Is anyone adding anything to your pump gas to up octane? What are you adding, how much and is it 02 safe?

 

If I go to the track and it's very cold outside, I add some race gas. Yes I know it's leaded and will ruin my O2's, however, .... I'd rather have a ruined O2 then an engine. I usually add a few gallons to bump the octane up. Just something to consider.

 

They sell 100 octane unleaded Sunoco fuel here in my area. I run that at a high concentration for track trips, and maybe add a gallon or two per tank-full for regular driving.

 

I would highly recommend staying away from octane boosters. IMO they do not work and are a huge waste of money. As the people above posted the best way is to mix race gas.

 

see i've done the race fuel thing and wipe out my 02's everytime.

 

Yeah, I got tired of trashing and paying for O2's after about 3 times of doing it, and figured that the 100 octane unleaded gave me darn near the same performance potential (I don't run my stuff TOO aggressively), so I just use that now.

 

best thing you could do is buy some toulene or xylene for an octane booster...anything else is a waste....well, except maybe nitrous oxide lol

 

Will the toulene or xylene ruin o2 sensors?

 

How do you mix it? And where to buy it?

 

3:1 ratio. You can get it at Lowes, Sherwin Williams...just about any paint supply store.

 

do some reading here for mixing
http://www.gnttype.org/techarea/misc/octanebooster.html

toulene burns totally clean, it was the primary ingredient in F1 cars for a short period they ran it almost straight. but i haven't found a good source, the paint supply on groes didn't carry it, i haven't tried depot or anything...i don't really need it yet.

mike

 

OK, I don't know about Xylene and I have no idea if it's a good idea to use. You might want to stay away from it unless you can verify it's octane and whether or not it's safe.

However, I DO know about Toluene and I use it myself. Let me tell you a few things about it.

1) In the same way that gasoline has a higher energy content than alcohol, Toluene has a higher energy content than gasoline. I do not know the specific percentage though.

2) Toluene has an octane of 114.

3) Toluene is a pure hydrocarbon, which is already used in the gas you buy at the pump as... wait for it... an octane booster!

4) Toluene will NOT harm your oxygen sensor.

5) You could theoretically run straight Toluene in your gas tank, but there are two drawbacks.

1. At 114 octane you would probably need a ProMag to ignite the stuff.
2. The stuff is around $8 gallon

Just mix it at whatever ratio you want to get the octane level you desire.

Be aware of one thing though; some race classes have fuel rules.

 

I think i'll try the toluene. Is anyone tried the unleaded vp racing fuels?

 

Ive only used Xylene because its easier to find around here but both Xylene and Toluene will do what you need. Theyre both hydrocarbons, neither will harm o2s, theyre both about 8bucks a gallon. Toluene octane rating is 114, xylene is 117.

 

Is Xylene a pure hydrocarbon or is it a blend of some type?