Race Fuel ?

J

~JM~

Wrinkled Member
Joined
Oct 31, 2007
A few questions for those who run race fuel.

What brand, type & octane rating? Unleaded or leaded? How much boost can you run on how much octane?

Are you able to purchase a 55 gallon drum & have it delivered to your home? If so, what is the cost & how should it be stored/handled properly? How long will it remain stable? Do you use any type of fuel stabilizer or additives? What type of pump arrangement do you use to transfer the fuel?

Thanks.
 
I've used it off and on. You really don't get the full benefit unless you tune the car specifically for the fuel you're going to run. The thing about race gas is if you buy VP100, that VP100 is exactly the same every time you buy it. The consumer stuff in the pump at the gas station varies through the year.

Once you know you have consistent fuel, you can tune the timing and boost all the way up to the knock threshold. They also put stabilizer in it at the refinery, so the stuff will stay good for two years if you keep a lid on the container.

As for buying it, I've found that you really want to find a place nearby that carries the product, and go fill up jerry cans or buy the five gallon buckets. The 54 gallon drum method is problematic. You have to buy the drum, then ship 54 gallons of highly volatile fuel that weighs nearly 400 pounds and have it dropped at a residence. I haven't priced it, but there's no way it's cheap. On top of the shipping, the barrel alone adds a buck or two per gallon to the price, and then you can't get rid of the damn thing when it's empty. You need a dolley to handle it, and storing it properly requires grounding the drum.

In my case, I can get VP100 in 5 gallon buckets here in town for ~$11/gallon, or I can drive to Bowling Green and get it out of a pump at NCM for $9.50/gallon. Doing the math on the cost for me to drive 100 miles and fill up, it comes out nearly equal to buying the cans in town and that's before considering I'll spend four hours of my time on the venture.

Shop around.

As for fluid transfer, I have a $12 Purolater electric fuel pump I got at Pep Boys fifteen years ago. That plus a spare battery and I can move five gallons into the tank in about eight minutes without breaking a sweat.

VP's sales staff in Terre Haute have also been very responsive to inquiries and helped me locate a dealer in town that I didn't know existed. Rockett Brand and their distributors have not responded to any of my requests for information. Your mileage may vary.
 
I bought a 55 of C16, some time back, and used it in the stage engine. AIRC, it was about $7/gallon, and I had to go get it.
Have you tried any of the additives that are now out? IE: Boostane, Lucas, etc?
Supposedly, these are now adding octane in full points, vs the old 104, etc, that advertised 4 points, and was really only + .4.
I think Cal sells Boostane.....
 
Chuck Leeper said:
I bought a 55 of C16, some time back, and used it in the stage engine. AIRC, it was about $7/gallon, and I had to go get it.
Have you tried any of the additives that are now out? IE: Boostane, Lucas, etc?
Supposedly, these are now adding octane in full points, vs the old 104, etc, that advertised 4 points, and was really only + .4.
I think Cal sells Boostane.....
Click to expand...

Boostane works. It doesn't address the consistency issues, but it does raise the octane like they advertise. It's actually the same additive VP throws into one of their unleaded blends.

Do NOT get it on your skin. Use a funnel and wear rubber gloves when you open the can and pour it.

But I always travel with a can of it in my trunk in case I find myself somewhere that only sells 91. A can of Boostane in a tank of 91 pulls it up to 94 or so.
 
Found a source for 5 gallon cans of VP 100 unleaded & 110 leaded @ $65.
 
What happens to the O2 sensor if I use 110 leaded, mixed with 91 unleaded?

I suspect that it will eventually become inaccurate. How often should I change out the sensor?
 
~JM~ said:
What happens to the O2 sensor if I use 110 leaded, mixed with 91 unleaded?

I suspect that it will eventually become inaccurate. How often should I change out the sensor?
Click to expand...
It always been a good rule of thumb to monitor the 02-cross counts with a scan tool, when they fail to go from 0-255 within 90 secs, they are lazy and need to be replaced.
As for as how long they can tolerate leaded fuel, depends on the brand of 02, op temps, amount of lead, etc. Densos used to be the most tolerant of lead, not sure if they still are. I used them and NGK's when I used to run leaded fuel. Use methanol inj now and haven't used leaded fuel in a decade or more.
 
VP Octanium works well too. 1 can in 10gal of 93 pump makes 101.
 
Thanks guys. I have a Denso O2 sensor installed.

The biggest problem is that 93 octane is not available where I live. We have 91 octane premium with at least 10% ethanol. I used to buy 91 octane premium with no ethanol, but that is no longer available.

Looking at methanol injection recently.
 
~JM~ said:
Thanks guys. I have a Denso O2 sensor installed.

The biggest problem is that 93 octane is not available where I live. We have 91 octane premium with at least 10% ethanol. I used to buy 91 octane premium with no ethanol, but that is no longer available.

Looking at methanol injection recently.
Click to expand...

The thing about methanol injection, at least for me - and I've gone around and around with a few people on here about this - is most of the popular kits store the methanol in the engine bay. I don't like that. If something happens and that container is breached (accident, melts, whatever), it'll pour down onto the exhaust and you've got an alcohol fire on your hands. Relocating the tank to the trunk is going to significantly raise the install price and the PITA factor.
 
I agree. That is why I hadn't pursued it yet. I would mount the tank in the trunk.
 
Yes, that is something to think about with a tank of methanol under the hood. A front passenger side impact will put it up against the downpipe pretty easily. It's autoignition temp is 878 degrees, not sure how hot the down pipe would be if you had just hit a 20psi blast.. I have ran pure methanol for about 10-12 years and never think much about it, but I also carry 2 fire extinguishers at all times just in case.
If not wanting to alway run full bore but just want the extra octane and cooling, you can run a 50/50 meth/water mix. That is what I run in the daily driver truck, it will hardly even ignite with a lighter so you would be much safer with that under the hood, not to mention your pump would last longer. The Snow kit I run on my truck is progressive and has a lifetime warantee on the pump as long as you purchase all your premix 50/50 methanol from them.
 
Royal purple max boost is another product to consider.. buying in bulk can get you 16oz cans for $10 or so which would raise octane to 98 when added to 10 gallons of 91 going by their claim of 3 octane up to 25 gallons. If memory serves you have an rjc front mount n ported heads bet that would be all you need. New cans come with a funnel too :hungry:
 
2QUIK6 said:
...The Snow kit I run on my truck is progressive and has a lifetime warrantee on the pump as long as you purchase all your premix 50/50 methanol from them.
Click to expand...

I looked at the Snow kits a while back. Do they have a kit that will work on the Turbo Regal? Buick applications are not listed on their site.
 
5 gallon pails of
Torco 116
Some times vp c 16
Torco is local so a little cheaper
Normally have 10 gallons on hand

I'm tuned for it all the time that's all the car sees

Denso o2 sensors are cheap , I tend to replace 1 a year
 
~JM~ said:
I looked at the Snow kits a while back. Do they have a kit that will work on the Turbo Regal? Buick applications are not listed on their site.
Click to expand...
I got the Generic kit for boosted applications for my V10 truck. Will work on anything, simply run a vac/boost line to the controller for the kit, and then wire it up er the directions for power, and set the controller "turn on" point, and then set the max fuel boost, and its ready to go.
For the Buick, I use Julio's kit, Alky Control, it has a few nicer things for the Buick, including in-line filters. But I wish his kit had the quick connect/disconnect fuel lines rather than the heavy braided lines.
 
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