1.5 T CVT, radical performance improvement with 30% toluene?

aydingokce

Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2017
Threads
3
Messages
25
Reaction score
7
Location
Turkey
Vehicle(s)
2017 Honda Civic HB 1.5 Sport CVT
Hello everybody,

The title speaks for itself, but let me explain the situation. Last weekend, I went to a local tuning shop to buy some ethanol to upgrade my fuel. They told me that they did not have any ethanol but they did have toluene and if I use at 30%, it will work very well. THey told that hey preferred toluene over ethanol. To be honest, I did not believe this but I still purchased it, given the fact that it was affordable and I thought that trying once would not give any harm. So I calculated the necessary amount of toluene to create a 30% toluene fuel (roughly half of of the fuel on board) and tried the car. The result was really shocking: The car could keep up with 2013 Peugeot 208 GTI (1.6 THP 200 HP) and 2013 Polo GTI DSG (1.4 TSI Twincharger 180 HP). Normally, there is a considerable difference in performance with these cars because Civic is quite heavier and CVT effectively kills the power.

I was surprised to get such a significant result. Indeed I live in a country where tuners always complain about the low gasoline quality, but, still, I was not expecting so much. Seeing such an improvement made me consider the potential harms of adding toluene into the fuel and this is the main purpose of creating this thread. Do you think (or know) that this is harmful for the car?
Sponsored

 

CivicChina

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2016
Threads
25
Messages
1,128
Reaction score
635
Location
Xiamen, China
Vehicle(s)
Civic 1.5t 6MT Cosmic Blue
Vehicle Showcase
1
Country flag
the manual civic can keep up with these cars. Isn't it easier and safer to change gears than buying, calculating, mixing dangerous unknown liquids in your tank?
 
OP
OP

aydingokce

Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2017
Threads
3
Messages
25
Reaction score
7
Location
Turkey
Vehicle(s)
2017 Honda Civic HB 1.5 Sport CVT
the manual civic can keep up with these cars. Isn't it easier and safer to change gears than buying, calculating, mixing dangerous unknown liquids in your tank?
Manual version is not sold in my country, only CVT is. In october Type R will be on sale but it will be prohibitively expensive due to the extremely heavy taxes applied to the cars with displacement more than 1600 cc.
 
OP
OP

aydingokce

Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2017
Threads
3
Messages
25
Reaction score
7
Location
Turkey
Vehicle(s)
2017 Honda Civic HB 1.5 Sport CVT
I see. The problem with ethanol is, it is harder to find. Some legal procedures are required to get it, since it may be used for illegal alcohol drink production.
 

CivicChina

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2016
Threads
25
Messages
1,128
Reaction score
635
Location
Xiamen, China
Vehicle(s)
Civic 1.5t 6MT Cosmic Blue
Vehicle Showcase
1
Country flag
i would be careful because our engine has a very high pressure direct injection system, with high precision pump and injectors, calibrated on pump fuel, there are also plastic and rubber parts not tested for other solvents. I would not take this risk on a new car.
If you want more performance without extreme risks i suggest a tune from hondata or ktuner.
 


fiend busa

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2017
Threads
54
Messages
1,380
Reaction score
547
Location
Canada
Vehicle(s)
2018 Civic Type R
Country flag
i would be careful because our engine has a very high pressure direct injection system, with high precision pump and injectors, calibrated on pump fuel, there are also plastic and rubber parts not tested for other solvents. I would not take this risk on a new car.
If you want more performance without extreme risks i suggest a tune from hondata or ktuner.
Vit himself runs E85
 

Civics4Ever

Rally Red EXT
First Name
Gene
Joined
Jul 30, 2016
Threads
15
Messages
2,068
Reaction score
2,395
Location
Illinois
Vehicle(s)
04 Civic Sedan LX, 17 Civic Coupe Touring
Vehicle Showcase
1
Country flag
Car and Driver got a 0-60 6.6 seconds with the CVT. You also probably haven't read that on a Dyno, the Civic 1.5T has actually 192 HP, not the 174 that Honda rates it at. I went heads up with an Acura RDX and we were dead even. RDX has 270HP or so. But it's also 6-700 pounds heavier.
 

weigle2

Member
Joined
Sep 19, 2016
Threads
0
Messages
45
Reaction score
12
Location
Chicago
Vehicle(s)
2016 Civic EX-L
Country flag
Toluene is a common octane booster used in the US, and many other countries. Just Google it, and you'll see it's not unusual to be used in gasoline.
Sponsored

 


 


Top