Dear Benz Friends:

I’ve got an 88’ 300TE Wagon and a 95’ E320 Wagon and with the price of premium gas (92-octane), which is required in these cars, I’m curious if anybody has experimented using a lower octane in combination with an octane booster. A bottle of octane booster per tank of regular lead free gas would be substantially cheaper than a tank of premium.

Back in the 80’s I had a 72’ 280 SE 4.5 I routinely used octane booster in combination with 92-octane premium and it ran like a bat out of hell. I did begin to have some engine problems with the car after years of owning it and wondered if I’d caused the problem running this gasoline and additive combination, or if it was just the 500K miles on it.

Anybody have any words of wisdom on this?

Thanks,

Mb300se65

i believe unless you buy the good stuff, it only raises the octane one number to like 88 octane instead of 87. I believe the cost would be more to make 87 become 93 octane.

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1984 300SD Orient Red/ Palomino
1989 560SEC
2016 Mazda 6 6 speed manual
1995 Ford F-150 reg cab 4.9 5speed manual

A single bottle of octane booster will not take a tank from 87 to anywhere near 92. Read the back of the bottle carefully to see how much you need to add to get the number printed on the front. I've seen 20%. Four gallons of fuel, one gallon of booster. How much does one gallon of octane boost cost?

I'm not really sure what the booster cost or what the octane ratings are of the lesser gas. It's been so long since I've bought anything but premium I haven't really paid attention. Thinking about this earlier today it seemed like a great idea, but it sounds like it's probably not a feasible plan if the numbers don’t add up.

No way this can be cheaper.

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Kent Christensen
Albuquerque
'07 GL320CDI, '10 CL550. '01 Porsche Boxster
Two BMW motorcycles

Around my part of this country, premium gas is only 5% more than regular. That's 93 octane vs 87.

Back a long time ago, when fuel prices were not based on the radically hedged oil futures, that difference was more like 20%.

Premium gas seems cheap, relatively!

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1987 300SDL (324000)

1986 Porsche 951 (944 Turbo) (166000)

1978 Porsche 924 (99000)

1996 Nissan Pathfinder R50 (201000)

Where do you live? Here in Oregon premium is selling for around $4.45 and regular unleaded is $4.23.

PLEASE read the back label on the "Octane Boost"product...You do not want
anything that contains:Alcohol.
(AND 99% of them do)

__________________
'84 300SD sold
124.128

and here in oregon premium is only 91 octane.

We have 92 octane where I buy gas at a Chevron station, which is in Corvallis. I'm up in the coast range between Alsea and Waldport about 20 minute from the ocean and I honestly haven't seen premium at 91 octane other than in Northern CA.

That's only 5%.

In the old days, meaning about 10 years ago...Gas was 1.05 and premium 1.25. Today, it averages 4.00 for regular and ~4.20 for premium. 5 vs 20%.

I live on the NH seacoast. But I take it up the rear since I mostly drive diesels (average is about 4.80 I'd say).

__________________
1987 300SDL (324000)

1986 Porsche 951 (944 Turbo) (166000)

1978 Porsche 924 (99000)

1996 Nissan Pathfinder R50 (201000)