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Advice for fellow TR owners from Tom Shea Racing
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"TSR" Switch Fuel System, save money, drive on pump gas!
Racing Fuel, Alcohol and Propane
Racing fuel such as Cam 2 and Turbo Blue are leaded and locally available for a mid-range price. Approximately 114-115 research octane, and 104 to 105 "MOTOR" octane. The "MOTOR" octane number is the important one. Interesting, is the difference between these two and Koch 110 racing fuel available at some local pumps. The motor octane number of Koch 110 is 108. The price is the same as the other 2. I like Koch 110 better for this reason. 4 full motor octane numbers is a very big consideration. Especially at the same price!
Octane is generally referred to by it's pump or average number if dispensed from a public gas pump. This number is the average of the "research" and "motor" octane numbers. Example; Koch 110 has a research number of 112 and a motor number of 108, add these 2 together and divide by two to get the average of 110. Comparatively, look at Turbo Blue and other similarly priced fuels in the mid priced range. Close in price to Koch 110. The octane may be advertised at 115 or 116. This is misleading, since that number is really the research number, which is always the higher number. Sometimes the research number is substantially higher.
With Koch 110, at least they quote the pump, or average number, rather than the higher research number. There is a mistaken perception that Turbo Blue and other racing fuels are actually near 116 octane. This is misleading, the important MOTOR number of this fuel is actually, significantly lower that the average or pump number. It is the "MOTOR"! number that is the important consideration. Turbo Blue motor number is near 104. Turbo Blue pump octane number is near 110. Compare this to the Koch fuel whose pump number is similar at 110, but the motor number is 108. As you can see, the important number of 108 for the Koch motor octane rating is 4 full numbers higher.
I use this example, not to criticize "Turbo Blue" or others, nor to praise Koch racing fuel, but to point out the importance of the motor number, and the importance of being aware of what number you are being quoted. Don't be distracted or confused by the other numbers. Make sure you understand the number you are being quoted. Compare only the appropriated numbers.
There is a variety of other fuels available, including some unleaded approximately 100 octane at the pump. Keep in mind the pump number can be misleading.
V.P.leaded, C-16, 117 Motor octane. Very expensive at the high end of the price range for racing fuels. Not available locally unless ordered in advance from Indiana and shipped with a large delivery. This is in my opinion the ultimate fuel to use. It will make more power at most boost levels than the others. Its octane level is high enough to avoid detonation under extreme demands.
Alcohol: Injection or added to the tank will increase the octane level of the fuel mix. The down side to this is that alcohol does not have the heat energy of racing fuel or other gasoline. It is in fact about ½ as powerful. This does not mean that it is half as good. It is good when used appropriately. Alcohol needs less oxygen to support its combustion process. Alcohol has a cooling effect. These are assets.
There are many factors to consider with the use of alcohol as a fuel additive. For our specific application, It is advantageous to be able to drive on the less expensive pump premium gas and then have alcohol injection come on when the demand for higher boost requires a higher octane fuel mixture in order to avoid detonation. What must be considered, is the ability of our engines to operate at the higher boost levels that an upgraded turbo and other components will work the best at. Even if the added boost level only produces ½ the power that the increase would have if it were on racing fuel. Its still a substantial increase to power output without the cost of driving on racing fuel.
There is another option to increase fuel mixture octane on demand. That is Propane. I am currently experimenting with it and have not taken exception to any aspects of its use. Im confident that it will be an additional viable alternative if used appropriately.
Other than running a T.S.R.-Switch Fuel System there is no other way of on demand octane increase. The only other option would be to drive on racing fuel at all times. This would be cost prohibitive. The fact that good racing fuel is not readily available at your local gas station is another consideration. It would be a shame to be low on the good stuff just when you needed it. To add mixes of lower octane fuel to a system that is completely pure high-octane fuel would result in a system filled with a diluted mix.
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