Octane Boost anyone?

[DenverSmart]

Just wondered if any owner has tried Octane Boost in thier smart?

How did it run?

[Evilution]

If it's the stuff you get in small bottles, a TV show in UK tested a load out and found no increase in power, no decrease in emissions.

[jefferios]

I heard that the octant boost stuff is bad for your engine and the hoses if you use it continuously.

[msjohnson1974]

Its a bad idea to use it and might invalidate what little warranty the US cars get. (upside on the warranty thing though, the Canadians get 4 yr/48K miles so its a cost thing not a we don't believe in our product thing)

[Old smart]

What is the point of the added expense and trouble of measuring out octane booster as opposed to just buying higher octane pump gas?

One time, having not much going on, I did some passive research on octane boosters. The products range in effectiveness from some benefit in raising the “Anti-Knock Index” (aka octane rating) down to negligible benefit. They (some) are beneficial in raising the AKI of low octane gas a few points, but the effect diminishes and disappears with higher original octane fuels.

There is one thing that definitely raises AKI for all grades of gasoline – water, usually in the form of a mixture of water and methanol. But devising a water injection system for a gasser smart is in the same impractical league as trying to stuff an aqueous urea injection system into a diesel smart. Won’t happen.

For anyone driving in high elevations with a normally aspirated engine, you don't need (can't use) very high octane gas. Gas treated (diluted) with AKI boosters has less actual gasoline to burn per mass than straight gas, and it is metered into the engine proportionate to the mass of the thin atmosphere. A turbo may be a different story.

[msjohnson1974]

Originally Posted by Old smart

What is the point of the added expense and trouble of measuring out octane booster as opposed to just buying higher octane pump gas?

Exactly, generally the difference between premium and regular is 20 cents, on a 8.7 gallon tank that is a $1.74 difference assuming you ran the tank down to empty. I can find $1.75 in the couch after having friends over. I also did a quick search on "Octane Booster" and came up with $3.99/bottle as the cheapest online price. Even if they did work, you're not saving money.