87 octane in a 450

[kodiak]

I got 6Qts of Boostane for Lake Powell but have not used it yet.

[MLA]

So I'm curious if any of you are running octane boosters and if so, what kind? My boat will have the XR550 engine and I can imagine there may be some times when 93 octane isn't available on a lake.

I've done a bit of research and was considering having a few cans of this Torco on the boat just in case but was curious what you all do.

http://www.torcousa.com/torco_product/un_acce.html

http://torcoracefuel.net/2-docs/acce...lend-chart.pdf

Snake oil

[kopp210]

I was looking into octane boosters at napa in preparation for a trip. The only one they would recommend was the Lucas oil product. When they talk "points" that is 0.1 octane so 4 points on 87 would be 87.4

PCM said to buy a reputable product and follow it's mixing instructions to get you as close as possible to 93.


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[Beach-TJ]

450 has a higher CR than the 409? I like to know how you determined that... Pretty sure the only differences between the 6.0L's (409/450) are the intake, cam and tune.

The rant above is mostly true in regards to octane... But it does not take into consideration that some engines can advance/retard timing in response to the octane being used. Timing changes CAN improve or detract from performance. I have it on good authority that the 450 will essentially revert to the 409 tune if lower octane fuel is used... I do believe it is safe to do so, but will not provide optimal performance.

I'm curious about the differences between the 409 and 450, especially the cam change you mention. With only a 10% increase in power I always figured there was just a tweak of the intake, possibly exhaust, and tune/ecm program. I would like to hear more about the cam change. I would expect a cam change to provide more than just a 10% increase in power, unless it was used to give the 6.0L some bottom end. Do you know anything about how the profile changed between the 409 and 450?

Thanks,
Bryan

[TRBenj]

87 octane in a 450

A big cam change can in fact make a big difference in power output- both peak #'s and the rpm at which it occurs (not to mention area under the curve). Notice that PCM was able to boost hp by 41hp without raising the powerband (peak hp still occurs at 5600). I'm guessing that was one of the primary goals when developing the engine.

I did not ask about specifics on the 450 cam, but I do know it was developed specifically for PCM- it is not an off the shelf part.

[jsta281]

I was wondering if anyone is running 87 with there 450's and would it hurt anything long term? I went from a 04 210 with a 330 and I am now burning in a day what I would in a weekend. LOL I am averaging over 120 a day and was wondering if I could run 87?

What is your altitude? This is the single biggest factor on if you can drop octane and not run into concerns with the computer pulling timing as a result of knocking or detonation. The higher the altitude the lower the atmospheric pressure requiring less octane. If the ZR 450 can run 91 at sea level (as recommended by PCM) then it can certainly run 89 probably 87 say at 4200 ft. As has been suggested factor tuning is always "soft" or "safe" so anyone running more octane then suggested by PCM is throwing their money away for zero performance gain.

With that said, if you are at sea level, given the fact that the 450 probably gets most of its hp bump over the 409 by running at "hotter" cam and more timing I would not run anything less at low elevation.

[jsta281]

87 octane in a 450

So I'm curious if any of you are running octane boosters and if so, what kind? My boat will have the XR550 engine and I can imagine there may be some times when 93 octane isn't available on a lake.

I've done a bit of research and was considering having a few cans of this Torco on the boat just in case but was curious what you all do.

http://www.torcousa.com/torco_product/un_acce.html

http://torcoracefuel.net/2-docs/acce...lend-chart.pdf

Torco is an excellent product I have used for years in my mustang. If you search Torco on here you will find a long post from me with links to other info on what you can do with it to increase octane. There is slot of "snake oil" out there when it comes to octane booster but you can use Torco with confidence, but please read the independent testing I linked for proper understanding of what " pump " octane can be achieved at various mix ratios.

I personally did not follow the Torco chart you listed.

[jsta281]

From my previous posts on the subject of Torco

You can buy Torco by the 32 oz can or 5 gal pail the 5 gal pail is MUCH cheaper. A 5 gal pail shipped is $250 if interested check here

http://www.jbsblownc5.net/

I use "a lot" because I need to take 91 oct pump to 96+. Obviously it takes a lot less to only get a few more octane points.

One other thing: I think the charts you will see regarding mix ratios from Torco Are overstated to some extent. I do not follow their ratio charts. You can find a lot of data on modularfords.com forums.

This is what I go by
http://www.modularfords.com/f107/tor...le-tech-94528/