What do Bay Area Tuners/Mechanics think about Torco?
07-21-2008, 11:07 AM
#1
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What do Bay Area Tuners/Mechanics think about Torco?
Question for the Tuners/Mechanics out here in BAIC (LIC/EQ/GST/DBTuned/DIY tuners/mechanics,etc).
What are your thoughts on Torco octane booster/additive? I know that it will bump up the octane rating (which is great for 91 octane) - However, I have read reports that using this stuff can leaves an orange residue on the spark plugs....
Is this bad for the engine? Any negative implications? Have anyone opened up a Subaru Motor and seen damage caused by Torco?
I'm considering having an additional accessport mapped tuned to run on 91+Torco so I can just pour in the Torco every once in a while, switch maps and have a bit extra fun. I would rather use 100+ octane but there are no pumps in my area and buying drums would be a major pita, the Torco is a much simpler solution.
Please post up your experience/educated opinion! Thanks.
What are your thoughts on Torco octane booster/additive? I know that it will bump up the octane rating (which is great for 91 octane) - However, I have read reports that using this stuff can leaves an orange residue on the spark plugs....
Is this bad for the engine? Any negative implications? Have anyone opened up a Subaru Motor and seen damage caused by Torco?I'm considering having an additional accessport mapped tuned to run on 91+Torco so I can just pour in the Torco every once in a while, switch maps and have a bit extra fun. I would rather use 100+ octane but there are no pumps in my area and buying drums would be a major pita, the Torco is a much simpler solution.
Please post up your experience/educated opinion! Thanks.
07-21-2008, 11:56 AM
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i think this would be best left for the tuners to answer.
here our my thoughts and they are nothing more than thoughts:
cost of a tuned map + torco vs. what overall benefit?
How to get the mixture 100% correct each time, this seams like a big deal to me, b/c when you get it tuned vs. real life (tank is 1/4 full, 1/2 full, crappy gas vs. decent gas, etc...) can make all the difference in the world. IMHO but again I'm not a tuner.
I'm sure others can shed more light.
Thanks,
Noah
here our my thoughts and they are nothing more than thoughts:
cost of a tuned map + torco vs. what overall benefit?
How to get the mixture 100% correct each time, this seams like a big deal to me, b/c when you get it tuned vs. real life (tank is 1/4 full, 1/2 full, crappy gas vs. decent gas, etc...) can make all the difference in the world. IMHO but again I'm not a tuner.
I'm sure others can shed more light.
Thanks,
Noah
07-21-2008, 12:20 PM
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dont know about torco, but im personally using methanol injection.
have you looked into spraying methanol injection instead? you could always switch the map back to the 91 octane map and turn off the pump for the meth kit if you were to run out/dont want to spray.
have you looked into spraying methanol injection instead? you could always switch the map back to the 91 octane map and turn off the pump for the meth kit if you were to run out/dont want to spray.
07-21-2008, 12:56 PM
#4
Torco is the only additive I've tried that actually does work and raise the effective octane significantly. You can definitely make more power with it and its great for curing the occasional bad tank of gas. The high MMT content does, however, leave a thick orange residue not only on the spark plugs but also all over your UP, turbo exhaust housing and downpipe. The residue is somewhat similar to the white residue left behind by leaded fuel and increases significantly with regular use. Although I've heard of people running Torco regularly without any long term problems with plug fouling, I imagine the residue is not good for plugs, O2 sensors, and potentially even the turbo in the long run if you use it regularly. Occasional use shouldn't be a problem though.
Thanks
Thanks
07-21-2008, 12:59 PM
#5
i think this would be best left for the tuners to answer.
here our my thoughts and they are nothing more than thoughts:
cost of a tuned map + torco vs. what overall benefit?
How to get the mixture 100% correct each time, this seams like a big deal to me, b/c when you get it tuned vs. real life (tank is 1/4 full, 1/2 full, crappy gas vs. decent gas, etc...) can make all the difference in the world. IMHO but again I'm not a tuner.
I'm sure others can shed more light.
Thanks,
Noah
here our my thoughts and they are nothing more than thoughts:
cost of a tuned map + torco vs. what overall benefit?
How to get the mixture 100% correct each time, this seams like a big deal to me, b/c when you get it tuned vs. real life (tank is 1/4 full, 1/2 full, crappy gas vs. decent gas, etc...) can make all the difference in the world. IMHO but again I'm not a tuner.
I'm sure others can shed more light.
Thanks,
Noah
Thanks
07-21-2008, 01:39 PM
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We did some extensive tests with Torco for the SWGT effort earlier this year. What I can say is that the Torco did raise the effect octane as advertised. After our testing we removed the motor so we could inspect more than the obvious (plugs, sensors etc) and the build up inside the cylinder head was enough to convince me that I would never use the stuff again. On the other hand we were using conciderably more of it per tank than I would anticipate a street car using but we were adviced that the mix we used was more than safe to do.
If anyone wants some of this stuff to try let me know, I have a 5 gallon pale of it with about 1/2 a gallon used. If someone wants a couple of 32oz fills of it have at it for free.
Mike
If anyone wants some of this stuff to try let me know, I have a 5 gallon pale of it with about 1/2 a gallon used. If someone wants a couple of 32oz fills of it have at it for free.
Mike
07-21-2008, 02:07 PM
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Torco is the only additive I've tried that actually does work and raise the effective octane significantly. You can definitely make more power with it and its great for curing the occasional bad tank of gas. The high MMT content does, however, leave a thick orange residue not only on the spark plugs but also all over your UP, turbo exhaust housing and downpipe. The residue is somewhat similar to the white residue left behind by leaded fuel and increases significantly with regular use. Although I've heard of people running Torco regularly without any long term problems with plug fouling, I imagine the residue is not good for plugs, O2 sensors, and potentially even the turbo in the long run if you use it regularly. Occasional use shouldn't be a problem though.
Getting a consistant mixture is fairly simple with something like Torco. First you decide what percent torco you want to run. Most people tend to run 1 can per tank full although to get the full octane effect, you can run up to 2 cans per full tank. So you decide how much you want to run, add the torco, fill up the rest of the way with pump gas and you're good to go. There will always be slight variations because all pumps stop at slightly different times, but that small of a margin shouldn't be a problem unless the tune is extremely aggressive.
Thanks
Getting a consistant mixture is fairly simple with something like Torco. First you decide what percent torco you want to run. Most people tend to run 1 can per tank full although to get the full octane effect, you can run up to 2 cans per full tank. So you decide how much you want to run, add the torco, fill up the rest of the way with pump gas and you're good to go. There will always be slight variations because all pumps stop at slightly different times, but that small of a margin shouldn't be a problem unless the tune is extremely aggressive.
Thanks
We did some extensive tests with Torco for the SWGT effort earlier this year. What I can say is that the Torco did raise the effect octane as advertised. After our testing we removed the motor so we could inspect more than the obvious (plugs, sensors etc) and the build up inside the cylinder head was enough to convince me that I would never use the stuff again. On the other hand we were using conciderably more of it per tank than I would anticipate a street car using but we were adviced that the mix we used was more than safe to do.
If anyone wants some of this stuff to try let me know, I have a 5 gallon pale of it with about 1/2 a gallon used. If someone wants a couple of 32oz fills of it have at it for free.
Mike
If anyone wants some of this stuff to try let me know, I have a 5 gallon pale of it with about 1/2 a gallon used. If someone wants a couple of 32oz fills of it have at it for free.
Mike
Also, how much were you using?
07-21-2008, 02:41 PM
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Well depending on the amount of build up you could raise the static compression slightly.
Something else that was odd that we noticed when taking fuel samples was that there was a sediment that would build up and sink to the bottom of the sample bottle over a 24hr period of sitting. If you shake the bottle it was barely visable to the nakid eye.
Mike
Something else that was odd that we noticed when taking fuel samples was that there was a sediment that would build up and sink to the bottom of the sample bottle over a 24hr period of sitting. If you shake the bottle it was barely visable to the nakid eye.
Mike
07-21-2008, 10:34 PM
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I ran 100 OCT Torco on my car for 6 months or so. (The kind that you get at 76 in Redwood city).
I had my plugs changed a few weeks ago and my plugs were very coated in red stuff. The car runs better now with new plugs and running VP 93 & 100.
I agree with not using Torco as a daily fuel.
I had my plugs changed a few weeks ago and my plugs were very coated in red stuff. The car runs better now with new plugs and running VP 93 & 100.
I agree with not using Torco as a daily fuel.
07-23-2008, 11:41 AM
#13
Yep... water injection has the opposite effect and actually tends to clean out the internals 
. Of course the drawback is that you're now entrusting your engine safety to a secondary fueling system. The nice thing about race gas and/or Torco is that they run through the factory fuel system and thus don't have the same risk as a meth/water injection system.
. Of course the drawback is that you're now entrusting your engine safety to a secondary fueling system. The nice thing about race gas and/or Torco is that they run through the factory fuel system and thus don't have the same risk as a meth/water injection system.
07-23-2008, 04:12 PM
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Torco used to be cheap. Now it's not. Also, meth/WI used to be poorly understood and only the Turbo Buick guys were using it.
The end-all consensus on Torco: It works, but it's expensive so why use it when water injection is like, free?
The end-all consensus on Torco: It works, but it's expensive so why use it when water injection is like, free?
12-14-2009, 01:26 PM
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I heard that the octane additives, do raise the octane level, but do not change the vaporization point of the fuel, and that it is just better to get vp high octane like 96 or 98. Can anyone expand on this...?