Randall Young wrote:
>
> > I also think it's highly suspect of them not to include a legal
> > disclaimer on use--adding any lead compound to fuels used on the street
> > is currently banned, I believe.
>
> Not to mention a warning on how toxic the additive itself is. TEL can be
> absorbed through the skin, a half-dollar size spot of pure TEL will kill you
> or make you insane (so I've been told by people who should know). Of
> course, this additive isn't pure TEL, but I'll bet a swig of it will still
> kill you or worse.
Most people don't realize that the absorption rate through the skin is
fairly high, and the stuff is definitely not good for you. (!)
In looking at their spec sheet, and the MSDS for tetraethyl lead, it
seems that their claims of 100% TEL "activant" is meant to suggest that
it's straight TEL. In fact, if their data of 59.4 g/gal is correct, that
means that the actual TEL content is (at a specific gravity of 1.7),
0.9% TEL. At the maximum recommended dose (18 oz./gal), this translates
to roughly 0.1% TEL by weight, or 0.11% TEL by volume. This
concentration is in the same range as most leaded racing fuels around
108-110 octane.
And, from what I can see of its typical pricing ($60/144 oz--case of 12
12-oz. cans), this means that roughly 110 octane fuel with this additive
is, at today's gas prices (assuming $1.75/gal), roughly $8.10/gal.
Unleaded 110 octane racing fuel is available in small quantities for
$6.80/gal, and less than that by the drum.
For racing purposes, it doesn't sound like a particularly good deal,
especially since there are unleaded fuels available at comparable octane
and lower price.
Cheers.
--
Michael D. Porter
Roswell, NM (yes, _that_ Roswell)
[mailto:mporter@zianet.com]
Don't let people drive you crazy when you know it's within walking
distance.
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