"Rocket fuel" experiment w/ my 180TTR...(not too long)
11-13-2000, 12:46 PM
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"Rocket fuel" experiment w/ my 180TTR...(not too long)
After reading a previous post regarding the adding of toluene to your tank on fill up for octane boost, I decided to try it this morning in my TTR, seeing as I was in need of a fill up. It wasn't the easiest thing to find, but a small mom-and-pop paint store sold a gallon to me for about $8. I then went to the gas station, put the toluene in the tank, filled it the rest of the way with ARCO 92 octane, and hit the freeway.
Nothing for about 6-8 miles, and then a pretty good surge in speed and power. The most noticable thing was a "smoothing out" of the engine. I didn't think the engine was running particularly rough before, but there was definitely a difference in how the engine performed. It felt a little faster, and a little more powerful, adding to my already high level of pleasure when driving the TTR (if that was possible ;^)
Was it worth the added expense? Well, I'm not sure I'm ready to start spending $28 for a tank of gas w/ toluene added, so probably not. Maybe next time I take a run in the Malibu canyons I'll consider it, but not for everyday driving. You all might want to try it, and see if you can appreciate the difference.
~Donald/TTBoy
Nothing for about 6-8 miles, and then a pretty good surge in speed and power. The most noticable thing was a "smoothing out" of the engine. I didn't think the engine was running particularly rough before, but there was definitely a difference in how the engine performed. It felt a little faster, and a little more powerful, adding to my already high level of pleasure when driving the TTR (if that was possible ;^)
Was it worth the added expense? Well, I'm not sure I'm ready to start spending $28 for a tank of gas w/ toluene added, so probably not. Maybe next time I take a run in the Malibu canyons I'll consider it, but not for everyday driving. You all might want to try it, and see if you can appreciate the difference.
~Donald/TTBoy
11-13-2000, 01:06 PM
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Fill it with sulfuric acid next time, it will have the same long term effect.
Hatter, you should know from your own experience, toluene dissolves all sorts of plastics. Those hoses running all over the engine bay are not rubber, they are a type of plastic. Good luck TTBoy, I hope you get away with it.
11-13-2000, 01:29 PM
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Watch out - toluene has a negitive effect on elastomers and does not increase Octane much
An increased amount of toluene can significantly reduce the life of your rubber fuel hoses. Be careful.
In addition, with a R+M/2 Octane rating of 114, even a 30% mix will only raise 92 Octane gas to 98.6. You could also use Xylene ($2.75/gal) R+M/2 of 117 for a 99.5 Octane at a 30% mix or Methyl-tertiary-butyl-ether (MTBE) ($3.50/gal) R+M/2 of 118 for 99.8 Octane at 30% mix.
At $3-8 per gallon for toluene, it would be cheeper to purchase 76 100 Octane unleaded race gas which sells for about $3.75/gal in my local area.<ul><li><a href="http://www.osbornauto.com/racing/100locations.htm">Locations in CA that sell 76 competition 100 race gas</a></li></ul>
In addition, with a R+M/2 Octane rating of 114, even a 30% mix will only raise 92 Octane gas to 98.6. You could also use Xylene ($2.75/gal) R+M/2 of 117 for a 99.5 Octane at a 30% mix or Methyl-tertiary-butyl-ether (MTBE) ($3.50/gal) R+M/2 of 118 for 99.8 Octane at 30% mix.
At $3-8 per gallon for toluene, it would be cheeper to purchase 76 100 Octane unleaded race gas which sells for about $3.75/gal in my local area.<ul><li><a href="http://www.osbornauto.com/racing/100locations.htm">Locations in CA that sell 76 competition 100 race gas</a></li></ul>
11-13-2000, 01:49 PM
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the only difference I was able to measure was gas mileage
I thought the same thing as you until I looked at the stopwatch. Didn't have a chance to measure the difference in ignition timing, will do that sometime in the future.
11-13-2000, 04:45 PM
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Re: "Rocket fuel" experiment w/ my 180TTR...(not too long)
A friend sent me a copy of octane booster info he picked up from a mopar website a few years ago (can't find the URL). This information states that toluene is a common ingredient in off the shelf octane boosters. Mixing toluene with 92 octane premium gives the following results
10% ........... 94.2 Octane
20% .......... 96.4 Octane
30% .......... 98.6 Octane
Remeber that increasing the octane of gasoline does not increase the energy content, it just lets you run higher compression or increased advance without pinging
10% ........... 94.2 Octane
20% .......... 96.4 Octane
30% .......... 98.6 Octane
Remeber that increasing the octane of gasoline does not increase the energy content, it just lets you run higher compression or increased advance without pinging
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11-13-2000, 07:05 PM
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Yeah, Jeffery, I was wondering how the toluene would affect my fuel hoses...
...and I figured that I'd be using it rarely, if ever. MAJOR thanx for the heads up on where to find 76 100 octane in SoCal (one of 'ems right by my work... SCORE!).