Using octane booster in remote areas with my L322

[jshanna]

HI all. Planning a long trip to Happy Valley/Goose Bay Labrador in the fall. In researching (and being a planning pessimist) I found that higher octane fuel is not always available. My L322 is an HSE with the 5.0L engine. Does anyone have experience or counsel about using octane boosters?
Thanks!

 

[llamalander]

Used to carry some when exploring in a WRX, never had to use it though.
Probably a good idea to confirm with the manufacturer what the shelf-life/storage conditions are and get an accurate measure of how much your full tank would need.

 

[alanymarce]

I wouldn't worry about for an occasional fill. Not ideal, and the consumption will increase, however the computer is supposed to adjust the timing to avoid problems. Depending on the route you take I think you'll find premium fuel enough of the time to be OK. If it makes you happy use the booster.

Not the same engine, however we frequently put lower octane fuel in our Montero 3.8 L when premium is not available, and have not seen any issues yet.

 

[rgallant]

I believe you only need 91, most stations should have 87 or 89 so you should be good.

 

[llamalander]

I've noticed much lower mileage when using gas with lower octane than required--obviously, YMMV

 

[AbleGuy]

Years ago I had a brand new POS Ford F150 4WD with the straight 6 engine that clattered and rattled and dieseled because regular gas (which it was supposed to burn) didn’t have high enough octane. Retarding the timing didn’t cure the issue.

The problem was only truly annoying when driving at high altitudes in the mountain west in states where the regular gasoline had the lowest octane in the US….or in the high desert on really hot days.

I learned to just carry a case of bottles of 104 Octane boost and to add that at every gas stop. It definitely helped.

They still make and sell it…might work for you

 

[gmtech]

i looked at couple bottles of different brands at the store a while back for my LR3 in same situations. none of the bottles gave you any ratio from say bringing 10 gallons of 87 to 93ish. they just say pour whole bottle in any size tank of gas .

 

[AbleGuy]

i looked at couple bottles of different brands at the store a while back for my LR3 in same situations. none of the bottles gave you any ratio from say bringing 10 gallons of 87 to 93ish. they just say pour whole bottle in any size tank of gas .

Yeah, it’s a Math thing.

But I was too lazy to calculate that out and just always dumped a bottle in per half tank (it was cheap enough to do that) and everything always seemed copacetic.

That was pre Google but I’d bet today some helpful nerd has the correct formula to get that ratio right posted online somewhere…