Gas Additives
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 209
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From: Dallas TX
Gas Additives
I recently purchased a 67 w/ 427/435HP original engine. I am wondering what success people have had with different gas additives. So far, I have been trying Gunk Lead additive which is all I have been able to find and a couple different Octane boosters.
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,973
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From: Valrico Florida
Normally at the drag strip, race track, or at a fuel dealer. If you ask a few racers, they can give you information. The octane boost from a relatively small amount of leaded fuel is significant. I seem to recall that when the octane boost manufacturers say one point of octane increase, they are saying 0.1 increase. If you don't need the lead, there are a number of chemicals that will increase the octane. I'd just stick with the race fuel if you can get it.
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Drifting
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 1,388
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From: Sugar Land tx
It's all white gas
White gas is gasoline without the lead, which is all gas sold in the last 20+ years. Just retired 31 years as a chemical engineer in an ExxonMobil Refinery. Forget about additives from AutoZone etc. Those small amounts won't make much difference in octane.
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 1,973
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From: Valrico Florida
You would know better than most, but I seem to recall that tolulene would work. I had a website on another computer that had recipes for several homemade octane boosters. Consensus on the another performance website was that it was too risky to mix your own.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2008
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From: columbus oh
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 1,388
Likes: 65
From: Sugar Land tx
110 octane
110 octane, that would be research octane leaded. Today octane is the average of motor method(simulates city driving) and research method(simulates highway driving) or road octane, unleaded of course. Today's research octane on super isn't much over 100 RON(3.18 gms(max) of lead per gallon could add 6-10 octane numbers). Toluene is a great octane booster as it blends at 120+ but where are you going to get some from?
Ethyl Alcohol is high too(umm ever hear of everclear?) EPA requiring alcohol in gasoline is causing the economics of refining to change as there is an excess of octane now and no way to cut back in other places due to EPA requiring ppm levels of sulfur max in gasoline. EPA doesn't know when to stop, air is pretty clean around here already! Many times unleaded regular is blended above the 87 minimum octane required.
Mmm, tetra ethyl lead smells sweet. We used to buy it by the railroad car. It was so poisonous it was never pumped, only vacuumed. A drop or two on you and you were dead. Glad I didn't work in the Ethyl Plant(gasoline blending section of plant was called this) and rather the office. I spoke many times to the Ethyl Corp. sales people. I have smelled tetra ethyl lead in passing. Glad to see the end of lead in gasoline.
Ethyl Alcohol is high too(umm ever hear of everclear?) EPA requiring alcohol in gasoline is causing the economics of refining to change as there is an excess of octane now and no way to cut back in other places due to EPA requiring ppm levels of sulfur max in gasoline. EPA doesn't know when to stop, air is pretty clean around here already! Many times unleaded regular is blended above the 87 minimum octane required.
Mmm, tetra ethyl lead smells sweet. We used to buy it by the railroad car. It was so poisonous it was never pumped, only vacuumed. A drop or two on you and you were dead. Glad I didn't work in the Ethyl Plant(gasoline blending section of plant was called this) and rather the office. I spoke many times to the Ethyl Corp. sales people. I have smelled tetra ethyl lead in passing. Glad to see the end of lead in gasoline.
Last edited by mrtexas; Jan 3, 2010 at 11:50 PM.
Race Director
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From: Bowling Green, Kentucky
Houston Chemical was one of the three major manufacturers/suppliers of tetra-ethyl lead for gasoline. Ethyl and DuPont were the others.
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I've never used anything in my old Vettes, big block and small blocks, other than 93 Octane. No pinging, no valve recession, no additives.