Really confused about my car's horsepower

Sev said:

Is my car permanently damaged just because I ran half a tank of 87 with the piggy back? I'm waiting for it to drain until the minimum before going to the station.

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I doubt it. Just would probably explain why you feel its down on power.

And just driving normally wouldnt damage anything. Just dont hammer on it until your at least a half tank in to the high octane. Best results on the second tank.

Sev said:

Is my car permanently damaged just because I ran half a tank of 87 with the piggy back? I'm waiting for it to drain until the minimum before going to the station.

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If you didn't go too wild for too long you're probably ok.

Now that being said, one of the ways to really mess up your car is to run a piggyback with low octane and drag or race it.

I wouldn't wait to put the 91 in, I'd do it right now.

Another option is you can still use a little E85 as a low cost butt effective solution to boost octane even more.*

Throw a half a gallon or so of E85 in the tank when you fill up--it's what I used to do before I went full flex fuel. The ECU can compensate enough for up to 15-20% ethanol.*

*Take what I say with a grain of salt--you'll have to verify that the Brazilian ECU and injectors can compensate for the ethanol level that the US ECU and injectors can compensate for, and you'll have to find out how much ethanol is actually in your E85 (or whatever the standard of ethanol is that you get at the pump down there).

All I've been doing is dragging since I installed the piggy back. So I guess I'm doomed.

Any way I can check the integrity of my engine? We have a very warm market for used cars here, so I'm planning on trading it for a newer one - maybe an Accord, in 2 - 3 years.

Brazilian gasoline contains 25% ethanol by default.

Sev said:

All I've been doing is dragging since I installed the piggy back. So I guess I'm doomed.

Any way I can check the integrity of my engine? We have a very warm market for used cars here, so I'm planning on trading it for a newer one - maybe an Accord, in 2 - 3 years.

Brazilian gasoline contains 25% ethanol by default.

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If your pump gas contains that high a percentage of ethanol I can almost guarantee your car will be fine. Quit stressing and try the 91 and see if it improves the times your checking. If it doesnt improve much it is what it is and I would still continue to use the 91 if the race chip is plugged in. Just remember it takes time for the computer to compensate. So if your driving around with 87 and you plug in your race chip at a gas station while filling up with 91 (or vice versa I should say) just drive fairly normally for about 50-100 miles while the computer is adjusting.

i have a base hatch 1.5 that recommends 87 and run with 91...day and night than driving with 87...trust me

Nitroturtle said:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollout_(drag_racing)

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I understand about the 1 foot rollout because I used to race at the dragstrip. As the article says "The method approximates the behaviour of dragstrip measurement equipment for 1/4 mile racing,"

I know some sources use the 1 foot rollout for 0-60 mph times, but 0-60 mph cannot be measured at a dragstrip using their timing lights. There is no 60mph timing light beam to break when the car reaches 60mph. You need a stop watch, 5th-wheel, GPS or some method to determine when 60mph is reached. IOW historically 0-60mph was never measured using timing lights, so why try to approximate a 1 foot rollout now for 0-60?

Just my 2 cents worth.

BriteBlue said:

I understand about the 1 foot rollout because I used to race at the dragstrip. As the article says "The method approximates the behaviour of dragstrip measurement equipment for 1/4 mile racing,"

I know some sources use the 1 foot rollout for 0-60 mph times, but 0-60 mph cannot be measured at a dragstrip using their timing lights. There is no 60mph timing light beam to break when the car reaches 60mph. You need a stop watch, 5th-wheel, GPS or some method to determine when 60mph is reached. IOW historically 0-60mph was never measured using timing lights, so why try to approximate a 1 foot rollout now for 0-60?

Just my 2 cents worth.

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The article explains the reason under the Standardisation [sic] section.

Nitroturtle said:

The article explains the reason under the Standardisation [sic] section.

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They mention the "historical difference". I'm wondering what differences were there. Stop watch, fifth wheel, GPS? None of those use a 1 foot rollout for 0-60mph time to my knowledge.

This shows the staging light beam setup used for drag racing.
https://www.onallcylinders.com/2012/06/28/drag-school-how-stage-your-drag-car/

What I'm questioning is adjusting 0-60mph times to compensate for a 1 foot rollout because staging lights are not used for 0-60mph times. IOW why adjust for something that never was used for 0-60mph?

BriteBlue said:

They mention the "historical difference". I'm wondering what differences were there. Stop watch, fifth wheel, GPS? None of those use a 1 foot rollout for 0-60mph time to my knowledge.

This shows the staging light beam setup used for drag racing.
https://www.onallcylinders.com/2012/06/28/drag-school-how-stage-your-drag-car/

What I'm questioning is adjusting 0-60mph times to compensate for a 1 foot rollout because staging lights are not used for 0-60mph times. IOW why adjust for something that never was used for 0-60mph?

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I think this should answer more of your questions:

Sev said:

How should the dyno look like?

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No, I don't think there is anything wrong with your dyno test. I only in passing referred to the discussion in another thread about the rpm where the power peaks, and the subtleties in measuring power, manual vs. CVT etc. The graph looks fine to me.

Btw. Very unlikely you did anything bad to your engine because of octane. It just might perform better with premium.

Sev said:

How should the dyno look like?

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I believe that the OP's "sport filter" is allowing him to get reach a little higher in the RPM. He will have to clarify that.
In order for the appropriate TIMING to be applied, you need to use a 91+OCT fuel. Yes, you are not seeing KNOCK with 87 because the KV (knock value) is increasing (e.g. optimum .49 to .60 possibly). So, your "piggy back" Race Chip isn't kicking in either when your ECU doesn't register the proper timing adjustment.
You'll be good when you begin using a higher octane.

Nitroturtle said:

I think this should answer more of your questions:

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He mentions how NHRA & dragstrips use 1 foot rollout, and that's true for quarter mile racing.

How does a dragstrip use timing lights to determine when a car reaches 60mph?

https://jalopnik.com/porsche-918-proves-0-60-times-are-total-bullshit-1558177494

[while starting from a stop] "High power delivery to the gearbox and driven wheels cannot easily be managed even by the most skilled drivers." [Wikipedia]

I you have

Gruber said:

https://jalopnik.com/porsche-918-proves-0-60-times-are-total-bullshit-1558177494

[while starting from a stop] "High power delivery to the gearbox and driven wheels cannot easily be managed even by the most skilled drivers." [Wikipedia]

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The truth is 0-60 really isn't the true end all measure of a car's real world performance. In some ways it's similar to why I think the obsession with mpg comparison threads is a bit useless. Too many real world environmental differences.

All I know is my 1.5T was fairly quick stock for an econobox. Tuned, it's not only faster; it's genuinely impressive to drive.