RE: [Chrysler300] Thanks for pump & gas replies

[Ray Melton <rfmelton@xxxxxxx>]

Hello Don -

 

The Blue Magic racing fuel concentrate (not the near-worthless Octane
Booster) costs ~ $9.36/pint  = ~$75.00/gallon.   You can buy VP brand 110
octane racing gas at high-performance auto centers that cater to the
dirt-track racers for $75/5-gallon can  = $15/gallon - that's almost exactly
1/5 the price of the Blue Magic!    If you are starting with half a tank
(~10 gallons) of 91 octane gas, it would take 10 gallons of the 110 octane
race gas to get you a full 20-gallon tankful of 100-octane gas.  With
91-octane premium at ~$3.75/gallon and 110-octane racing gas at $15.00/gal,
you will have $187.50 worth of 100-octane gas in your 20-gal tank; that's an
average of $9.38/gal, and $75.00 more than the tankful of pump premium.  And
it would take >10 gallons = 40 quarts = 80 bottles of Blue Magic 108 Racing
fuel at $9.36/bottle to achieve the similar 100-octane tankful.  You would
end up with a 20-gallon tank with $786 worth of fuel in it - that's over
$39.00/gallon --YIKES!  That Blue Magic stuff doesn't make economic sense at
all!

 

With a 20-gallon tank, each gallon of the $15.00/gal 110-octane racing fuel
(or the 108-octane Blue Magic) only raises the final mixed rating by about 1
octane number.  You can do the math, but the Blue Magic claims are
misleading and wildly optimistic;  you have to read the fine print to see
what they really mean by raising your octane by seven points, or some such
claim.    So, even with the much-less-expensive VP Racing Fuel, you'd
actually have to spend an extra $38.00 per tankful to get 95 octane instead
of 91 octane.  Or an extra $75.00/tankful to get 100 octane?  And the Blue
Magic stuff would be roughly FIVE times more expensive!  Is it worth it??
How much octane do you really need?  Only you can decide, but your motor
would probably only notice the difference for a few seconds at a time, like
the first one or two seconds at a stop-light drag race, or perhaps for a
longer period while you are at fairly heavy throttle and low revs, like
pulling up a long 6% hill into a stiff headwind.  In both cases, I'm sure
that you'd back out of it a little as soon as you hear any pinging.

 

Also, the Gov't calculates gasoline octane rating much differently today
than they did back in the '50's and '60's - what was rated 100 octane back
in 1960 would now be rated ~94-95 octane.  Bottom line is we don't actually
need gasoline rated 100 octane by today's methods for our Letter Cars -
about 94 octane is all we need, and can get by with a bit less for operation
above ~4,000 feet elevation.

 

Oh, by the way, try hard to find a station that can sell you gas with NO
ethanol.  Google "no ethanol gas" or something similar - it's worth the
search!  That ethanol stuff is only good for whiskey, NOT for our cars!  

 

One other consideration is that our older engines were designed around
leaded gas; although the engineers probably did not know it at the time, the
lead compounds formed during combustion actually cushioned the contact
between the valves and the seats.  When unleaded gas was first mandated in
the early 1970's, it was soon realized that valves and seats were failing at
an alarming rate; subsequent analysis revealed the failure mechanism and
since they couldn't go back to leaded gas, they improved the alloys used for
the valves and seats.  "Stellite" (a range of hard, wear-resistant
cobalt-chromium steel alloys) was a name commonly applied to some of those
alloys.  Unless your engine has been updated to Stellite valves and seats
(or equivalent), you may be at greater risk for burning a valve or pounding
out a seat.  The aftermarket chemists jumped in and created lead substitute
additives (don't know exactly what's in them) the mimic the cushioning
effect of lead on the valves and seats.  They are available at virtually all
auto stores at nominal cost.   I always add some when running any of my
pre-1975 vehicles - just don't want to take any chances.

 

A further consideration for all of us is that the motor oils before ~1995
had a considerable concentration of zinc and sulfur (in the form of zinc
dialkyldithiophosphate or ZDDP) which provided a high-strength oil film in
extreme-pressure locations, particularly the tiny contact patch on the cam
nose with a flat-bottomed lifter.  The EPA decided that catalytic converters
must now be qualified to operate for 150,000 miles instead of the
100.000-mile spec before; however, the zinc in the old oils fouled the
catalyst and the converters couldn't meet the new longevity requirement.  So
they mandated that the zinc be gradually removed from the oil, with a target
of zero zinc by the year 2007.  However, since flat-tappet engines could no
longer survive without the zinc in the oil, the engine manufacturers started
building all roller-tappet lifters to get around the problem.  I believe
that almost all engines built after ~1996 will have roller lifters.  But
that doesn't help any of us with flat-tappet engines.  So again, the
aftermarket chemists have come up with additives to reintroduce zinc into
the oil, but of course this is illegal for use in catalyst-equipped cars, so
it's "for off-road use only" - wink-wink.  One prominent manufacturer of
this additive is ZDDP Plus - go to Google.  A four-ounce, $8.00 bottle of
the additive brings the zinc level back up to the ~1300 ppm protective range
and is good for ~3 - 5,000 miles; just add another bottle at the next oil
change.  There are also several companies that sell specially-compounded
high-zinc oils specifically for street use in our older flat-tappet engines.
Brad Penn, Summit Racing, and Champion Oils are a few that I am familiar
with.  These oils and additives can usually be found on the shelves of shops
that specialize in high-performance cars. 

 

I recall that a related thread also recommended going with spark plugs one
heat range colder than standard, primarily because modern fuels burn hotter
than those of ~45 years ago.  I believe the standard heat-range NGK plug
suggested for your 300K is the  GR4GP (platinum center and ground
electrodes).  That "4" heat range is relatively "hot", and you might
consider going one step colder to the GR5GP plug (stock #3351), gapped the
same at 0.035".  The slightly colder electrode will be a little less likely
to precipitate preignition (pinging).  

 

For my 1967, 1968 and 1984 Porsche 911's, as well as my 1970 BMW 2800 CS, I
run 10% 100-octane VP racing fuel with 90% 91-octane ethanol-free premium
gas (gives me ~93+ octane) and a lead substitute, Brad Penn motor oil (or
Castrol GTX with ZDDP+ additive), slightly colder platinum or iridium plugs,
and modern electronic ignition system components (like the Pertronix module
in the distributor and matching high-voltage coil, but hidden or painted
over to maintain original appearance).  When I get my 1957 300C back
running, that's what I'll be doing with Big Red, too!  Yes, it costs an
extra $25 - $30 per tankful, but these are not daily or long-haul drivers,
so a tankful lasts four months and an oil change lasts four years!

 

We enthusiasts with these high-performance (for the time) engines now have
to pay special attention and pamper our Brutes with better gas, oil and
ignition system components.  Why, because they're worth it!

 

Ray Melton 

 

 

 

From: Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:Chrysler300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Donald Nissen
Sent: Sunday, April 07, 2013 10:01 AM
To: 300 Group
Subject: [Chrysler300] Thanks for pump & gas replys

 

  

Many thanks for all the replys about fuel pumps & alcohol gas. I will be
buying an electric pump from John Lazenby shortly, also ordering some Blue
Magic 108 fuel concentrate, and replacing my spark plugs with some of the
NGK Plugs. 
Don Nissen 300K Cvt

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