ago that they truck in Chevron fuel for their road tests. Not many of them around here but thought i would pass that tidbit along.

 

Yep, it cracks me up that those of us in cold winter climates are forced to use the super crappy oxygenated winter gas so that we'll reduce cold start emissions. Why is it funny? Because winter gas gets you about a 10-20% lower MPG therefore you burn a lot more fuel over the cold seasons. What's worse? Getting worse MPGs and burning more fuel or helping keep the air fractionally cleaner at the expense of a limited fuel supply. And like it's been stated above, these winter blends haven't been proven to work very effectively. My wife's 98 Subaru Legacy GT wagon auto went from getting 24mpg in the city down to 19mpg once the winter gas went into effect in November. My 96 5 speed Maxima went from 23mpg down to 18mpg and my 03 auto G35 that I've had for a month is averaging about 18mpg.

 

You might want to check for that unleaded sticker 1 more time. I just checked to see which octanes are leaded and which are not and heres what I found:

antiknock
oct rateing__leaded/unleaded____color of gas
100_________unleaded__________clear
104_________unleaded__________light blue
110_________leaded____________purple
112_________leaded____________blue
114_________leaded____________red

They listed the GT CAM2 as 100 unleaded octane, but I didnt see anything about GT CAM2 110 unleaded octane. You might want to ask whomever works there which octane it really is. You wouldnt want to put 110 leaded in there and destroy your catylic convertor or O2 sensors. Just my .02.

BTW its about 3.85 gallon of 100 unleaded where I live, but I havent been to that pump in a little bit so the price could have went up since then.

 

I don't know if this forum bookmark's threads, but there is some really good info in this thread so maybe it should be moved to the performance section. Just a thought.

 

I am pretty sure that it read 110. Since one of you pointed out that 110 was too high of an octane to be leaded before I went, I was very careful at looking at this pump. It was kind of funny that the above part was white and read GT CAM2 while the lower part was blue reading SUNOCO. Is GT CAM2 a brand? It seemed so. If it is, it is kind of dumb that this pump has GT CAM2 on the top and SUNOCO on the bottom. I really dont want to pour leaded fuel to my car, much less pay over 4$ for what i dont want. I thought about going inside and asking whoever was in charge, however, I dont think people hired to run 7-eleven-like stores know much about their pumps.

So well, if the fuel pump says UNLEADED and I buy some an my car ****s up... they are to be held responsible are they not?

I am considering going there again and taking a picture of the pump lol.

 

GT CAM2 is Sunoco gas. You can go to www.racegas.com and check it out for yourself. Whoever is working inside should know what octane the gas really is because they have to sign for it upon delivery. As to whether or not it’s mislabeled I don't know. They could have carried 100 in that pump before and switched to 110 and forgot to remove the old sticker.

If you put a little in it shouldn't hurt you from one use. Using it multiple times can destroy your O2's and cat over a period of time. If you used it once just don't do it again and you should be fine. If it's 100 unleaded octane than you can mix in a few (3-5) gallons with a regular tank, or fill it up all the way if you have the $$$.

 

Thnx for the info. Someone pointed out that it hurts the engine if you put 100% of that type. They said that the 110 gas needs higher temperature to burn and that our G's wont handle it all that well. I have almost no gas so Im heading to the BP station to try their 92 Premium instead of Shells 93 and see if I find any difference.

I will go to the sunoco station and take a pick at the fuel pump so you guys see what Im talking about. Ill ask the guy inside too.

If it is 110 or 100 unleaded, then Ill put in next time (for now, I want pure BP to compare with shells)

Ill be back later with the pics.

EDIT - i just checked at the site you suggested (www.racegas.com) and looking at

http://www.racegas.com/gt100locals/default.asp (go here and select Florida)

I found the gas station here that sells this gas listed. According to the location finder, the stations with this pic hold the unleaded fuel. Melbourne appears in that list as a holder for it. In the site, it says "GT 100 Unleaded is available under the CAM2 GTTM 100 label" meaning 100 octane right? But youll see when I come back with the pics that the pump says 110.

Speedway SuperAmerica Store #8355
4600 West New Haven
Melbourne, FL 32094

(321) 724-9616


Now my other worry is that you said that the guy inside should know the octane because they have to sign for it, I think the guy signing for Florida is

BEARDEN OIL COMPANY
Wendell (Shorty)Bearden
504 Ninth Avenue
Eastman, GA 31023
478-374-7706 / 800-342-5505
Fax: 478-374-0534

So I am not sure if the guy inside will know. Ill go in a few mins and post back later.

 

Ok came back got the pics ill post in a while...

 

First of all, I put in BP fuel. I think that I feel the car slower. When I am in second gear at low rpm's and then floor it, I dont feel it accelerating as fast as before. Not only that, but when I try to drive fast shifting gears, I think it takes a little more time for the RPM's to get to engine red light. I dont feel it less or more smooth, but I think my car might be slower. Can this happen or is it my imagination?

Secondly, I did as I promised. I went to the Speedway station and took some pics. First of all, I saw this Boxter S there driven by an OLD "golf-like-player" guy.





Ok so once they moved, I could access the pump. As I said before, the pump IS 110 Octane.



and in this other pic, you can see the CAM2 lable printed which, according to the website previously given, means the fuel is unleaded.



After verifying this, I went inside and asked the guy in charged "I've read that the unleaded fuel has a max of 100 octane, are you sure that one contains Unleaded fuel?" He then answered "Yes that one there is unleaded and it is 110 Octane. The ones over there are 100 octane and leaded." He pointed to other pumps which I had not seen.



So, apparently, yes the 110 is unleaded.

So is it 100% safe to fuel up my car with this 110 fuel? If it is, should I mix it with normal 93 Octane (how many 110 galons per 93 galons?) or do I just fuel the 110 Octane pure?

Remember, my priority is having my car as healthy as I can, not as fast as possible. So, if this 110 fuel is supposed to clean the engine and make it better, I'll buy it. If it will give you more HP and wont harm or wont do good, Ill still buy it. If it, however, does give more HP but the engine doesnt like it (remember i have 2000 miles), I rather not mess with it.