Can you mix nitro RC gas with regular fuel to make higher octane?
nitro rc gas
- Thread starter Dummy
- Start date
I always wondered about that, but with it being a glow plug engine, isn't it essentially really high test diesel?
thats what I thought. Goes boom under compression not spark. Sounds like a really good way to cause pre detonation.
J
JHG
Well-known member
That stuff is super expensive, I think the last gallon I bought was like 40 bucks.
Pure nitromethane burns at about 4200 degrees Fahrenheit, the stuff you run in an RC car is about 15% Nitromethane blended with 20% lubricants and then methanol to help keep it cool. I think the temp increase in the cylinder would cause some issues.
It takes over 14 lbs of air to burn 1 pound of gasoline, it takes about 1.5 lbs of air to burn 1 pound of Nitromethane. While you are burning like 8.5 times the nitromethane to gasoline in one stroke, the energy produced by burning nitromethane is less, in a nutshell, if you have the same amount of gas and nitromethane, the nitromethane will make about 2.5 times the power of regular gas. It is really explosive and won't do anything to reduce det, like adding octane will, if anything the increased cylinder temp it causes will cause the gasoline you are mixing it with to det. Hope this makes some since, I guess the short answer is its probably not a good idea but the RC car blend has such a small amount of nitromethane in it, unless you mixed a couple gallons with your fuel you probably won't notice much difference anywhere but your wallet, if you do notice a difference in your sled, its probably not a good thing.
Pure nitromethane burns at about 4200 degrees Fahrenheit, the stuff you run in an RC car is about 15% Nitromethane blended with 20% lubricants and then methanol to help keep it cool. I think the temp increase in the cylinder would cause some issues.
It takes over 14 lbs of air to burn 1 pound of gasoline, it takes about 1.5 lbs of air to burn 1 pound of Nitromethane. While you are burning like 8.5 times the nitromethane to gasoline in one stroke, the energy produced by burning nitromethane is less, in a nutshell, if you have the same amount of gas and nitromethane, the nitromethane will make about 2.5 times the power of regular gas. It is really explosive and won't do anything to reduce det, like adding octane will, if anything the increased cylinder temp it causes will cause the gasoline you are mixing it with to det. Hope this makes some since, I guess the short answer is its probably not a good idea but the RC car blend has such a small amount of nitromethane in it, unless you mixed a couple gallons with your fuel you probably won't notice much difference anywhere but your wallet, if you do notice a difference in your sled, its probably not a good thing.
B
b1dodge
Well-known member
Nitro is very hard to light...so hard so you can put a match out in a 55 gallon drum of 100 % nitro and takes extreme cylinder pressure ( big A$$ blowers) and dual 44 amp magnetos on a top fuel car. Nitro carries its own oxygen(thats why a top fuel car at 500 c.i. makes 8000 hp) and burns very slow thats why top fuel cars spew really large flames out the exhaust because the fuel is not done burning when the exhaust valve opens. There is about a million other reason it wont work but the biggest is the fact that Nitro WILL NOT MIX WITH GAS..... the second they touch its like water and oil. A good point that bighoe makes is the amount of nitro it would take.. Top fuel cars burn 16 gallons in 4 seconds....better bring a gas can with you.
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That sounds like it gets about the same mileage as my old thundercat!!
Good info, I had no idea that it was that different.
Good info, I had no idea that it was that different.
