Ed-vancedEngines wrote:
Most all of us who have been around the block a few times in years do understand that TEL does not produce or enhnace power. It is a known anti-knock agent only. Am I not correct?
To introduce additional content of TEL into a gallon of fuel mixture by volume, the volume displaced by the additional TEL would leave need to remove other power making ingredients out by the same volume. Am I corrrect?
Ed
You are correct, TEL is an anti-knock agent only. It serves no other purpose. When lead is added to fuel, it forms nasty deposits that fouls plugs, builds deposits on valves, and in general is a nasty character. To avoid the problems of lead deposits, a bromide scavenger is added as well.
The amount of TEL that is added is very, very small; typically about 4.0 to 6.0 grams per gallon (a gallon is about 3000 grams). While the addition of TEL (and the bromide scavengers) does take up a very small amount of space, this is almost unmeasurable.
A far more important issue that is lurking below these waters is that a fuel with a higher octane may have changes in many other components. Based on the feedstock available to the blender, he may be forced to use inferior components and then add additional lead in order to raise the octane value of the fuel. In other cases, the fuel octane from lead may be the same but the components used may be completely different.
Octane numbers do not represent the composition of the fuel. The composition of the fuel determines its performance, not the octane.
A somewhat larger problem is the use of unleaded fuels. In order to increase the octane value of unleaded fuels, it was necessary to add an oxygenate such as ether or alcohol. Since both ether and alcohol contain oxygen, the stoichiometric value of the fuel is lowered. Now it is necessary to run more fuel (run richer) in order to deliver the same fuel energy as before.
With the exception of nitro components, there are no trick fuels, no silver bullets that will enhance power. But each fuel will run slightly differently, even if from the same supplier. The real trick is to determine just what the engine wants and then feed it what it wants. When an engine really does not like the fuel you feed it, it will puke parts all over you.
Another very large problem is that engine builders hardly ever really know what air/fuel ratios they are running. When numbers are quoted, they are typically very inaccurate. Others have determined to tune an engine to a specific a/f number, which is a very big mistake.