Where can I buy race fuel in the Northern VA area?
 

Does anyone know where I can buy race fuel in the Northern Virginia (D.C.) area?? I know that I can buy it at Speed Unlimited, but we call that place Speed Unreasonable for a reason!! $$$ They sell 5 gallon jugs of 115 octane leaded and 104 octane unleaded for the same price of $34.99 per jug. There has to be another source that would sell me 55 gallon drums or better yet, somewhere that I could drag the boat and pump it in. Does anyone deliver??

I need to mix it with 93 octane to get it to the 100-102 octane area. I talked with the guy @ Sonny Leonard's shop and he said that my engines were dynoed with 93 and will run on that, but I should pump up the octane just to be safe. It seems to me that mixing it with the 115 leaded would be the smarter thing to do because I would have to use less fuel to get the points up...any suggestions or advice??

The good news is that both tanks are currently full!! :D :evilb: :drink: :evilb:

Re: Where can I buy race fuel in the Northern VA area?
 

Can you run airplane fuel? Manassas Airport?

If not, give Kenny a call here:

Big Foot Speed & Custom
4801 Ewell Rd
Fredericksburg VA 22408
(540) 373-3291

Kenny has the HTM on the Potomac with 1300+ ponies. I am sure he knows a few folks in the hi-po fuel biz.

Re: Where can I buy race fuel in the Northern VA area?
 

C&C Auto in Manassas for sure. The Powerhouse in fairfax, but I haven't been there in years, don't know if they are still there. They use to sell it by the gallon or you could get it in 55 gallon drums. Just return the drum when getting a new one. I used to work at Autosport speed shop in Sterling on Shaw road and we sold race gas. We only sold it by the gallon though.

Re: Where can I buy race fuel in the Northern VA area?
 

Got nuff gas to make a ride to Cape May ?

Re: Where can I buy race fuel in the Northern VA area?
 

That would be an expensive ride!!! :D :evilb: :D :evilb:

Re: Where can I buy race fuel in the Northern VA area?
 

Dying for ride! we'll be there Sunday.

Re: Where can I buy race fuel in the Northern VA area?
 

Craig I think that most aiports have fuel that is 104 octane.

Jon

Re: Where can I buy race fuel in the Northern VA area?
 

I think you can add Toulene to the 93 to boost the octane. Cheaper, and definetly safer.

Re: Where can I buy race fuel in the Northern VA area?
 

Craig, are you bringing that boat out this weekend???

Re: Where can I buy race fuel in the Northern VA area?
 

Here's some info on toulene I copied from another thread.


Toulene
R+M/2...114
Cost...$2.50/gal
Mixtures with 92 Octane Premium
10%...94.2 Octane
20%...96.4 Octane
30%...98.6 Octane

Notes: Common ingredient in Octane Boosters in a can. 12-16 ounces will only raise octane 2-3 *points*, I.e. from 92 to 92.3. Often costs $3-5 for 12-16 ounces, when it can be purchased for less than $3/gal at chemical supply houses or paint stores.

toluene was used extensively in the turbo era in the 1980s by all the Formula 1 teams. The 1.5 liter turbocharged engines ran as much as 5 bars of boost (73 psi) in qualifying and 4 bars (59 psi) in the actual race. Power output exceeded 1500bhp, which translates into 1000bhp/liter, an astronomical figure.

Mindful of the evil reputation of octane boosters in general, toluene is a very safe choice because it is one of the main octane boosters used by oil companies in producing ordinary gasoline of all grades. Thus if toluene is indeed harmful to your engine as feared, your engine would have disintegrated long, long ago since ordinary pump gasoline can contain as much as 50% aromatic hydrocarbons.

Toluene is a pure hydrocarbon (C7H8). i.e. it contains only hydrogen and carbon atoms. It belongs to a particular category of hydrocarbons called aromatic hydrocarbons. Complete combustion of toluene yields CO2 and H2O. This fact ensures that the entire emission control system such as the catalyst and oxygen sensor of your car is unaffected. There are no metallic compounds (lead, magnesium etc), no nitro compounds and no oxygen atoms in toluene. It is made up of exactly the same ingredients as ordinary gasoline. In fact it is one of the main ingredients of gasoline.

Toluene has a RON octane rating of 121 and a MON rating of 107, leading to a (R+M)/2 rating of 114. (R+M)/2 is how ordinary fuels are rated in the US. Note that toluene has a sensitivity rating of 121-107=14. This compares favorably with alcohols which have sensitivities in the 20-30 range. The more sensitive a fuel is the more its performance degrades under load. Toluene's low sensitivity means that it is an excellent fuel for a heavily loaded engine.

Toluene is denser than ordinary gasoline (0.87 g/mL vs. 0.72-0.74) and contains more energy per unit volume. Thus combustion of toluene leads to more energy being liberated and thus more power generated. This is in contrast to oxygenated octane boosters like ethanol or MTBE which contain less energy per unit volume compared to gasoline.

Because toluene is such an effective anti knock fuel it also means that it is more difficult to ignite at low temperatures. Thus too strong a concentration of toluene will lead to poor cold start and running characteristics. I recommend that the concentration of toluene used to not exceed what the engine is capable of utilizing. i.e. Experiment with small increases in concentration until you can no longer detect an improvement.