Octane booster...

[Riverryder]

Had to throw 30 gallons in my boat of 87 today it’s running like crap now. (Shaking) I’m going out tomorrow again before a 3 day trip to pirates. I plan on throwing 100 in it tomorrow to try and balance the tank. But is there anything else’s I can do?


Engine is a 454 with dart Pro 1 aluminum heads, RPM performer intake manifold and 750 quick fuel double pump carburetor

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[Riverryder]

Anythin?


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[seanroberts]

Boostane is the only booster that I know that works. I use it when I'm at Lake Powell and can't get high octane fuel. I use 100ll avgas when I can. The boostane defiantly works. I got to see dyno pulls on 3 cars only being mine with regular 91 octane fuel, 100 octane racing fuel and then the boostane putting 87 octane up to 100. I can say it truly works. Only issue is normaly you have to order it. I don't know places that stock it. you can go to boostane.com and call them they can tell you where to get it. I'll also say I have no ties to them I'm just a customer.

 

[pronstar]

Remember:
One octane point is 0.1 octane number.

So if your additive raises 20 gallons of fuel 3 octane points, and you started with 87 octane...then you now have 87.3 octane.

The easiest and likely cheapest way to raise octane, is to mix it with higher octane fuel. From there, it’s simple math.

10 gallons of 100 octane, mixed with
10 gallons of 90 octane, yields 20 gallons of 95 octane.


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[LargeOrangeFont]

You will need a lot of octane booster. 2-4 quarts to get it to 91, and that is depending on whose you use. Torco works well, the problem is where to get it.

 

[Riverryder]

Remember:
One octane point is 0.1 octane number.

So if your additive raises 20 gallons of fuel 3 octane points, and you started with 87 octane...then you now have 87.3 octane.

The easiest and likely cheapest way to raise octane, is to mix it with higher octane fuel. From there, it’s simple math.

10 gallons of 100 octane, mixed with
10 gallons of 90 octane, yields 20 gallons of 95 octane.


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Looks like I’m going to get 100 today after work!


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[Icky]

How old was the fuel in your tanks?

 

[95Enforcer]

Id try some water remover additive as well. Sounds like you may have gotten some crappy gas too. I had to run lower octane before and it didn't react that bad. Just down on power. Wondering if you may have some water in the fuel. Id do the 100 and give it a shot or maybe even some 110 if its available.

 

[Riverryder]

Gas is 1 weeks old. Gonna our 100 in it and throw it on the hose see what happens. I leave for pirates in the morning. So need to figure it out before I make the trip down there


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[Riverryder]

It’s now idling like it should. But I just found that cylinder 1 exhaust manifold( front right side if your looking at motor) gasket is leaking. Can I run it this weekend or does it need to be changed?


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[95Enforcer]

It’s now idling like it should. But I just found that cylinder 1 exhaust manifold( front right side if your looking at motor) gasket is leaking. Can I run it this weekend or does it need to be changed?


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Depends on how bad the leak is. If its small you may be fine but could get worse and mess something up like burning an exhaust valve. Theres always that chance.

 

[Riverryder]

Depends on how bad the leak is. If its small you may be fine but could get worse and mess something up like burning an exhaust valve. Theres always that chance.

It’s not to bad or a leak. I just noticed it the other day. Had to get in the engine compartment and actually reach in to real the air coming out.


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[95Enforcer]

It’s not to bad or a leak. I just noticed it the other day. Had to get in the engine compartment and actually reach in to real the air coming out.


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Is say run it then and just keep an eye on it. Order a new gasket and change it out after the weekend. I wouldn't try snugging the exhaust bolts either as they may break. (Not sure what your exhaust set up is or hardware are like). Maybe order new hardware too for the gasket replace. Good luck out there and be safe. Glad the boat is running better now.

 

[J&k beer can]

i use this stuff.. have for a few years on a higher compression street car..
some local pep boys carries it.. or online to order it..

RACE GAS | Racing Fuel Concentrate

Race Gas Racing Fuel Concentrate

race-gas.com

 

[Fastdadtsmith]

A membership to Sea Tow might be a wise investment too.... You know, pay for it and hope you never use it.

 

[Riverryder]

A membership to Sea Tow might be a wise investment too.... You know, pay for it and hope you never use it.

Thanks for the help guys. I snugged the bolts down a little I can see the tear in the gasket. It muffled it a little bit still there.
I have a tow service membership. Also a tow strap to help anyone ever stranded. Saved to 2 girls from downing 1 week ago at willow. Bought this boat a year ago and have put 87 hours on it already! Use it to much to be worried about it.


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[Riverryder]

What a rabbit hole I went down! It got new gaskets, new plugs, and timing fixed! Finally on my way to pirates!


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[Riverryder]

carb was fat and timing was off.


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[95Enforcer]

Hopefully you got it all fixed so you can enjoy your weekend. I might try to run up to pirates tomorrow. Im replacing a stuck lifter on my new motor tonight. Almost all buttoned up and ready to go.

 

[Riverryder]

Did a shake down run when I go to pirates last night! Running a whole lot better. But she isn’t as fast. Will only go to about 4200 rpm.
. But what ever gonna make the best of it then figure it out once I get home.


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[Riverryder]

Ok so new problem I’ve been noticing is now it only goes to 4200 but I bounces of 4200 down to 4100 then back up. Kind of like a flat spot??
Have bout another 14 hrs on it since I started this thread tho..
I just ordered new wires they should be here Tuesday. Gonna put some heat sheilds on them as well because seems to be melting so to speak the boots.


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[Riverryder]

Today’s my friday have a couple days to try and figure this out. Spark Plug wires just came gonna throw them in tomorrow.


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[95Enforcer]

Hopefully

Today’s my friday have a couple days to try and figure this out. Spark Plug wires just came gonna throw them in tomorrow.


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Hopefully that will help. When it only goes to 4200rpm. Does it fall off like no fuel or miss fire or anything like that. Motor should go much higher than that. Wondering if is a fuel supply issue in the carb or fuel filter. What ignition set up does it have?

 

[Riverryder]

Hopefully

Hopefully that will help. When it only goes to 4200rpm. Does it fall off like no fuel or miss fire or anything like that. Motor should go much higher than that. Wondering if is a fuel supply issue in the carb or fuel filter. What ignition set up does it have?

So it was running fat always had the soot on the transom so we back the timing down( when I had more timing it would get up to 4900rpm) and he toke some fuel out of it to lean it out. But now I’m having this issue. But I still get the soot on the transom.. so I’m kind of at a loss


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[95Enforcer]

So it was running fat always had the soot on the transom so we back the timing down( when I had more timing it would get up to 4900rpm) and he toke some fuel out of it to lean it out. But now I’m having this issue. But I still get the soot on the transom.. so I’m kind of at a loss


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I would recheck the timing. Should be about 18 degrees btdc and around 34 total timing. Id start there and then try a degree at a time Im at 19 and 35 on my hp 500 with a similar setup as you.

 

[Riverryder]

@95Enforcer
It was at 15 at idle and 45 at 2k
He turned it down to 11 and 34 at 2k


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[95Enforcer]

@95Enforcer
It was at 15 at idle and 45 at 2k
He turned it down to 11 and 34 at 2k


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Id advance it. Seems like that could be alot of the power and rpm problems.

 

[Riverryder]

@95Enforcer yeah think I’m gonna have him go on it with me. His shop is about 5 mins from lake mead marina. I just wanted him to take some fuel out of it cuz it didnt like not going slower then 10 it was shut off it would flood the carb and die And at full throttle it was backfiring from air filter.


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[Riverryder]

Put the new wires in and put spark plug wire sleeves on them. Ones I toke off had holes melted in then from I’m guessing the heat from exhaust.


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[95Enforcer]

View attachment 878898
Put the new wires in and put spark plug wire sleeves on them. Ones I toke off had holes melted in then from I’m guessing the heat from exhaust.


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Nice. Looks good. Hopefully you can get it sorted out.

 

[Riverryder]

@95Enforcer
Thanks for your help! Hope to
Meet you one day! Beers or tacos on me!

I found that my throttle cable bolt had backed out on top of the carb. I think that might be my throttle issue. Bolted it back up. We shall see.
Gonna take it our Friday for a shake down run before the Saturday.


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[95Enforcer]

@95Enforcer
Thanks for your help! Hope to
Meet you one day! Beers or tacos on me!

I found that my throttle cable bolt had backed out on top of the carb. I think that might be my throttle issue. Bolted it back up. We shall see.
Gonna take it our Friday for a shake down run before the Saturday.


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Awesome. Hope thats it for an easy fix. Next time your back down on Havasu or Needles area let me know. I wont be boating until July for now. Got a little one due in the next few weeks.

 

[79 HUSTLER]

So it was running fat always had the soot on the transom so we back the timing down( when I had more timing it would get up to 4900rpm) and he toke some fuel out of it to lean it out. But now I’m having this issue. But I still get the soot on the transom.. so I’m kind of at a loss


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So you were fat and always had soot on the transom so you backed the timing down?

 

[Riverryder]

@79 HUSTLER
No I wanted to lean it out once I changed the exhaust manifold gasket and plugs I put it in the hose. Mechanic saw the plugs and heard it idling said let’s check the timing. He said timing was off. I just wanted it to be leaned out.
I found that the throttle cable bolt was almost backed all the way out tho. Think that might be the issue I was having.


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[wagonicfolding]

The only benefit of octane boosters is that they make detonation less likely, so unless the engine has a problem with knocking because it's been modified, there's no point in using them.

You'd just be diluting the gasoline with a substance that contains less energy, so your mileage would suffer.

 

[DarkHorseRacing]

Torco Unleaded Accelerator. None of this 0.1 octane point boost crap. Follow their blend chart for 87 and you can blend it up to whatever octane you want (obviously the higher the target octane number the more you need to add). I run my boat at a lake that only sells 87 and pulling it out to take it to a gas station for 91 (which it needs for the Teague engine) is a major PITA. So I throw a bottle of Torco in for every 20 gallons to get that back to 91.

I have heard this turns your plugs orange but frankly it runs fine so I'm not concerned.

 

[DarkHorseRacing]

@79 HUSTLER
No I wanted to lean it out once I changed the exhaust manifold gasket and plugs I put it in the hose. Mechanic saw the plugs and heard it idling said let’s check the timing. He said timing was off. I just wanted it to be leaned out.
I found that the throttle cable bolt was almost backed all the way out tho. Think that might be the issue I was having.


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If you made changes to your engine (timing or fuel) trying to solve the problem that came down to the throttle cable being loose, I'd would have put the timing and fuel back the way it was now that the throttle cable is fixed, before you go out there and run it again. We had an old turbo motor that we rebuilt and it would run hard up to like 4K and then fall flat. We tried everything on the carbs and the spark plugs until we realized we forgot the ignition system (it was a system called Stinger) had a built in retard timing function and when we set the timing correctly, it came alive past 4K like it should. But then the carbs were all wrong (as were the plug gaps), and we ran it hard and leaned out the engine and ate the plugs. If we had just set the timing right in the beginning we wouldnt have pulled all our hair out messing with the carbs and the plugs.

 

[obnoxious001]

View attachment 878898
Put the new wires in and put spark plug wire sleeves on them. Ones I toke off had holes melted in then from I’m guessing the heat from exhaust.


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Those water cooled manifolds should not, would not be melting spark plug boots unless timing was retarded so unburnt fuel was still ignited in the exhaust. Get someone else to check timing and see where it really is, 45 degrees likely would have burned pistons. 34-36 total, with the advance all in should work. Also maybe watch to make sure the mark is steady and not bouncing around.

 

[707dog]

far left field shot... have you changed out the water/fuel separator filter?