Advantages? Race gas VS. Alcohol ?

COBRAII

COBRAII

Active Member
What are the advantages of using one over the other? Engine performance and chassis setup issues both. Is there a big difference in fuel quality between barrels of VP,Sunoco and others as opposed to the stuff you can pump at local stations for $3.99 A GALLON? Gotta make a decsion soon on the alky vs gas . Thanks for any advice. Jon
 
advantages of gasoline are 1)you run the engine leaner, so therefore you use less gas than alky.2) it is easier to tune the engine (read the plugs) 3) because alky is very corrosive, you don't have to purge the fuel system if you leave the car sit for several days. disadvantages of gas are 1) gasoline mixes are not consistant; that means the batch you run this week may be different from what you buy next week 2) alky is very predictable;you can run higher compression ratios and more ignition advance without fear of engine damage. 3) alky is safer to deal with when refueling.. also the exhaust fumes will not poison you if you breathe them. 4) alchohol engines will run cooler. art.
 
All of the above post applies, there are other factors as well. You will not run into a situation with alchahol where you do not have enough octane for your compression ratio. You have to run a high enough octane racing fuel for your compression ratio, oval track fuels have special cooling agents that drag racing or aviation fuels do not have. Most engine builders request that their racers purchase fuel in sealed barrels, alot of guys purchas from some places out of pumps without problems. There is alot of chances for contamination in the fuel truck, in the tank at the station and wherever else the gasoline goes between being blended and your race car. Some people say that this one or that one has sold one fuel as another, or deluted real raceing gas with pump gas to increase their profits, I do not have personal knowledge of this happening, but have heard horor storries.
 
Gas is just as consistant if you buy in sealed drums if not more constant than alcohol. If you run the VP late model plus that quite a few major engine builders recommend it is safe at over 15:1 cr even with 36-38 degrees timing and will still run cool ask Mike Harrison he ran all last season with late model plus. Also no fuel is safe when refueling and can explode and all exhaust fumes can kill
 
Race Gas vs Methanol (myths and Bull****)

CobraII-
First of all, I have been distributing race fuels for 20 years and I am by far the largest distributor of race fuels in this area. So, I have a pretty good knowledge and background in race fuels. There are as many myths and misbeliefs out there as there are racers. There are things that are better with each, it depends a lot on what and where you are running. With gas you will lose some torque but you gain the advantage of not using as much as you would with methanol. Weight is another thing. . .most race gases weigh about 6.01 to 6.2 lbs per gallon and methanol weighs 6.63 lbs per gallon, so if you're on gas say you would use 5 gal in the feature you would use about 9 of methanol. They say twice as much but that is not true, it's more like 1.8 more methanol. Anyway, using 5 gal of Sunoco Supreme, which is what most of the late models are using, you would lose about 31 lbs of rear weight. With methanol in the same situation you would lose about 60 lbs of rear weight. As far as running leaner using less gas, that has nothing to do with it. Methanol is an oxygenate meaning it has oxgen in it and requires more volume, and as Art said gas plugs are easier to read than methanol plugs. As far as how corrosive methanol is varies but if you use a quality top cylinder lube you do not have to drain the system unless you let it sit for weeks. The best lube I have found is ALKY brand lube. I have tried and tested them all and ALKY is by far the best and does not separate, clog jets, leave deposits on the intake runners, etc. Now the one down fall of any Top lube is they cost a little horsepower NO MATTER WHICH LUBE!!! I supply fuel to a dozen engine builders with dynos and everyone of them will tell you this. We have tested them all. Now as far as consistency, any quality race gas should not change from batch to batch!!!! Sunoco mixes their fuel in a 1/2 million gal tank so consistency is not a problem. Methanol or Alky will run cooler and is safer when refueling EXCEPT for the fact it burns colorless in the day time. Another advantage of Alky, they put an additive in to make methanol burn with a colored tint.
Now then, sealed drums. . .how many seals do you want. Another bull**** myth. As with all distibutors of our size, we bring in fuel in transports and drum it, then we can put the seals on or not. Some of my dealers prefer seals, most don't because of the strick quality control we have and they trust our quality. All race fuels are stored in tanks and get transported one way or another. . .barge, truck, railcar, etc. and that is the way it is. Anyone tells you different has no clue. If you have dedicated trucks for race fuels as we do there is little or no way for that contamination. As far as the horror stories on cutting gas, these stories come from small so-called fuel dealers and not from reputable companies operating a business of distributing race gas. This post could go on forever with the myths but in fact 10 of the last 12 ump champions buy there racefuels thru us. Rather than go on and on if you have any other questions, feel free to call my order line and leave a number and I will call you back. Maybe then I could answer any questions and explain the myths so that you can make an educated decision.
Thanks
Ron
Wick Oil
Distributor for all of Sunoco Race Fuels
1-888-(RACEGAS)722-3427
 
I will add that Ron sells both gas and alky so he has nothing to gain in wich of the two you choose. He is probably the most informed person on fuel in the area.
 
thanks

Dean said:
I will add that Ron sells both gas and alky so he has nothing to gain in wich of the two you choose. He is probably the most informed person on fuel in the area.
Click to expand...
Dean, gasoline it is. Thanks everyone for the input and Ron thanks for the detailed insight.
 
Very good previous posts. The only thing good about burning off that much rear weight is, in a mod or late model, or any other car that you can mount your fuel cell in any position you want, you can strategically place it in a position to change your crossweight as it burns off. That being said, you should have it in such a place to begin with, but if you run a track that varies wildly through the night, this can be an area to get an edge that you may have not thought of. Be it alcohol or gas they both change weights as they empty, so use what the situation calls for. That should be the ultimate deciding factor. You may wind up chasing a setup doing this, but it's a nifty thing to try when the situation calls for it. The nice thing to this is, if it is a huge edge, you can EASILY see (if) where the car that dominates has their cell mounted.
 
how much ya wanna spend

It just depends if you have alot of money or not.I used c44 (oxengenated ) in 2001 drag racing , and it will make as much or more power than alky, , and it weight the same as race gas, but it is 33 dollars a gallon, or was in 2001.
 
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