Octane is nother more than a fuels resistance to detonation - the higher the compression, the more resistance you need so the piston can get closer to TDC before the fuel explodes - there are two basic ways to accomplish this - add metals, lead, manganese, ferrocene, etc. (leaded fuels) or add hydrocarbons, toulene, benzine, ether, alcohols, etc. (unleaded fuel) - metal additives resist detonation AND NOTHING MORE - they are metals, they do not burn or create power or extend the lifespan of the fuel - they pass out the exhaust after combustion and that is why they are no longer used in highway vehicles - hydrocarbon additives do alot more - they resist detonation, they create power, and they extend the shelf life of fuel - unleaded race fuel is high in toulene, benzine, and ethers (I stay away from ALL alcohols) - when was the last time you had five gallons of race fuel go bad? - the higher hydrocarbon content is why they don't - when people say that high octane fuel only slows a motor down, it depends on the fuel - dynos have shown that on a 10.5:1 motor that is designed to run on pump gas, the highest horsepower reached was with unleaded race fuel at about 103 octane - the only fuel additive that I am aware of (and I've researched them all) that is pure hydrocarbons, is the Torco Acceleator - it is made up of toulene, benzine, and ethers - metal additives are usually combined with toulene, but I wouldn't use them unless I was running over 13:1 compression - before you use a fuel additive, do a MSDS on it so you know what is in it - stay away from anything that contains alcohol or ethanol - remember, there is absolutely nothing that will stop the phase separation process of alcohol/ethanol - you can slow it way down by raising the hydrocarbon content, but you will never stop it - I could write two pages on this topic and back up everything I've said with websites, but that is my 2 cents for now!!
