olds 88

i have herd that u can make octane boost out of paint thinner i was wondering if you know any thing about this thanks

D. Yaros

I would not be running paint thinner through my carburetor, can tell you that! Why would you? If the car does not have a catalytic converter, simply add some lead (TEL).

Oldsguy

Would not recommend it. Don't do it.

louie

Thinking of a toulene mixture perhaps?


MAKE YOUR OWN OCTANE BOOST

How to make your own octane booster (this is the basic formula of one of the popular octane booster products). To make eight 16 ounce bottles (128 oz = 1 gal):

100 oz of toulene for octane boost
25 oz of mineral spirits (cleaning agent)
3 oz of transmission fluid (lubricating agent)

This product is advertised as "octane booster with cleaning agent *and* lubricating agent!". Diesel fuel or kerosene can be substituted for mineral spirits and light turbine oil can be substituted for transmission fluid. Color can be added with petroleum dyes.

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/advanc...e-booster.html

442much

I think they call it "moonshine".

MDchanic

Not a single one of those guys in the LS1 thread seemed to have any idea of what they were talking about.

I am neither a chemist nor an automotive engineer, but I have seen this mentioned a few times here and there, and so definitely qualify as a guy who doesn't know what he's talking about.

That being said, the idea of the lubricant is that gasoline has inherent lubricating qualities while toluene and xylene do not, so you add a small amount of something slippery to compensate. 2-stroke oil would probably be good, too.
In theory, if you don't, you'll see increased cylinder wear over time.

I do fine with pump 93 octane, but will keep all of this in mind should I ever need it.

- Eric

Rocket Richard

No expert here either, but I remember seeing a post where a guy said he got free toulene from his work and used it in his olds engine for a year or so. He knew that the toulene would kill the engine, but the engine was on it's last legs anyway. When he took the engine apart later it was all gummed up with residue from the toulene. Maybe this is why the octane boost formula mentioned in this post includes mineral spirits and oil to help clean and lube the engine while using toulene.

Personally I wouldn't mess with the fuel... did some work with Shell and saw that a lot of thought is put into our pump gas. If anyone wants to experiment, it's probably best to do that with an engine you don't mind losing.

MDchanic

If I recall, it wasn't gummed up, but rather, it was hogged out - lots of upper cylinder wear.
I could find the post, but I'm too lazy.

Like I said, I don't need it right now, but I'm hanging on to the information because you never know what's around the bend.

- Eric

J-(Chicago)

Been there, done that. Lots of upper cylinder wear without lubrication.
Not gummed up....clean as a whistle. Would spray oil out of the tail pipe on the highway, and mist the car behind.

olds 88

what is mineral spirits if you know thanks

MDchanic

Mineral spirits is a fairly heavy petroleum distillate with a fairly broad range of molecular sizes, but tending toward the heavier ones (I'm thinking decanes here, and perhaps a bit larger, but I'm really not sure), a somewhat lower vapor pressure, and less volatility.
It kind of sits somewhere below kerosene and maybe a half a notch above gasoline in the volatility department.

- Eric

Oldsguy

It is a solvent used with oil based paints. Before everything was water based we used to use mineral spirits all the time for clean up; brushes, tools, pans, etc. It leaves little residue and is very aromatic.

Here is the Widipedia version.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_spirits

MDchanic

Oh. I actually thought he meant "What's it made of?" not "What is it at all?"
Never occurred to me that someone wouldn't know what mineral spirits was.
Kinda one of the basic elements, like water, air, gasoline, beer, lacquer thinner, and dog-smell.

And I stand corrected - Wikipedia says it's predominantly hexane, not decane, which makes it a bit lighter.

- Eric

jpaulwhite

James Bond! lol

NorTown Olds

LOL! Yeah, so unless you're James Bond don't use that stuff! Bad idea...