The NOS "Racing Formula" is the one I have been using.
The Idaho Corvette Page interviewed Jim Bell, who runs Kenne-Bell Performance Products, a manufacturer of aftermarket supercharger kits. In developing blower kits and supporting the customers who buy them, Kenne-Bell has tested many octane boosters. â??Donâ??t waste your time with boosters that use alcohol because they donâ??t do anything,â? Bell told us. â??The ones that say they have lead in them, donâ??t work, either, because the amount of lead is so small. The only boosters weâ??ve found to be worthwhile are those that use MMT and one we recommend is the NOS brand.â?
MMT stands forâ???try this tongue twister: methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl. Once viewed as a possible replacement for TEL, while not as potent, it still increases octane and, in large quantities, can eliminate valve seat recession. While itâ??s used in Canada, MMT is ignored by refiners in the U.S. in favor of other antidetonants, mainly because itâ??s illegal in areas where RFG is required and a few refiners feel its long-term use might compromise engine life. MMT is shunned by car companies due to durability concerns about components in on-board diagnostic and emissions control systems and questioned by the EPA as a possible health hazard. Nevertheless, in 1995, MMT was allowed on the U.S. market with some restrictions after its manufacturer won a Federal court case against the EPA. At this writing almost no U.S. refiners add MMT to gasoline, but it is the key ingredient in a few canned octane boosters.
The Idaho Corvette Page acquired octane booster test data from an independent research laboratory. The first test was straight 92-octane unleaded gas from a Chevron station in southern California. It tested at 96.3 RON and 88.3 MON for an R+M/2 rating of 92.3, 0.3-oct. higher than the rating on the pump. To a second sample of Chevron 92 from the same station, the lab added â??104 Octane Boostâ?. The octane of the gasoline modified with this booster was unchanged. The lab tested a third sample of Chevron 92 and NOS brand â??Street Formulaâ?, a MMT octane booster, mixed 1:170 (12-oz. bottle in 16 gal. of gas). The results were: 96.8 RON, 88.4 MON and 92.6 R+M/2, a measurable change but, clearly, as the MON went up only 0.1-oct, not a practical improvement. NOSâ?? most potent booster, â??Racing Formulaâ?, another MMT-based product, in Chevron 92, tested at 98.5 RON, 90.4 MON and 94.5 R+M/2, a credible but modest improvement.
