7/5/2014

Fuel Comparison, Gasoline, Methanol, Nitromethane - SMOKEmUP.com

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FuelComparison:Gasoline,Methanol,Nitromethane
Inoureverquestformorepowerweneed
considerwhatpropelsourcars,FUEL.Most
hotroddersusuallyonlyconsiderrunning
onetypeoffuelintheirengine,gasoline.
Thisarticle'sintentistoexploresomeof
theotheralternativefuels,alcohol,and
nitromethane.

FuelTypes:

Gasoline
Alcohol
Nitromethane
Summary

GasolineGasolineiswhatmostofourcarscamesetupsoit'susually
whatwestickwith.Gasolineisamixtureofhydrocarbons.Thepetroleum
distillatefractiontermed"gasoline"containsmostlysaturatedhydrocarbons
usuallywithachemicalformulaofC8H18.Theairfuelratio,A/FRatio,for
completecombustionis14.7:1,stoichiometric.TheA/Fratioformaximum
powerisapproximately12.5:112.8:1.Thismeansthatourengineatmax
power,12.8:1,consumes12.8poundsofairfor1poundoffuel.Gasoline
hasapproximately18,400BTU/lb.Usingtheairflowcalculatorwiththe
defaultinputswegetour355SBCconsumes567.53cfm@6500rpmwhich
is42.64poundsofairandconsumes2.89poundsoffuel.Thereforeifweare
usinggasolineourengineisproducing53,176BTU'sofenergyat6500rpm.
Alcohol(Methanol)AlcoholisusuallyusedintheformofMethylalcohol
ormethanol.CH3OHisthechemicalformula.Methanolburnsatamuch
richermixturethangasolinedoes,between5.0:16.0:1.That's5lbsofair
toonepoundoffuel.Methanolhasapproximately9,500BTU/lb.Usingour
355,exampleabove,SBCconsumes567.53cfm@6500rpmwhichis42.64
poundsofairandnowat6.0:1ratioforMethanolis7.11poundsoffuel.
ThereforeifweareusingMethanolfuelourengineisproducing67,545BTU's
ofenergyat6500rpm.
Nitromethaneisafuelthatisusedmostlyinspecializeddragracing
classes,"nitrofunnycars"and"topfuel".Nitromethane'schemicalformulais
CH3NO2.Theoxygeninnitromethane'smolecularstructuremeansthat
nitromethanedoesnotneedasmuchatmosphericoxygentoburn,partof
theoxygenneededtoburnnitromethaneiscarriedinthefuelitself.Typical
A/Fratiofornitromethaneis1.7:1andnitromethanehasanenergycontent
of5,000BTU/lb.Usingour355,exampleabove,SBCconsumes567.53cfm
@6500rpmwhichis42.64poundsofairandnowat1.7:1ratiofor
nitromethaneis25.08poundsoffuel.Thereforeifweareusing
Nitromethanefuelourengineisproducing125,412BTU'sofenergyat6500
rpm.
TABLE1
Fuel

EngineAir
Flow(cfm)

lbsof
A/F
air(lbs) Ratio

Poundsof
Fuel(lbs)

EnergyContentof TotalThermal
Fuel(BTU/lb)
Energy(BTU)

Gasoline

567.53

42.64

12.8:1 2.89

18,500

53,176

Methanol

567.53

42.64

6.0:1 7.11

9,500

67,545

Nitromethane 567.53

42.64

1.7:1 25.08

5,000

125,412

SummaryAsyoucanseefromtable1abovetheclearwinneris
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7/5/2014

Fuel Comparison, Gasoline, Methanol, Nitromethane - SMOKEmUP.com

nitromethane.Butthatdoesn'tmeantogooutandpournitromethanein
yourcarandseehowitruns,ifyoudoyourenginewillsurelyblowup.
Nitromethaneisveryexpensiveanddangeroustohandle.Theinteresting
alternativetogasolineisMethanol.Methanolwillmakemorepower,typically
around20%morepowerthanasimilarenginerunninggasoline.Somethings
toconsiderinrunningmethanolisyourfuelsystemwillhavetobe
completelychanged/upgraded.Basedonthetableabovethefuelsystem
willhavetoflowapproximately2.5timesasmuchasthegasolineengine.
Iguesstheoldsayingistrue."Gasolineisforwashingparts,alcoholisfor
drinkingandnitroisforracing."
SMOKE
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