It’s been years, decades even but I used to run both substitute lead and octane booster in my MGB. Ran so much of it the gas was BLUE. It helped, but like you said just the booster is not an enormous difference, you certainly wouldn’t tune for 93, just run it if you have pinging etc.
we only have 91 out here, no 93 at all exists once you get much past Dallas all the way to Cali, but I haven’t felt the need to run any booster in either r53. It won’t hurt anything though if you wanted to test it out. I do recommend adding the booster before you put the fuel nozzle in so that it mixes well as you add fuel.

 

I think more important than octane rating is gas quality. I usually run Costco 93 premium (still “Top Tier” fuel) in my R55, but I was visiting the parents, and on the way home needed to stop for gas. The station near their house is a VP that only had non-ethanol 90 octane. I was nervous, but filled up anyway. I was surprised how well the car ran on that stuff. The engine ran so smooth and strong on that tank of fuel.

If you have a gas station nearby that supplies really good fuel, I would go that route before relying on those additive bottles.

 

I have run 91 non-ethanol in my R56 and on the track found no difference to the 93 in top speeds, which would indicate Hp. Also, as mentioned, both the R50 and R56 seem to “like” the 91 non-ethanol better. That said, I would just run the 91 and not bother with the boosters.

 

During my young adult years - I remember listening to some car guys talk about octane boosters/additives as being nothing more than Naptha, Xylene, Toluene or even Acetone or lacquer thinner.
I didn't know enough so I never dared try it. Later in life during my professional career; I became accustom in working with a variety of RTV's and catalyzed rubber compounds (silicone, latex, urethane, EPU ...etc...), and had often used some of the chemicals noted above as reducers and solvents depending on our application/objectives.
With respect to "rubber" (seals/gaskets) - It's not hard to imagine the effect that some of these chemicals actually have on various types of compounds/materials. That was back in the not so distant "olden days"...

I have no idea what any of these 'off the shelf 'octane boosters (claim)contain these days.
' leaves me uninformed and indifferent I suppose.
Perhaps "safe" in moderation?

Edit: I've always had the luxury of having the availability of 93 octane where I've lived. So my Mini has always run on 93.
Back in early 2021 when the attack on Colonial Pipeline occurred - our only option was 87 regular for about a couple of months.
Luckily I still had a half a tank of 93 left and as my work hours had been reduced (COVID), I was able to manage through the drought by adding only 4gal of 87 (mixed with 93 in the tank), to get me by.
Yep - BIG noticeable drop in performance.

 

Thanks for the reply guys. One of the reasons I asked is that sometimes, not always and pretty infrequently, I do feel like I hear some very subtle pings or knocks. It's always while close to wide open throttle which is not something that I do all that often. I was wondering if some of the newer products that are touted to be race fuel additives might be better than like the STP junk. Things like Boostane where there is a table to figure out your starting and ending octane values so you can control the actual additive precisely enough to achieve 93 or 94 octane.

Another question that I have for folks who know a lot about detailing products is if anyone knows of a quick detailer that does not contain wax or silicone? I cannot wax my new paint until it fully outgasses and cures. So I have something like another two and a half months to wait before I can do that, but I would like to use a detailer because it gets water spots and things like that off of the surface really nicely. Looked at chemical guys, but sometimes their descriptions don't really tell you that sort of info.

 

Understood. The meguirs quick detailer (blue) from smell seemed to be alcohol based. I can’t find it but it was my favorite. Haven’t been able to find it locally for about 2 years.

CG speed detailer (pink) doesn’t seem have any silicone either.

however they all seem to have some sort of wax in there, which is what you are trying to avoid for the first two months.

 

My understanding from reading about knock sensors (a long time ago) is that they need to “hear” a little knock in order to know what the upper limit is to the engine operation with the gas that is being used, along with other things (ie: boost pressure). Once they hear that, things are adjusted to keep that from happening again; all part of the “learning” process the ECU goes through. It is possible that is what you are hearing, and that would be normal.

I believe the MINIs are designed to run on a minimum of 91 octane. That may be in the owner’s manual. If so, I wouldn’t worry about it.

 

Thanks for the replies! Just sent AdrianCL a message, it's that time, I think.

 

My search for a wax and silicone-free detailer has been successful - at least I hope so!



Just bought some 3D 503 detail spray from Amazon. Pulled the SDS off of the manufacturer's website and it has no silicone nor any type of wax that I could see in the ingredients list. Alcohol for cleaning, a glycol derivative for shine, some colorant and bubble gum scent. Should be just what I need until I can begin waxing. Taco says no wax for 120 days, and the clear went on the hood August 4th, so I still have 91 days. I should be able to apply the first coat of wax on December 3rd. I will still use a silicone-free detailer after that though - I still need to paint quite a few panels and silicone is notorious for producing fish eyes - even with good prep practices!

 

Found a donor door on eBay from a Texas IB car for a hundred bucks with $125 for shipping, not a bad deal considering what Allmag wants for parts and shipping these days. If you are looking for more affordable sheet metal or other parts, goes by RPM Mini Pro on eBay.



Door was in great shape, just a few small dings to patch up and one that was likely caused in shipping due to a bolt between the sheet metal toward the bottom making a high spot. Got it sorted and ready for paint yesterday.



Today was paint. I was waiting for it to warm up because today was the last day forecast to make it to 75. However, the sun never came out and it never got much above 71. This was probably the last day warm enough to paint, so I dragged out a heater and have been going back and forth between spraying a coat and running the heater. Once coat of sealer on the sanded and spot primed door (all of the old clear off the outside skin, and a light coat of SEM etching primer on bare metal spots. The Tamco forever seal is DTM, but better safe I suppose. Then 3 coats of color on the outside and 2 on the inner surface (where no one will see - lol) and 2 on the inner sides, top, and bottom. Then the same deal with the clear - Tamco 4100... the stuff makes this noob look like a pro. One medium wet coat on both sides, a second coat on both sides, and then one final wet coat on the outside. I think I see one very slight very small run near the door handle opening. Laid out like glass. Will leave the heater on all night to make sure it degasses correctly. I should only have to spot nib - shouldn't have to buff the whole thing - came out that SMOOOOOTH!

 

Man, you make it look easy. ButI know full well it isn’t.
well done!

 

Actually, it's not rock science. I'm a geologist, so I can say that.

Once you have the tools and put in a bit of practice, it's pretty straightforward. Prep is key though. You have to be CDO enough to put the letters in alphabetical order. I think you would be fine with painting - your level of detail in your projects is just astonishing, and that's what painting takes! Methodical, detail oriented - that, and a good sized compressor! Though with the gun I use, anything bigger than 15 gallon with more than 4cfm would do a whole car.

 

That is a very nice compliment, thank you!

 

From my discovered cache of vehicle brand promo videos, this short one is for Joe. Other than being R50 vs R53, perhaps recalls back to your day #1 of new ownership. Very pretty color, then and now!