[JoshuaHyperblue2ss]

So, will running a higher octane fuel protect or help with IATs etc if the car has a 91 tune or am i just wasting money putting it in at the track and stick to what the car was tuned to.

I read that higher octane can actually slow cars down as well.

[JANNETTYRACING]

Originally Posted by JoshuaHyperblue2ss

So, will running a higher octane fuel protect or help with IATs etc if the car has a 91 tune or am i just wasting money putting it in at the track and stick to what the car was tuned to.

I read that higher octane can actually slow cars down as well.

Running Higher octane is always beneficial and safer for a high compression boosted application.

Yes you would run different timing values to take advantage of the higher octane then produce more power.

Ted.

[Buzzmanb12]

To add to what Ted says...
It will help the car by letting you run more timing if it is tuned for it.
You won't notice any gains by running it at the track untuned, it may by chance help keep from pulling timing due to knock retard though.

[ProCharger]

100/101 will be a nice addition to your engine.

But yes, using something like C16 with the low timing you are running would be a waste of $$$

[TJay74]

Higher octane will help protect against detonation that is caused by higher IAT values that the ECM doesnt compensate for, in reality though the IAT map is pretty aggressive once you get over 86° in regards to timing reduction. That doesnt even get into the KR timing retard the ECM adds if it notices a knock event.

As Ted and other said, higher octane can help, but too high octane can cause you to make less power if the engine isnt built and or tuned for the need of higher octane fuel.

We dont have 93 here in Oklahoma anymore, so I run 5 gallons of 100 octane and then top off with a tank of 91 octane to get me around 94 octane. I really cant see needing more than 95/96 octane on a stock motor even if it has been tuned some. The benefits of more timing are very slim on the LT1 engine, there just isnt that much extra timing that can be added and it produce more power.

Trade off to higher octane fuel is it burns slower, the higher the octane the slower it burns. That is how it combats detonation in the combustion chamber. Detonation is caused when something gets hot enough in the combustion chamber to self ignite the fuel/air charge before the actual spark plug fires to ignite it. This happens milliseconds before the spark plug fires. This causes one flame front to start to burn across the combustion chamber, then when the spark plug ignites the mixture another separate flame front comes across the combustion chamber as well. When they meet it causes a "collision" of sorts, that is the sound of audible detonation at times. Detonation can also be quiet enough you cant hear it but it is still happening.

This is the knock sensors listen for and with that info they reduce the timing until the detonation event stops.

I wouldnt run a whole tank of 101 octane race gas, but you sure can add 4-7 gallons of it and get your overall octane to around 94-96 octane. That should be enough to provide a safe cushion for performance.

The Camaro SS tank is 19.5 gallons.

Easy math to see what octane you will end up with, this will get you close.

6 gallons of 101 will give you 606 octane points. If the rest of the tank is normal ole 91 octane than the remaining 13.5 gallons at 91 octane will give you another 1228.5 octane points.

Together that is 1834.5 octane points, divide it by the 19.5 gallon tank and you end up with 94 octane.

7 gallons of 101 and the rest 91 will get you 94.6 octane
8 gallons of 101 and the rest 91 will get you 95.1 octane.
9 gallons of 101 and the rest 91 will get you 95.6 octane.
10 gallons of 101 and the rest 91 will get you 96 octane.

If you do it this way on the next fill up since you will be starting from a higher octane rating it will take less 101 to keep the octane level up. There are some sights that do the calculation for you.