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E Coupe C207, ML W166, ML W164, Sprinter 1500/144, W111 SB220 Fintail(s), A5 chassis Beetle 5+5
Normally, I would say no. Octane boosters in a can are a joke. They raise octane so many "points", but that's actually a point (.), 1/10th of an actual octane point.
It's physically impossible to raise a tank of low octane with a few ounces of additive, NO MATTER WHAT IT IS. A good octane booster is Xylene, but you need gallons of it to raise the octane in a tank of gas. That's how it used to be....
Now, you can go and get E85, which is VERY misunderstood. It's not 85 octane, the labeling system is dumb, as it overlaps with RON system of 87/89/91/93....it's confusing.
E85 is actually approx 85% ethanol. That makes it 105-110 octane, and it cools the mix as it evaporates, so it's awesome in turbo engines, especially ones tuned for it.
I had the APR tune in my Audi allroad, it was insane. I don't think the MB 2.0T is full E85 "Flex Fuel" compatible, but you can splash a tank with 2-3 gallons of E85, and it will boost the octane, just like Xylene would IF you add gallons of it, not ounces of it like they sell at AutoZone.
You can experiment with 87 or 89 octane plus a few gallons of E85, and see how that works for you. I use it all the time, it cleans the engine and fuel system very well....I havent' bought Techron in years, and my cars run like a bear. When I had my old V6 M112 non-turbo, which was full Flex Fuel, the best mix was 1/3 each of 87, E85 and 93. I do the same in my MB 3.5, and save $10 a tank of gas. Here in PA, E85 is about $2.60 a gallon, and 93 is $3.70, but 88 octane (15% ethanol) is the best deal, at $2.80....it's subsidized and $.10c LESS than 87. In Florida it's actually $.10c more than 87....ymmv.
In my turbo Metris or my GLA when I had it, I would use the E85 with 93 to boost octane even higher. You could easily do the same with 89 plus E85, as a cost-cutting mix. That's about 2 gallons of E. It will work nicely, but do you have E available? I gave you my best answer to the octane question. Use it as you will. In my tests with the old non-turbo, E85 is about 20% cheaper than super, but gives -10% less mpg, a net gain of 10% economy. Again, 1/3 of each worked best. If you have any questions, let me know.
What's the price structure where you are? It's not like you will save a ton of money, but it's a good idea to at least try.
Normally, I would say no. Octane boosters in a can are a joke. They raise octane so many "points", but that's actually a point (.), 1/10th of an actual octane point.
It's physically impossible to raise a tank of low octane with a few ounces of additive, NO MATTER WHAT IT IS. A good octane booster is Xylene, but you need gallons of it to raise the octane in a tank of gas. That's how it used to be....
Now, you can go and get E85, which is VERY misunderstood. It's not 85 octane, the labeling system is dumb, as it overlaps with RON system of 87/89/91/93....it's confusing.
E85 is actually approx 85% ethanol. That makes it 105-110 octane, and it cools the mix as it evaporates, so it's awesome in turbo engines, especially ones tuned for it.
I had the APR tune in my Audi allroad, it was insane. I don't think the MB 2.0T is full E85 "Flex Fuel" compatible, but you can splash a tank with 2-3 gallons of E85, and it will boost the octane, just like Xylene would IF you add gallons of it, not ounces of it like they sell at AutoZone.
You can experiment with 87 or 89 octane plus a few gallons of E85, and see how that works for you. I use it all the time, it cleans the engine and fuel system very well....I havent' bought Techron in years, and my cars run like a bear. When I had my old V6 M112 non-turbo, which was full Flex Fuel, the best mix was 1/3 each of 87, E85 and 93. I do the same in my MB 3.5, and save $10 a tank of gas. Here in PA, E85 is about $2.60 a gallon, and 93 is $3.70, but 88 octane (15% ethanol) is the best deal, at $2.80....it's subsidized and $.10c LESS than 87. In Florida it's actually $.10c more than 87....ymmv.
In my turbo Metris or my GLA when I had it, I would use the E85 with 93 to boost octane even higher. You could easily do the same with 89 plus E85, as a cost-cutting mix. That's about 2 gallons of E. It will work nicely, but do you have E available? I gave you my best answer to the octane question. Use it as you will. In my tests with the old non-turbo, E85 is about 20% cheaper than super, but gives -10% less mpg, a net gain of 10% economy. Again, 1/3 of each worked best. If you have any questions, let me know.
What's the price structure where you are? It's not like you will save a ton of money, but it's a good idea to at least try.
=============
I live in Tampa, Floria. What I am looking is to save something on gas since that 2018 GLA 250 I recently purchased is a dragon! I drive no more than 20 miles and the gas run out of it!.... so do you think mixing half of E85 and 89 would be ok? I can try it this weekend.
E Coupe C207, ML W166, ML W164, Sprinter 1500/144, W111 SB220 Fintail(s), A5 chassis Beetle 5+5
Ethanol is less dense than gas, so the engine needs a greater ratio of this fuel than gas. Full Flex Fuel engines have bigger injectors and program to compensate for pure E85 by adding more fuel to the mix.
Non-Flex engines aren't able to adjust enough for really high percentage of E, so you are limited to about 2 gallons without getting a code for lean condition. Half E85 is too much, imo.
So, 2 gallons of E85 and the rest 89 should be more than enough to boost you past 91 octane! Even if you decide to go back to super 91 gas, the E will clean out the fuel system and inside the engine for you.
Let me know how it runs. I dont' have my GLA anymore, but my Metris has a 2.0T, and I use E all the time. I used to fill a few jugs of it to take home, which is perfect since I only use a little bit. Now I have a station nearby, so I just buy it as needed. Sometimes I bump into other drivers filling jugs of it, usually Audi or BMW owners. Again, very few people understand E85, and there was oil company propaganda against it a few years ago, so some guys think it's bad....they are jokers.
Give it a while for the engine to adjust fully and let us know how it works, it should actually be better than 91 gas.
You should NOT use E85 in a car that hasn't been equipped to handle E85 because you can seriously damage your fuel system. Damaging your fuel system will be a very expensive mistake that'll cost far more to repair than the few pennies you'll be saving by running on regular fuel that your GLA was NOT designed to run on. The compression ratio of your engine is what dictates that it use only 91 octane. MB is death on any kind of fuel additives and so was my engineer and SAE member father. If your GLA is using an excessive amount of gas then you need to investigate what might be the cause of that.
Right on cue, someone without knowledge nor experience chiming in about a technical issue because they think they can learn everything from a page in the outdated owner's manual.
And right on cue someone with no technical training thinking he knows better than the factory regarding fueling. The logic is "I done this and the motor done didn't blowed up" so all is good.
How do you handle the fact E85 can have an ethanol content of between 51% and 83%?
I tried to look for an answer on this forum before posting it but I couldn't find anything related to my questions.
I wonder if I can stop fueling the car with 91 gas and up and use something like 89 but adding an octane booster to it. Is it safe doing it?
Use the grade of octane gasoline called for by the factory. While you can use say 89 and add an octane booster I think if you research this you'll find it not cost effective.
Boostane is a "good" octane booster and here's a link to a chart that shows you how much octane booster to use per gallon of gas to get the desired octane:
I am *not* recommending you use Boostane. I haven't bothered to check but generally automakers are against any fuel (or oil) additives.
Boostane is good in that it works but it uses MMT. Reports are by those who have used this and then for one reason or another have had to tear down the engine report the additive coats all combustion chamber surfaces with a red colored deposit. Pretty sure this includes the O2 sensors and converter surfaces too.
So to repeat use the grade of gasoline called for by the factory. I'm pretty sure the factory also limits how much ethanol the engine is capable of safely "consuming" so unless E15 or even E85 (this would almost certainly require your vehicle to be a flex fuel vehicle) stay with E10 at a maximum.
I believe in another post you are concerned about gas mileage? If so bear in mind gas mileage is pretty much related to how the vehicle is driven. Lots of idling, after cold start or in traffic, or the flip side is operating the engine at higher RPMs and this includes using a heavy foot on the gas pedal, will raise gasoline consumption quite a bit. On longer drives a lower speed is beneficial. You can see this by viewing the gas consumption display with the vehicle at say 70mph vs. 65mph.
Maintaining the vehicle properly is important. Keeping the tires properly inflated and replacing the engine air filter and fuel filter at the scheduled times helps the engine be more fuel efficient and just a better running engine.
What a joker. Now you speak for Mercedes engineers because your daddy worked on cars, lol.
Guess what, "engineers" don't write the owner's manual, bean counters and the marketing department do. They write it for old ladies and single moms. You can't even be bothered to quote directly from it, because you're sooo knowledgeable.
Let me explain it slowly for you, like if you were 9 years old, because that's how you act. ALL engines and fuel systems since 1978 have been engineered for ethanol....end of story. Just because you drive an old clunker and never used E85, and you have no experience with it, and not have you even bothered to research it, since no body is around to explain it to you.
I'm open to any technical argument both pro and con, but you nave none. Just because you lack the ability to understand newer tech doesn't mean other people can't figure it out.
Let me help you a little bit more, so you can stfu and actually learn something for once in your life. The fuel systems for Flex Fuel and non-Flex cars have THE EXACT SAME PART NUMBERS DUMMY! They are the same right up to the fuel injectors. Have you bothered to check it out yourself, or are you depending on what some old fart thinks maybe because they thought they heard something in SAE class? You don't even know where to begin, but you come into a conversation like you're the boss and know everything about the subject, I can tell you for a fact that you DO NOT KNOW SQUAT.
Is that enough? Are you willing to listen and learn, or are you going to keep spouting stupid stories? You haven't posted a single useful item yet, and I'm not holding my breath. Mercedes owners are the worst, and the most pejorative and ill-informed people in the auto industry, and you are the poster boy for thinking you know something when you don't.
Now, go to the back of the class and put your head down on the desk while the rest of us move ahead with developing their knowledge base.
You need to knock off your bad attitude and your nasty, insulting personal attacks. You're acting worse than a 2 year old. Your nasty personal attacks show the weakness of your position and show how totally clueless you actually are. You have no schooling or work experience in automotive engineering but you think you know more than the engineers who actually have such experience. You couldn't be more wrong. You think you know everything when you know nothing. You obviously don't like it when someone calls you out for being such an offensive smart al**. The engineers provide all of the technical information for all of the owners manuals. The engineers develop the products and they set the technical requirements and parameters for the products. The MB engineers know more about the products they develop than you could ever hope to know. It's time you got over yourself. There are people out there who know way more about cars than you'll ever know. Your effort to encourage people to damage their car and void their warranty is shameful to say the least. You've sold your GLA so you need to move on.
Which burns cleaner, gas made from crude oil, or alcohol?
Which requires a ton of additives?
Take your time.
In response to a drinker of the ethanol Kool Aid...
I have not used E85. None of the vehicles I have owned are setup from the factory to use E85. I have zero interest in owning a vehicle capable of burning E85. And I'm not about to modify a vehicle to use E85 (essentially convert it to flex fuel).
As for burning cleaner, both gasoline and ethanol result in emissions. IIRC ethanol when burns produces formaldehyde and acetaldehyde. Areas where ethanol is the primary fuel see a big increase of these in the atmosphere.
Have driven a number of cars for a total of nearly 1M miles. Never had any issue arising from the fact the engines burned gasoline. A healthy engine burns gasoline very efficiently. It has to in order to produce the exhaust gas for which the converters are best suited to process.
Do not accept you "tons of additives" claim regarding gasoline. Gasoline is primarily a mix of iso-octane and n-heptane. Iso-octane supplies the "octane" component, and n-heptane the balance.
Some gasoline companies add some detergent to the gasoline the most common is Techron. But certainly not lots of additives as your use of "tons" implies.
Just some exaggeration on your part to bolster your choice to run ethanol.
Understand I had no problem if one wants to buy/use a flex fuel vehicle, wants to run E85 on a regular basis. As long as the vehicle from the factory is ok to use E85 that's fine by me.
What I have a problem with the recommendation to try to blend some concoction of E-whatever for any reason. If the vehicle is not certified to run E85 my advice is to run the proper grade of octane gasoline and adhere to the limits of ethanol the auto maker calls for usual 10% or less, though I believe some of the newest models the factories ok the use of gasoline blended with up to 15% ethanol.
Spare me Audi Junkie. Nothing but more non engineer rubbish from you. The internet is filled with such false rubbish and you're so gullible that you've bitten for it hook line and sinker. In your world, the earth is flat and cigarette smoking is safe. Your disdain for expertise and facts is obvious. Again, you think you know it all and you don't. You're being told more than once not to burn regular gas in cars designed to only run on premium gas. You refuse to understand the engineering reason for why cars designed to run only on premium gas will face serious and expensive damage if they're run on regular gas because you're a know it all owner who is too cheap to spend the few extra pennies per gallon to run the proper fuel and would rather spend much more money repairing the damage caused from being a know it all from not listening to people who know far more about cars than you will ever know. You need to get over yourself, stick your head back into the sand, move on from this thread and take your snake oil salesman rubbish with you.
I know it's tough for you, but just be prepared for everything you believe to be total sh|t.
Audi Junkie, you're the one who's spewing total B.S. You have NO credibility because you're NOT an engineer and never will be. You believe the total B.S. you find online being peddled by fellow non engineer B.Sers who also know nothing about cars and how they're engineered. You refuse to acknowledge basic automotive engineering principles in order to peddle your B.S.. Next thing you'll be claiming is that you know more about healthcare than doctors and nurses. People on this thread are NOT buying your total B.S. so you need to move on and take your B.S. with you.
E Coupe C207, ML W166, ML W164, Sprinter 1500/144, W111 SB220 Fintail(s), A5 chassis Beetle 5+5
Originally Posted by Audi Junkie
You boys need to get out more and stop making posts based on fear and ignorance.
At the rate you absorb information, we might be here a while.
Is your contention that ethanol doesn't raise octane, or that the engine can't handle it, or that your daddy is an engineer, or that I only have an Ivy League science degree...???
Last edited by Audi Junkie; May 30, 2021 at 10:50 PM.
Reason: old man science 101, lol!
E Coupe C207, ML W166, ML W164, Sprinter 1500/144, W111 SB220 Fintail(s), A5 chassis Beetle 5+5
Wait. You're 65, so your old man would be like 85...so he was trained on pre-war cars??? Hahahaha! Right, wtf does he know about E85....NOTHING, same as you.
In that vein, my grandfather taught automobile tech to vets returning from WW2 because he lost his son KiA fighting *****. So, according to your tortured logic, he would know more than any of us! You are one clueless MF, but you have your old pos 190E to comfort you....are you poor too? OMG, this is exactly why I bust *****, so retards who need to stfu can learn their lesson.
Have you learned anything? I sure have; that idiots walk among us.
Audie Junkie, your name calling and nasty insults showcase the weakness of your position. You're not an automotive engineer and you know nothing about automotive engine construction. It's time for you to take your snake oil routine elsewhere because no one here is buying it. I find it very disappointing that the moderators at MB World allow the bad and offensive behavior of Audie Junkie.
E Coupe C207, ML W166, ML W164, Sprinter 1500/144, W111 SB220 Fintail(s), A5 chassis Beetle 5+5
Although I found no published PDS or MSDS, and never heard back from my email inquiry, I do wonder what miracle fluid is contained in "Boostane", since they claim a few 100ths of an ounce boosts octane through the roof. (rolls eyes, since that is PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE)
I'm no engineer, but by my calculations, that would place it in the 1000s of octane, lol. Anything is possible, I mean neutron stars exist at a matter density far beyond anything on Earth. Quark stars are the next intermediate step before Black Holes, but you never know....Boostane could actually have an antimatter component of pure neutronium that reflects antimatter through Spooky Action back into your fuel injectors, resulting into your crappy fuel being converted into pure energy at a rate equal to the square of the speed of light!
Of course, anything above 100 octane is purely theoretical anyway....but I'm no engineer.
Which, to point out the obvious, consists of only fuel injectors and a simple piggyback ECU signal conditioner....NOT a new fuel system!!! What? I thought ethanol destroys modern fuel systems, lol! Maybe ~somebody~ should wind up their telephone and call out FCP Euro on this one, since you know....their daddy was an engineer back before rural electrification. Maybe send them an urgent Telegram!!
Oh my. Yes, I do have some friends in the business.
Good job. Now go crawl back under a rock for another 50 years.
You're pathetic.
Audi Junkie, you're the one who's pathetic. My engineer father was light years ahead of you. He not only understood that the world could no longer burn the planet killing fossil fuels, he further understood that ethanol was not a long term solution because not enough corn be grown to produce ethanol in the large quantities that are needed and the emissions reductions from using ethanol are no where near what our planet needs to avoid the worst of the damage the burning of fossil fuel is doing to our planet. Non toxic renewable energies and particularly hydrogen are the future. You need to crawl back under your rock and take your enthanol, snake oil octane boosterrubbish with you.Again, no one here is buying your rubbish. It's time you got the message.
Psychological projection is a defense mechanism in which the ego defends itself against unconscious impulses or qualities (both positive and negative) by denying their existence in themselves and attributing them to others.[1] For example, a bully may project his or her own feelings of vulnerability onto the target, or a person who is confused may project feelings of confusion and inadequacy onto other people.
Projection incorporates blame shifting and can manifest as shame dumping.[2]
Apparently, you have feelings of inadequacy surrounding your old man's education and his status, all stemming from his state university or correspondence school degree. I believe you were subsequently badgered about your own lack of education, intellect or understanding of very basic concepts....as you have revealed here. I know how those old farts have little regard for the subtleties of other's feelings...it is a very sad situation indeed.
So, through the illness you developed from feelings of inadequacy, you turn around and attempt to do the same to other people who blunder into your deranged path. Seeking to compare his education to other's, and in my case, failing to realize how superior I am to you both in EVERY possible way. You also don't seem to understand how irrelevant he is to this conversation, yet reference him frequently, and in a deeply disturbing way. Similarly, the lack of reference to YOUR OWN education/knowledge is the "tell", the key to diagnosing your affliction.
I actually feel sorry for you, and hope you either "get over it", or seek professional help in this regard. I suggest showing the therapist this conversation in it's entirety....but I fear it may be too late.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
