Octane Additives?

[DAVID GAGNARD]

Steve R;

At our local dirt track they did two tests. The first they used a paper strip similar to what you would use to test swimming pool water,I think that tested for foriegn substances in the fuel. Next they took a small sample of gas out of your fuel cell with one of those turkey basters and went into the fuel "shack" and did some kind of test which was supposed to give an octane rateing of the fuel. Not real sure what kind of test,but it caught many people.

We were allowed to run up to 100 octane racing gas which they sold at the track for about 4 bucks a gallon. They usually tested us because we did not buy our gas with them,so they tried to catch us. It took a few tries to perfect our formula but we did and were never disqualified for fuel.

The paper strip test did not show the lacquer thinner and was designed mostly for stuff like nitro and other additives that some racers tried.

Our engines ran clean and showed no adverse effects. To this day I still use lacquer thinner in my 65 Mustang when I go to the dragstrip with it. I drive over to Auto Zone,buy a gallon of lacquer thinner and borrow their trans. funnel and pour it in right there in the parking lot and give them the empty can and their funnel back,drive across the street and finish filling the tank with 93 octane gas,then head out to the dragstrip. The guys at Auto Zone still shake their heads when they see me doing it. I have had no fuel related problems with my car,carb,or gas tank and I have been doing that for five or six years now.....


We tried avaition fuel for half a season and the car ran good using this fuel,I think it was about 102 octane or so. Aviation fuel has a lot of additives for those type of engines and for high alltitude and for keeping water out of the systems or at least dispersing it. After we tore down the engine to freshen it up,we found a heavy black crud through out the top end of the engine and was told it was from all the additives in the fuel,that's when we switched to lacquer thinner. We did not want to switch as the local fuel supplier was sponsoring us by giving us all the aviation fuel we used free,but it did no good to the engine and we also burned a piston using it,but not sure if that was the cause or not.

Hope this helps.

David