The only benefit you'll get from a xylene / toluene homebrew without a retune is a good cleaning of the fuel system & combustion chamber unless your truck's combo is too "hot" for the current tune / octane level being run.

Doug C.

 

I have been running Xylene for about 3.5 years now that is with every single tank fill up. The hotter the temperature the higher the mixture, here in Texas the temperature is usually 90f+. If you add one gallon to any vehicle the first thing you will notice is that the idle will settle down, (It will run smoother) plus you do get the cleaning benefit of the solvent.

In the winter below 50F on those cold days, when the L starts, it will stumble, it acts like the fuel will not burn, However when the motor heats up it runs fine..
I have never chipped the truck (I will probably get a dyno tune this year) It has 58K on it, with no problems, on days that I do not add Xylene to the tank, she (L) or I can tell the difference. (Not very often)

Oh yea I get it in (5) gal cans at $ 31.00 at Ace hardware store. Also do add Mystery oil to the mixture, it is a must…

 

what is the point of the mystery oil?

 

The lubricants normally found in pump gas get diluted by the xylene / toluene which can cause extra wear & tear on the moving parts in your truck's fuel system. The MMO will bring the lube levels in homebrew back up to spec, plus it helps inhibit the plastic / rubber degrading tendencies of the hydrocarbons.

Doug C.

 

cost !!! your local race fuel may be cheaper.....but are you getting the octane your paying for???? some race gas may not be the octane rating that is advertised....

Toluene is a good octane booster...its is a pure hydrocarbon (C7H8), it will not yield any byproducts other than H2O and CO2 after burning and thus is safe for the entire emissions system (if you have any). All the aromatic hydrocarbons which include toluene and xylene are heavy soot formers especially when running rich and at lower combustion temps so beware. Theres more that comes out the pipe, loads the engine oil, and, gunks up the combustion chambers than CO2 and H2O when you use too much of it. Gasoline blending isn't that easy.
If it was, we would all be doing it!!!

Xylene and toluene are very similar chemically. 2 isomers of xylene have substantially higher octane ratings in both RON and MON than toluene however their boiling points are higher than toluene which means that using too much of it will lower the volatility of your fuel which might make cold starts a little tough especially in cold weather. Both chemicals are common components in regular gasoline.

http://noclownz.dnsalias.net/racegas.htm

 

https://www.f150online.com/forums/li...et/racegas.htm


If you have 93 octane in your area, and you add 1 gallon to 10 gallons of 93, you get 94.9 which most race tunes will benefit from

 

If that stuff is 5 bucks a galon why not just buy 101 race fuel.i paid 3.75 per gallon for a drum.Way cheaper[I think] and no messing around with ratios and adding oil. stan

 

Becuase I do it once a year to clean everything out.

 

Menace i did not mean you.I meant the guys who use it to boost the octane rating.Stan

 

Using a 1:3 ratio & based on a cost of $2.20 per gallon of super unleaded (what I paid yesterday when I filled up the L) and $5 per gallon of xylene / toluene, your average 20 gallon batch of homebrew will run ya:

($2.20 x 15) + ($5.00 x 5) / 20 = $2.90 per gallon

One other thing to consider; unfortunately many people don't have the luxury of having a place to store a 55 gallon drum of race gas.

Doug C.