As a Turbo Charged car owner I am always looking for ways to improve the beast. FMIC, Water misting system for the IC, freer flowing exhaust... You know, things that help improve the effeciency of the turbo. But I ran across a web page (I tried to link it here but it wouldn't work) that had a great read about a product used in the paint industy called Toluene. I'm not sure if you guys have heard about this stuff, but I can tell you, it works great!

Toluene is used in several ways. It is used by painting proffesionals as a medium paint thinner when certain paints are sprayed on. The oil and gas industry use it to raise the octane of regular pump gas at their refineries. Toluene is already in the standard pump gas you get at your local station.

It can be bought at a paint supply store in one gallon or 5 gallon cans. A one gallon can costs me about $9. The 5 gallon can goes for a bit over $35. I get it at a local Kwal-Howell paint store. But becareful, Toluene is also used in Meth labs. So some of the younger car enthusiasts here might get the hairy eye-ball when they want to buy this stuff.

I mix about 1/2 gallon into my 13 gallon tank of 91 octane pump gas. Some people I know have used a whole gallon of Toleune in their 13 gallon tanks. I haven't seen the need for that yet. But it doesn't hurt anything to add that much. Half a gallon seems to be enough to raise the effective octane to a point where my car no longer detonates under Wide Open Throttle in the heat of the summer. Toluene has an octane rating of 114 al by itself. Add it to a tank of the best octane rated gas you can get and you too could be seeing octane numbers as high as 97. And in a turbocharged car, octane is what makes or break the horsepower.

In my car, a '99 VW Passat 1.8T with APR software which produces 15 psi of boost, if the knock sensors read any detonation going on, if so the ECU backs off the timing. Thus a loss of peak HP and gas milage too. With high octane gas, knock or detonation is less likely to happen and I get all the timing thus all the HP and your gas milages goes up. It makes a big difference!

I really wish the link was up and working right now, because there is a whole lot of great info on that page. Stuff like how toxic this stuff is, formulas for mixing at different strengths to get certain octane numbers and info on how it is used in Formula 1 racing. They almost use at almost 100% strength. The reason they don't is because of FIA rules that don't allow for that. They call it "Rocket Fuel."

Just becareful when adding this stuff to your tank. Only fill your tank in a well ventelated area and use a respirator mask of a good quality. Wear rubber gloves and eye protection. And right afterwards, wash your hands very good. This stuff is really nasty and does horrid things to the human body.

If the link becomes active again I will post it here. Until then, Enjoy!

 

that sounds pretty sweet!!

 

it smells funny. a lot of the local DSM people here use it with success. Its a great idea for you guys in Cali.

 

is it harmless to the enviroment..or cats and other car parts?

 

You should just type the URL in so we can all check it out! Sounds

 

question.. why are you running 91 octane? no 93?

 

ive heard of it.home made race gas..lots of GN guys use it.
ahahha.i can just see some guys all decked out in protective gear pouring this stuff into your gas tank...ehehehe

 

I just wanna stress wearing as much protective gear as you can. I remember my TA in chemistry lab explaining that the stuff is so bad for you that our chemistry department no longer uses the stuff in our labs. It's bad stuff. Its odor is really pleasing but a general rule of thumb is if a chemical smells good it's probably bad for you. I wish I could offer more reasons as to why it is so terrible for you but I got a C+ in chemistry so that's my answer

Noel

 

California's max octane is 91. I think it happend the beginning of this year, really sucks.

 

and if you get sick of putting it in your gastank, add three parts nitro (fertilizer should do the trick) and you've got yourself trinitrotoluine, otherwise known as TNT. as a precaution, I'd recommend not squeezing nitrous oxide into your engine while running toluine (high amounts per gallon of gas) or risk blowing apart your piston rings or head gaskets or sending a piston through your hood. this has been a public service announcement from the son of a chemist. have a nice day

 

hey get me the address to that site

 

http://www.vtr.org/maintain/gasoline-octane.html


Heres a little bit of info on a few others

 

thanx for throwing up that information. I think im going to try it and blow up my car at the track soon. j/k but thanx for the info

 

Yep, 91 Octane is the best I can get here. It sucks, but that's life...

BTW, the web addy I had for that "Rocket Fuel" page is no longer good. I'll look around a see if anyone I know copied it to a hard drive or something.


[Modified by B5 Wraith, 11:46 PM 7/11/2002]