I was watching TV and they ran a commercial for Hpyertech's new "87Max Technology" chips. They promise more mileage, power, and of course the use of cheaper 87 gas.

So, is there any truth to thier claims? Can you run 87 and make more power than with 92 and get better gas mileage?

Other than just dialing back timing what else is needed? I'm all for saving money and making more power but I just don't buy it.

 

And if they lied, what does it cost them?.
It's election time, and it's the season for making all sorts of claims.

But, there'll be a few that swear by it, so the doubters will go ahead and buy the advertising.

Some of the price difference in different grades, is in the detergents, and they are what keep the chambers clean.

In short, even my done stock truck likes 89 over 87, and I've spent some time tuning on it to get some decent mileage out of it (it's a BBC).

 

Is it possible to get more power and better gas mileage while using 87 Octane? Maybe. Depends on the engine components ett. No way they will get an engine with 11.5:1 to work with 87 (may even have a problem getting it to run on 92).

But assuming a bone stock L98, yes it is possible with proper tuning to get more power and better gas mileage on 87 with PROPER tuning. But, you may find that you get EVEN MORE gas mileage with 89 or 92 which more than offsets the cheaper octane (and even more power).

But, that would be with only careful tuning and comparing various options (tuning for 87, 89 and 92 and comparing the differences). But one thing, the one tuned for 92 will usually (but not always) get more power than one tuned for 87.

Lastly, all of the above is for a "self-tuned custom eprom done hands-on". All engines are different and I've proved this many times by letting people try a bin that I tuned specifically for my L98 when it was bone stock. Some engines just couldn't run it - it was too "hot" and needed the spark tables toned down. A few could actually run a little more spark.

Off-the-shelf eproms like your describing is a complete waste of money. They usually do little or nothing.

 

Hold on a sec...I'm not gonna buy one I was just wondering what they had done, if it had merit, so I could try it. I know off the self chips aren't worth anything.

 

That isn't really apparant from your original post. Anyway, the answer is still "maybe" and "depends on your engine build".

Given the high price of gasoline, I know a number of guys actually selecting their build so (hopefully) the engine will be 87 Octane friendly. They are sacrificing a little compression, running aluminum heads, tight quench and going one step larger on the cam so they can hopefully be able to tune the engine to run 87 or at least 89.