DIY race fuel

[bogan]

Hey there guys,

I've been watching some U-tube vids about ethanol. I watched a good one about "Popcorn Sutton", An old moonshiner.

Anyway, I'm a home-brewer and I have a still. I make my own bourbon (for medicinal purposes).

I'm thinking about mixing up a E-10 mix, 90% fuel 10% ethanol and runing it in my car.

What so you think?

Would this raise my octane level?
Would it hurt my motor?
Am I an evil Genius?

Check it out

ethanol - YouTube

ethanol - YouTube

.

[Cuba]

Should be fine at 10%. Apc will compensate. You will get more power and cooler combustion. Give a whirl.

I'm putting acetone in my diesel. About 30mls to a 65l tank. Gives me about 50km more range, Cleans the fuel system and provides a little more power. Aviation fuel specialist put me on to it.

[BobSaabit]

We run 10% ethanol in many areas of the USA by law (sleazy move by our Congress to force feed farmer subsidies).

There are no issues with modern engines... none at all.

EDIT: Can you make your own hard spirits in .au? They frown on that here in the USA.

[stamonkey]

Originally Posted by BobSaabit

We run 10% ethanol in many areas of the USA by law (sleazy move by our Congress to force feed farmer subsidies).

There are no issues with modern engines... none at all.

EDIT: Can you make your own hard spirits in .au? They frown on that here in the USA.

I live in a state that requires 10% ethanol, I think most of the midwestern states require it.

Most states also limit you to 200 gallons of home brewed/distilled beer/spirits per year, and of course selling it is highly frowned upon by the ATF . I've made about 75 gallons of beer/wine this past year.

[Saab named Jag]

PA requires 10% ethanol . The problem with pump gas ethanol is they use it to "cut" the fuel so you don't see any gain in octane. (You do see a drop in mileage)

However if you were to add ethanol to otherwise unadulterated gasoline you would see a rise of about 2 or 3 octane based on an E10 to E15 mix useing (R+M)/2. So not a whole lot higher but if you are starting with 93 octane you would now be in the 95~96 area. FWIW most off the shelf boosters only increase the octane by about 1 point over the whole tank.

So you will see a slight gain within the confines of a safe mix ratio, but not to the levels of comercial 100+ race gas. Very doable but which is more important to you, your free time making it or money to buy it off the shelf? And as a fellow brewer/distiller even home made ethanol isn't free

I'm not saying do or don't do it, just throwing out some points to think about. Have fun

[bogan]

I know what your saying Jag.
It is very time consuming making a "brew". I could spend all weekend making ethanol. Plus I have a drinking habit that I am also trying to keep up with .

I think I might just buy fuel, it's easier

Cheers

[bogan]

Originally Posted by BobSaabit

EDIT: Can you make your own hard spirits in .au? They frown on that here in the USA.

Nope, its illegal here in OZ.
How they get away with selling stills at home brew shops is they say its for making distilled water.

Gotta love that distilled water. I'm having a distilled water and cola right now

[Cuba]

I used to distil a crap load. I don't know that it's illegal for personal use here. I lived out in the country on a deer farm then anyhow. Locked deer gate at the bottom of the farm and another 6 gates and veritable 4x4 track before the house anyway. Key was kept in a marmite jar and stuck in the middle of a flax bush. Would never have dreamed of putting good liquor in the bike or car. Did used to keep the methanol though, good for cleaning solvent and such. Also works ok in a zippo.

Toluene is another story. Very toxic though. I don't recommend messing with it unless you are experienced with chemicals of this nature. A Ukrainian workmate of mine told me about how they used it to boost the octane in their pump fuel as the quality was so poor engines would knock and generally crap themselves. Anyhow, in this story the toluene was kept in an old liquor bottle and an uncle who was staying took a swig and was dead within minutes. Need a respirator really.

[The Black Stig]

Want cheap race fuel?

Obtain or make E100

Un oxygenated, Unleaded 100 octane gasoline Do an E75 Mix............. BAM Upwards of 118 ocatne

[Saab named Jag]

Yeah/\/\ but you will melt your fuel lines. And injectors. And Pump. And maybe even your tank I wouldn't advise it

[BobSaabit]

^ Don't think so... JZW does E85 tunes that kick asp... no problems such as you mention that I am aware of.

[SaabsInHisSleep]

Originally Posted by bogan

Hey there guys,

I've been watching some U-tube vids about ethanol. I watched a good one about "Popcorn Sutton", An old moonshiner.

Anyway, I'm a home-brewer and I have a still. I make my own bourbon (for medicinal purposes).

I'm thinking about mixing up a E-10 mix, 90% fuel 10% ethanol and runing it in my car.

What so you think?

Would this raise my octane level?
Would it hurt my motor?
Am I an evil Genius?

Check it out

ethanol - YouTube.

Two things ethanol will do that are not good:

1. It is a water MAGNET. It's already a problem in humid states, even at 10% from the pump (So much that may people seek non ethanol fuel to remedy the moisture problem). The more you add to your fuel, the more likely your fuel is to draw in moisture

2. It will lean out your air fuel ratio. Ethanol oxygenates the fuel, lowering it's stoich point. 10% is a small change, but add more and things will get lean without retuning.

A good option might be Shell URT Advanced unleaded. It's an unleaded race fuel that works in applications up to 116 octane when run straight up, but you can mix it with pump gas to reach the octane you want. (For example, 50/50 with 93 octane pump gas is 105 octane, etc...).

It's meant for hardcore drag racing and road racing when run straight up, but it still won't harm catalytic converters or O2 sensors, so it's suitable for street legal cars.

It contains NO ethanol, so storage isn't an issue, drawing moisture isn't an issue, and leaning excessively is also not an issue.

I don't sell it, but if you google it, it's almost everywhere now: Shell URT Advanced

[SaabsInHisSleep]

Originally Posted by BobSaabit

^ Don't think so... JZW does E85 tunes that kick asp... no problems such as you mention that I am aware of.

There HAS to be problems. High levels of ethanol need radically more fuel flow vs no ethanol. For example, if you run E85 on a pump gas tune, it will run EXCESSIVELY lean.

E85 requires so much more fuel flow, those running it are upgrading to larger injectors, pumps, etc....
You have to flow almost 30% more fuel to attain a safe AFR.

[GTlegs]

Gee whiz, those Sydneysiders!

[BobSaabit]

Originally Posted by SaabsInHisSleep

There HAS to be problems. High levels of ethanol need radically more fuel flow vs no ethanol. For example, if you run E85 on a pump gas tune, it will run EXCESSIVELY lean.

E85 requires so much more fuel flow, those running it are upgrading to larger injectors, pumps, etc....
You have to flow almost 30% more fuel to attain a safe AFR.

Like I said... talk to JZW if you like. He does radical e85 tunes and pulls 500HP or more out of the 2.0 motors. I don't think he's melted an engine yet.

[Saab named Jag]

I'm not referring to the engine itself. With a proper tune the engine would LOVE the E85. I'm talking about all the plastic bits in the fuel system. Almost all modern cars can handle up to E15, beyond that you can start to melt components. However I know some of the newer Biopower saabs were actually set up to deal with E85. If that is the car you have then it will work fine. I don't know about Australia but I don't think they were doing that in 97' (I could be wrong though) However in a normal car you will have problems eventually. It might not be the first tankful, but eventually you will have major problems.

[BobSaabit]

Originally Posted by Saab named Jag

I'm not referring to the engine itself. With a proper tune the engine would LOVE the E85. I'm talking about all the plastic bits in the fuel system. Almost all modern cars can handle up to E15, beyond that you can start to melt components. However I know some of the newer Biopower saabs were actually set up to deal with E85. If that is the car you have then it will work fine. I don't know about Australia but I don't think they were doing that in 97' (I could be wrong though) However in a normal car you will have problems eventually. It might not be the first tankful, but eventually you will have major problems.

Well, if you're really interested, contact JZW, he posts in the OG9-3 forum. I'm not aware of any components he changes to deal with the alcohol's abuse of components - those related to the higher boost like larger injectors excluded. I am aware of the issues you've cited as a general concern but it doesn't seem to be an issue for our cars.

[priapism]

Originally Posted by BobSaabit

^ Don't think so... JZW does E85 tunes that kick asp... no problems such as you mention that I am aware of.

Ethanol holds water and will corrode your fuel lines.

[BobSaabit]

Originally Posted by priapism

Ethanol holds water and will corrode your fuel lines.

The plastic ones? The stainless ones?

Even my NG900 runs those. I don't see an issue.

[priapism]

Most fuel lines are aluminum I thought. It can also rust out the fuel pump itself, and it dries out rubber seals and gaskets. There's a reason it's not recommended to run e85 in cars not certified for it (without modification).