Xylene

[lgagno1]

ehhh not so sure about that, the ratio of mols of each element present makes for a very difference in what is produced, hopefully it won't be anything too radical...ie: hydrogen gas...

That isn't true. Gasoline is basically a solution containing different C7 and C8 hydrocarbons. By adding more xylene (C8H10), all you are doing is adding a component with a higher autoignition point, so it will be allowed to compress further before the heat of the engine will make it explode, causing knock. The products of combustion are always as follows: CO2 and water. But when you have incomplete combustion, you get your other products like carbon monoxide. Hydrogen will definitely not be a product.

 

[SmoothCriminal]

ah ok, just wasnt sure of the exact make up of xylene, I was just speculating that it was a hydrocarbon cause of it's name, good to know though

 

[SuperSpud]

soo.. lets put this in terms that I can understand.

adding xylene.. good or bad?

what would the advantages be? disadvantages? (considering I dont drink it or take a bath in it)

 

[vodapas77]

Basically the consensus is not bad in so much it won't melt the fuel line or make the car blow up. However, it's not going to give you 13 whp without increasing boost. Simply put it is a way to rapidly increase your octane allowing you to push your boost higher. Just don't go too crazy with it. That goes for both the boost and bathing in the Xylene.

 

[jdredd]

a lot of people have used both in GTP's running smaller pullys and getting a few degrees of KR... and claimed it helped.. but i still will not use it. I'd rather fix KR problems the right way .. but i guess if you want something that works.. and isnt the autozone "octane booster" s***, people are buying the torco race gas addititve from zzperformance.com, and people are going stupid for that stuff..

 

[Captain KRM P5]

xylene and toulene will destroy your fuel lines over time i have heard

 

[KyRaceFan]

(hand)

Xylene when mixed with gas will raise your octane to about 98-99, which means you can run 1-3 more psi of boost than on pump gas without dangerous knock.

Mix 8 gallons of gas with 1 gallon Xylene, and one small bottle of marvels mystery oil. Little red bottle at autozone in the additives section.

 

[Scott]

soo.. lets put this in terms that I can understand.

adding xylene.. good or bad?

what would the advantages be? disadvantages? (considering I dont drink it or take a bath in it)

Xylene - About $8-$9 a gallon.
NOS Octane Booster "Racing Forumla" - $12 for 12 fluid oz.

Result - Pretty much the same. Xylene is actually a bit better. Just the other is endorsed by a nitrous company...

And other neat information. Xylene itself has an octane rating of 117. Toulene is a few points lower, but costs less.

 

[SuperSpud]

yeah, we saw tourlene too.. its just funny, shopping at lows, then walking to the parking lot and pouring paint thinner into your gas tank.. the looks are priceless...

 

[Maniac0301]

Xylene - About $8-$9 a gallon.
NOS Octane Booster "Racing Forumla" - $12 for 12 fluid oz.

Result - Pretty much the same. Xylene is actually a bit better. Just the other is endorsed by a nitrous company...

And other neat information. Xylene itself has an octane rating of 117. Toulene is a few points lower, but costs less.

If you look closesly at the Octane Boosters available off the shelf it adds a couple points of octane. What they mean is instead of making the gas go from 93 octane to 96-97 they mean it will go from 93 octane to 93.3. Please don't try to increase boost because you have a higher octane level from these off the shelf bottles.

 

[SmoothCriminal]

one has to wonder what properties the xylene changes when it reacts or forms a solution with the gas, gasoline is a solvent, you can use it to clean up oil and such, I wonder if this makes a stronger solvent, say one that eats away at your fuel lines...?

 

[harley]

yeah it will eat your fuel lines. gasoline eats your fuel lines over time. anyways mixing those two chemicals together raises your threshpoint or detenation point wich in terms alows you to advance your ignition for better combustion wich raises your horsepower. plus higher the octane the better it resets igniting. so catching a mixture of gasoline and xylene on fire is harder to do than just plain 91 octane gas.the down side is that if you did some how set the mixture on fire it will burn way hotter wich makes harder to put out. so if your going to use xylene in your gas and advance your timing you better have tough spark plugs and walls.

 

[KyRaceFan]

one has to wonder what properties the xylene changes when it reacts or forms a solution with the gas, gasoline is a solvent, you can use it to clean up oil and such, I wonder if this makes a stronger solvent, say one that eats away at your fuel lines...?

people have been doing it for years. Its not a catastrophic issue if you run some xylene in your gas a few times.
Like someone said earlier, its just another combustible hydrocarbon.

 

[SmoothCriminal]

mmmm great going to an engineering school

toluene is great to add - it used to be used as an octane booster in gasoline blending (i am the engineering support for the gasoline blending dept at my refinery so i didn't pull that out of my ass). i would suspect xylene to have somewhat of an octane boost but perhaps more difficult to blend with other hydrocarbons. we no longer use toluene because we have less expensive and better materials to boost octane. be aware that both are carcinogens and are toxic.

xylene is a direct replacement for toluene, as toluene has been all but pulled off the American market in OTC form. The only place you find it anymore is in specialty fiberglass shops or diluted to s*** in certain paint stripping compounds. The only difference between xylene and toluene is an additional methyl group on the benzene ring. Both of them should have almost the same effect on drastically raising octane levels. Toluene should be just slightly better due to it's lower molecular weight.

A methanol/xylene blend should work wonders on the dyno.

 

[Scott]

If you look closesly at the Octane Boosters available off the shelf it adds a couple points of octane. What they mean is instead of making the gas go from 93 octane to 96-97 they mean it will go from 93 octane to 93.3. Please don't try to increase boost because you have a higher octane level from these off the shelf bottles.

Exactly. And it sells because of the name, not what it does.

 

[03MSP]

Ok, I know that higher octane fuel doesn't increase power directly, but if you were to add xylene to an MSP @ stock boost levels, would the computer in our cars know to advance the timing thus giving a little more power?

 

[kpracer94]

I used to have a crew chief that would add propylene to my fuel
tank in my race cars before qualifying. It did seem to help but I know nothing about it. We quit using it after getting caught after
a big race when they checked top three cars fuel. It showed up
on the sniffer and I was disqualified.

 

[initialRES]

hey guys, been a while since I've been on this board.

Anyway, I am spud's friend. My roommate has a MR2 and he put it on the dyno with and without xylene. No it did not gain 13 hp, I think eric was confused. He did however gain 5 hp at the wheels. Thats pretty good for just adding something.

No xylene and higher octane do not add power. However, most turbo ECUs retard timing when they sense knocking or the possibility of knock which results in lower power. I know with the warm texas air, it is easy to reach those levels, even with my small T25. Xylene allows your engine to run at its full potential.

When I add about 1 gallon of xylene in a almost full tank (14 gallons) I notice my car runs MUCH smoother. Under hard acceleration it feels great. Don't mistake that for more powerful. I don't know if it feels more powerful, just smoother. I like that feeling though so I add it whenever i know I will be racing. Plus, its just like a safety precaution.

So anyway, I can't see how xylene could be dangerous when it is added to a full tank. Its just a detonation prevention which I think is a good idea.

As for the price issue, we buy it in 5 gallon drums for about $23. So that comes out to under $5 a gallon

 

[SuperSpud]

yeah, thats pretty much what I wanted to say, only, I didnt.....

 

[low_psi]

haha, the Automotive Anomoly(sp?) is still in your sig Kyle...