Again another interesting OT post...
07-22-2002, 05:47 PM
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Again another interesting OT post...
Well, once again, when I should be studying, another post got me thinking about Octane booster. I did a little reading, and this is what I came up with. THIS IS NOT MY WORK. I am simply quoting a website.
*begin quote*
Octane boosters offer little help in the quest for higher octane. Most popular street-legal octane boosters claim increases in octane ratings up to five points, and those boosters intended for off-road use only claim up to seven points. That's a lot of octane to hope for simply by pouring an additive in a tank. Sunoco told us that before they launched their GT-100 Unleaded retail pilot program, they wanted to be sure that a 100 (R+M) / 2 octane street legal fuel would be of value, and that enthusiasts would not be able to get the same (or better) results using an octane booster. Nine of the most popular retail octane boosters were put through a series of tests to determine where the consumer could get the most bang for the buck. The test results were verified by an independent testing facility, using several brands of regular unleaded and premium gasolines, just to make sure everything was legit.
According to Mark Borosky, Vehicle Test Engineer for Sunoco,"Of the nine octane boosters tested, none showed a significant increase, and one actually lowered the octane number of the test gasolines."Testing repeatedly showed a maximum increase in octane of 3.5 points by only two of the six street legal octane boosters when the recommended treatment rate was blended with lower base 87 octane gasoline. The best the remaining four products could muster was less than a one point increase. "While clearly no one would actually use an octane booster in a low base octane fuel, we wanted to give the manufacturers the benefit of the doubt relative to their claims of five-to-seven point increases," explained Borosky.
When tests were performed using 93 and 94 octane fuel, even the two best products from the previous tests produced a disappointing 1.5 to 2 point maximum increase. The remaining four street-legal octane boosters showed less than a .5 point increase. Those products designated for offroad use only didn't fare any better than the street-legal products. Subsequent tests where the dosage of octane booster was doubled, tripled, and even quadrupled produced only minimal improvements in octane, regardless of the base octane number of the test gas. In fact, quadrupling the treatment rate of the most powerful additive produced only a 3.5 point increase in octane when added to 93 premium, resulting in a cost of $3.25 a gallon.
An alternative path to octane euphoria is to blend gasolines of different octane levels yourself. It's easier than you may think, safe, and the results are predictable. The formula for mixing gasolines of the same type is pretty straightforward. When you mix a 50/50 blend of two unleaded fuels, simply average the two octane ratings to determine what's in the tank If you mix 94 and 100, you get 97. The same generally holds true for leaded gasolines, assuming the lead content is
nearly equal.
Blending a leaded fuel with unleaded, however, pushes the octane up a bit more than the math would suggest, due to the effect of the lead. Just a gram or two of lead blended into the unleaded fuel will raise the octane number significantly. Commercial leaded racing fuels contain anywhere from a trace to six grams of lead per gallon. If you were to mix 50 percent 110 octane leaded fuel with 100 octane unleaded, you would actually end up with an octane number around 106 to 107. Keep in mind that even the smallest amount of lead or leaded gas line with unleaded, could spell the end of your catalytic converter or oxygen sensor. The same holds true for using octane boosters intended for off-road use only. A word to the wise, check for any lead content in all the additives you might mix with your unleaded gasoline. And check with your state emissions regulations for street use.
We asked Sunoco's Wurth about using aviation fuel in an automobile engine. He was emphatic when he said, "Don't do it. Even though Sunoco is a major producer of aviation fuel, this fuel is specifically blended for aircraft engines. Aircraft operate under very different conditions than automobiles, and the fuel requirements are quite different as well. Aircraft engines generally.... run within a very narrow rpm range. There's no need for transient throttle response in an airplane because after the pilot does the initial engine run-up, the throttle is set in one position and the rpm doesn't normally change until landing. Also, airplanes fly where the air is cold and thin, and the atmospheric pressure is low. These are not even close to the conditions your street machine will see on the ground. Also, since most piston-driven aircraft cruise at 3,000 rpm or so, the burn rate of aviation gas is much too slow for any high performance automotive applications."
What is it that makes race gas so different? What's it made of? Sunoco tells us their GT PLUS 104 octane unleaded race gas is only 15-20 percent traditional gasoline, and about 85 percent additives! Actually there are about 120 different chemicals in GT PLUS. One reason it isn't street legal is the high oxygen content. The EPA requires that the oxygen content of a street legal fuel cannot exceed 2.9 percent. GT PLUS is about 3.5 percent oxygen. This fuel is light in weight at only 6.14 lbs-per-gallon. The high oxygen content improves the octane, and when the induction system is properly calibrated, this fuel will help make additional horsepower. The high oxygen content has a supercharging effect, since 3.5 percent oxygen is the equivalent to about 17 percent more air. Different fuels can actually alter horsepower 5-to-10 percent or more.
We wanted to to know more about the different types of race gas Sunoco had, and didn't realize there were five different types of racing fuel alone.
GT-100 Unleaded, is a clear fuel with a pump octane of 100, and will handle compression ratios of up to 12:1, and is street legal in all 50 states.
GT PLUS, is also unleaded, and is rated at 104 octane. It is suitable for compression ratios up to 14:1 and is colored light blue. It will not harm oxygen sensors or knock sensors in computer controlled engines. It is not street legal.
STANDARD, is a leaded fuel rated at 110 octane, is colored purple, and is intended for drag racing, road racing, and race boats.
SUPREME, is also a leaded fuel and is dark blue. It was developed to help resist vapor lock and meet the demands of sportsman, modifieds, offshore powerboats, and endurance racing where engines regularly run in excess of 7000 rpm.
MAXIMAL, we mentioned earlier, is colored red, has 116 octane, and is leaded. It is intended for exceptionally high performance applications like Pro Stock where extremely high cylinder pressures are common. Its extremely fast burn rate is satisfactory where rpm exceeds 10,000.
*end quote*
Sorry if my extraneous post offends anyone, just figured id share my findings with everyone.
*begin quote*
Octane boosters offer little help in the quest for higher octane. Most popular street-legal octane boosters claim increases in octane ratings up to five points, and those boosters intended for off-road use only claim up to seven points. That's a lot of octane to hope for simply by pouring an additive in a tank. Sunoco told us that before they launched their GT-100 Unleaded retail pilot program, they wanted to be sure that a 100 (R+M) / 2 octane street legal fuel would be of value, and that enthusiasts would not be able to get the same (or better) results using an octane booster. Nine of the most popular retail octane boosters were put through a series of tests to determine where the consumer could get the most bang for the buck. The test results were verified by an independent testing facility, using several brands of regular unleaded and premium gasolines, just to make sure everything was legit.
According to Mark Borosky, Vehicle Test Engineer for Sunoco,"Of the nine octane boosters tested, none showed a significant increase, and one actually lowered the octane number of the test gasolines."Testing repeatedly showed a maximum increase in octane of 3.5 points by only two of the six street legal octane boosters when the recommended treatment rate was blended with lower base 87 octane gasoline. The best the remaining four products could muster was less than a one point increase. "While clearly no one would actually use an octane booster in a low base octane fuel, we wanted to give the manufacturers the benefit of the doubt relative to their claims of five-to-seven point increases," explained Borosky.
When tests were performed using 93 and 94 octane fuel, even the two best products from the previous tests produced a disappointing 1.5 to 2 point maximum increase. The remaining four street-legal octane boosters showed less than a .5 point increase. Those products designated for offroad use only didn't fare any better than the street-legal products. Subsequent tests where the dosage of octane booster was doubled, tripled, and even quadrupled produced only minimal improvements in octane, regardless of the base octane number of the test gas. In fact, quadrupling the treatment rate of the most powerful additive produced only a 3.5 point increase in octane when added to 93 premium, resulting in a cost of $3.25 a gallon.
An alternative path to octane euphoria is to blend gasolines of different octane levels yourself. It's easier than you may think, safe, and the results are predictable. The formula for mixing gasolines of the same type is pretty straightforward. When you mix a 50/50 blend of two unleaded fuels, simply average the two octane ratings to determine what's in the tank If you mix 94 and 100, you get 97. The same generally holds true for leaded gasolines, assuming the lead content is
nearly equal.
Blending a leaded fuel with unleaded, however, pushes the octane up a bit more than the math would suggest, due to the effect of the lead. Just a gram or two of lead blended into the unleaded fuel will raise the octane number significantly. Commercial leaded racing fuels contain anywhere from a trace to six grams of lead per gallon. If you were to mix 50 percent 110 octane leaded fuel with 100 octane unleaded, you would actually end up with an octane number around 106 to 107. Keep in mind that even the smallest amount of lead or leaded gas line with unleaded, could spell the end of your catalytic converter or oxygen sensor. The same holds true for using octane boosters intended for off-road use only. A word to the wise, check for any lead content in all the additives you might mix with your unleaded gasoline. And check with your state emissions regulations for street use.
We asked Sunoco's Wurth about using aviation fuel in an automobile engine. He was emphatic when he said, "Don't do it. Even though Sunoco is a major producer of aviation fuel, this fuel is specifically blended for aircraft engines. Aircraft operate under very different conditions than automobiles, and the fuel requirements are quite different as well. Aircraft engines generally.... run within a very narrow rpm range. There's no need for transient throttle response in an airplane because after the pilot does the initial engine run-up, the throttle is set in one position and the rpm doesn't normally change until landing. Also, airplanes fly where the air is cold and thin, and the atmospheric pressure is low. These are not even close to the conditions your street machine will see on the ground. Also, since most piston-driven aircraft cruise at 3,000 rpm or so, the burn rate of aviation gas is much too slow for any high performance automotive applications."
What is it that makes race gas so different? What's it made of? Sunoco tells us their GT PLUS 104 octane unleaded race gas is only 15-20 percent traditional gasoline, and about 85 percent additives! Actually there are about 120 different chemicals in GT PLUS. One reason it isn't street legal is the high oxygen content. The EPA requires that the oxygen content of a street legal fuel cannot exceed 2.9 percent. GT PLUS is about 3.5 percent oxygen. This fuel is light in weight at only 6.14 lbs-per-gallon. The high oxygen content improves the octane, and when the induction system is properly calibrated, this fuel will help make additional horsepower. The high oxygen content has a supercharging effect, since 3.5 percent oxygen is the equivalent to about 17 percent more air. Different fuels can actually alter horsepower 5-to-10 percent or more.
We wanted to to know more about the different types of race gas Sunoco had, and didn't realize there were five different types of racing fuel alone.
GT-100 Unleaded, is a clear fuel with a pump octane of 100, and will handle compression ratios of up to 12:1, and is street legal in all 50 states.
GT PLUS, is also unleaded, and is rated at 104 octane. It is suitable for compression ratios up to 14:1 and is colored light blue. It will not harm oxygen sensors or knock sensors in computer controlled engines. It is not street legal.
STANDARD, is a leaded fuel rated at 110 octane, is colored purple, and is intended for drag racing, road racing, and race boats.
SUPREME, is also a leaded fuel and is dark blue. It was developed to help resist vapor lock and meet the demands of sportsman, modifieds, offshore powerboats, and endurance racing where engines regularly run in excess of 7000 rpm.
MAXIMAL, we mentioned earlier, is colored red, has 116 octane, and is leaded. It is intended for exceptionally high performance applications like Pro Stock where extremely high cylinder pressures are common. Its extremely fast burn rate is satisfactory where rpm exceeds 10,000.
*end quote*
Sorry if my extraneous post offends anyone, just figured id share my findings with everyone.
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