Boa1277
07-20-2007, 06:52 PM
There is a big discussion on the benefits of AV gas on MX Racing forum and alot of the guys are mixing their own AV gas. After much research I cant really make up my mind if I want to try and run my own mix. Right now I am running 15 gallons of AV gas and 25 gallons of super unleaded and it works real well. I really dont know enough about the refineries and the way the truly mix these hydrocarbons, but if it is as easy as dumping in a can of Toulene to my super unleaded my gas bill will go down quite a bit. They were getting 4.25 a gallon for 100 octane unleaded at Herbst in Parker, The way I figure it I will be able to run my mix for about 3.50 a gallon. Here is the information on Toulene let me know what you think.
Here is some interesting info that should ease your fear about using Toluene.
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 (cars and bikes) engine would have disintegrated long ago since ordinary pump gasoline can contain as much as 50% aromatic hydrocarbons (not all of which are Toluene).
Chemically, 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. 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 (like an MX bikes 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.
Just as a side note Chevron's published composition of 100 octane aviation fuel http://www.chevron.com/products/pro...omposition.shtm shows that toluene comprises up to 14% alone and is the predominant aromatic hydrocarbon.
Thinking about pure toluene??? don't !!!
Because toluene is such an effective anti knock fuel it also means that it is more difficult to ignite at low temperatures. Formula 1 cars that ran on 84% toluene needed to have hot radiator air diverted to heat its fuel tank to 70C (which is 158 degrees Fahrenheit) to assist its vaporization. Thus too strong a concentration of toluene will lead to poor cold start and running characteristics. I recommend experimenting with small increases in concentration until you can no longer detect an improvement.
If you are having trouble finding Toulene you should be able to buy it at any paint store.
Here is some interesting info that should ease your fear about using Toluene.
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 (cars and bikes) engine would have disintegrated long ago since ordinary pump gasoline can contain as much as 50% aromatic hydrocarbons (not all of which are Toluene).
Chemically, 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. 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 (like an MX bikes 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.
Just as a side note Chevron's published composition of 100 octane aviation fuel http://www.chevron.com/products/pro...omposition.shtm shows that toluene comprises up to 14% alone and is the predominant aromatic hydrocarbon.
Thinking about pure toluene??? don't !!!
Because toluene is such an effective anti knock fuel it also means that it is more difficult to ignite at low temperatures. Formula 1 cars that ran on 84% toluene needed to have hot radiator air diverted to heat its fuel tank to 70C (which is 158 degrees Fahrenheit) to assist its vaporization. Thus too strong a concentration of toluene will lead to poor cold start and running characteristics. I recommend experimenting with small increases in concentration until you can no longer detect an improvement.
If you are having trouble finding Toulene you should be able to buy it at any paint store.