- How does an internal combustion engine work?
Combustion, also known as burning, is the basic chemical process of releasing energy from a fuel and air mixture. In an internal combustion engine (ICE), the ignition and combustion of the fuel occurs within the engine itself. The engine then partially converts the energy from the combustion to work. The engine consists of a fixed cylinder and a moving piston. The expanding combustion gases push the piston, which in turn rotates the crankshaft. Ultimately, through a system of gears in the powertrain, this motion drives the vehicle’s wheels.
There are two kinds of internal combustion engines currently in production: the spark ignition gasoline engine and the compression ignition diesel engine. Most of these are four-stroke cycle engines, meaning four piston strokes are needed to complete a cycle. The cycle includes four distinct processes: intake, compression, combustion and power stroke, and exhaust.
Spark ignition gasoline and compression ignition diesel engines differ in how they supply and ignite the fuel. In a spark ignition engine, the fuel is mixed with air and then inducted into the cylinder during the intake process. After the piston compresses the fuel-air mixture, the spark ignites it, causing combustion.
The expansion of the combustion gases pushes the piston during the power stroke. In a diesel engine, only air is inducted into the engine and then compressed. Diesel engines then spray the fuel into the hot compressed air at a suitable, measured rate, causing it to ignite.
- How does octane affect engine performance?
The higher a fuels octane rating, the more compression and heat that fuel can handle before spontaneously detonating. If you are able to increase compression (more air and more fuel), you will have a bigger explosion within the cylinder, leading to more performance.
- What do octane numbers mean?
Octane is a rating for a fuels ability to prevent pre-detonation, or combusting before being ignited by the spark plug. Fuels achieve octane in various ways, whether through latent heat of evaporation, heavy metals, or refining, all with various pros and cons. Always be sure to understand the fuel that is necessary and sustainable.
- Can octane booster be as good as race fuel?
Yes, octane boosters, such as PETROTEX can offer the same octane and performance as race fuel, if used properly.
- What octane to buy at the gas station?
It is always advisable to utilize AT LEAST the recommended octane that the manufacturer recommends. Many import vehicles and performance domestics are designed to run most efficiently on premium 93 octane fuel. If you are in places that cannot provide 93 octane, your vehicle will adapt, but performance and efficiency will be lost.
- Are all octane boosters the same, how do you compare them, and what is the best on the market?
Absolutely not! 99% of octane boosters on the market provide little or no octane enhancement whatsoever. Resulting in no performance increase or even a drop in performance, with a worst-case scenario that your vehicle requires a higher octane and you rely on a poor product, and after not receiving adequate octane, damage the engine.
If it comes in a plastic bottle, simply put, it doesn’t have enough active ingredients to provide any real enhancement. While there are products that do increase octane and performance, now you have to be aware of fuel stability and phase separation of active ingredients, seen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-WmsURxC18
in a comparison of PETROTEX and a competitor that falls our of suspension and causes fouling.
PETROTEX’s proprietary carrier technology and fuel stability enable an industry leading octane delivery and performance. No reliant on clever marketing tactics, just dyno and octane testing, we are committed to providing the best fuel solution on the market.
- Do I need octane booster?
If you are in need of higher octane, (using the above diagnosis charts), and do not have access to race fuel either due to cost or convenience, then an effective octane booster is your best solution. Otherwise we suggest detuning your vehicle to a lower octane to protect the engine.
- Will an octane tester be able to show the final octane once I have blended PETROTEX?Unfortunately, no. The reason is based off of how these devices determine the octane of pump gas in the first place. The way a handheld octane calculator works is by measuring light, refraction through the fluid. Because octane in pump fuel is increased with typically the same chemicals, just different concentrations, these devices are calibrated to measure those concentrations with light refraction caused by these chemicals.However, with PETROTEX, since our active ingredients cause different reactions with light, the resulting octane may be extremely high or not react at all. A drop of food coloring may cause a higher octane on the device, but we all know, it won’t cause higher performance in the fuel.
- Why can’t I just make my own octane booster?
Technically you can. People have been trying to do it for decades, and there are easy ways to increase octane. The risks however far outweigh the benefits. The benefit is that you can do it cheap. However, the risks are that you never know the exact octane that you are achieving unless you send it to a certified lab (very expensive), and the biggest risk of all is that it is more than likely not sustainable. Many of the cheap and easy solutions out there have active ingredients that over time will cause harm to your engine internals.Take ferrocene for example. Been used as an octane booster for years, but in fact it is an iron base. Thus over time, when you add oxygen, it oxidizes and rusts, and that is just 1 product, there are millions out there. Even among the octane boosters that do actually work (<1%), the absence of a proprietary carrier also lowers sustainability and puts engine internals at risk over time.
That is why we stress and tested our formula over nearly a decade of racing and laboratory testing. In our engineer’s opinions, there is no substitute for real R&D and results.
- How does PETROTEX create octane like race fuel?
It is easier to think of PETROTEX as a race fuel concentrate. Essentially our engineers figured out how to take the active ingredients in the world’s most popular race fuels, remove the “fillers”, and develop a proprietary carrier that enables all of those varying density, active ingredients to remain suspended indefinitely in solution. Therefore, when you are blending PETROTEX with your regular pump gas, you are basically adding back in the filler, and effectively transforming your fuel to race fuel.
- Does PETROTEX contain any chemicals that can be corrosive too rubber, plastic, or metals?A lot of corrosion that happens today to internal engine components, in our experience, comes from the supplementation of ethanol in our fuels (E10, E15, etc). This is due to its hygroscopic nature (affinity to absorb water into the gasoline). This absorption of water then causes phase separation, gumming up of components such as carburetors, and of course, the drying out and corroding of seals, rings, and other components.PETROTEX proprietary carrier actually works to solve these negative side effects of ethanol by stabilizing the fuel to prevent the phase separation. We are also formulated into our solution lubricating chemicals that actually help prolong the life of these various engine components.So you should be good to go! Please let us know if you have any other questions.
- What is the shelf life of PETROTEX? Opened vs Unopened? Recommended storage?PETROTEX has been designed to maintain suspension in both your fuel tank and bottle. As a result, unopened, a bottle of PETROTEX will maintain a shelf life of 2 years and opened 1 year. That is as long as it is kept in a cool, dark place
- Does PETROTEX stabilize my fuel?All of PETROTEX’s products have a proprietary chelated carrier that not only stabilizes its own formula to maintain suspension, but also has the ancillary benefit of stabilizing the gasoline that it is blended with in order to prevent phase separation from ethanol supplementation.
- Will PETROTEX change my Air/Fuel RatioBecause PETROTEX contains no oxygenating agents, we will not change your Air/Fuel ratio (lambda) when blending at various ratios.We have had people report a “leaning” out, but we attribute this to the engine’s ECU accounting for the higher octane and increasing timing.
- Is it ok if I leave BOOSTane in my tank over the winter?Yes it is! PETROTEX Proprietary chelating carrier not only maintains the stability for our active ingredients in solution, but will also help stabilize your Gasoline as well. Especially if you are leaving it for extended periods of time and it contains in amount of ethanol, thus preventing phase separation.
- What is the shelf life of the octane booster and under what conditions?
PETROTEX products’ shelf life is 2 years, when stored in a cool environment and sealed properly. When the product has been opened and resealed, we recommend using within 12 months.Performance will begin to diminish after these periods of time of elapsed, not before.
- When do I add PETROTEX to my tank?
You can add PETROTEX products both before and after the fuel has been added to the tank. Ideally you add PETROTEX right before you pump your gas. This will result in immediate mixture. However, PETROTEX’s carrier will enable a complete blend, even if it is added after.
Only poor fuel quality w/ ethanol in my area
This is a very common occurrence in higher performing vehicles, even from the factory, that have a higher stock compression.
The issue typically lies in the quality of our available gasoline at the pumps, these days. With the advent of ethanol supplementation in our fuels, we are now faced with an unstable/unreliable fuel. This ethanol has a much high rate of degradation due to its hygrospscopic nature (naturally affinity to absorb water from the atmosphere and cause phase separation).
Our engineers over here at PETROTEX assessed that problem and were able to implement a proprietary carrier that not only keeps our active ingredients suspended in solution, indefinitely, enabling us to deliver the octane you desire, but also slow that degradation and phase separation of our daily gasolines.
Therefore, for your 91 octane, I would recommend 1 can per full tank of gasoline. This will roughly get you 95/96 octane, and enough to prevent that timing retardation.
Let us know if you have any other questions.
- My vehicle isn't tuned. How will PETROTEX benefit my performance?
PETROTEX is designed for all levels of vehicles. This includes street vehicles that are also untuned. PETROTEX is going to be the best option to unlock your vehicles full performance. It allows your vehicles ECU’s natural adaptive capability to add a few degrees of timing, especially if you are in parts of the country that only offer 91 octane.
- Can I run PETROTEX with my Water/Meth Injection
You can absolutely run PETROTEX with your Water/Meth Injection or Nitrous. Be sure to understand the octane that your vehicle is requires, and follow our mixing chart for the desired ratio.
- Will PETROTEX shorten the life of my spark plugs?
The typical spark plug lasts between 60,000 and 70,000 miles. This is under normal operation, and regular pump fuel (what they were designed to run on). By adding PETROTEX to increase performance, you are effectively putting these types of combustion components under more stress. Therefore, it is to be expected that using PETROTEX for an extended period of time will effectively lower the life expectancy of your spark plugs. However in our experience, that amount should be closer to 50,000 miles, instead of the original 70,000 miles. But do you want the extra 20,000 miles, or the 50,000 of high performance?…
Let us know if this answered your questions.
