Fuelish Thoughts

Since the topic of fuel for cars in the F3 "Mono Formula" class has arisen on the forum, it seemed appropriate to ask a couple of F3 racers to comment. For various reasons, neither are forum members so we have reproduced their comments here. Usual disclaimers from Startline.

The Oil Man

Q Does a higher RON (Research octane Number) help in all engines?

A Personally I believe the difference between the 95 and 97 is so minimal in performance that it is a complete waste of money to buy the higher spec. The history of 97 was to satisfy the needs of cars that used to run 4 star and older high performance engines. I would argue that as Mono competitors don't use high performance donor engines they may as well stick to 95 octane. I always used the cheaper 95 in my Toyota and never had a fuel performance problem.

Q Do you think any fuel might give an advantage?

A What you could do is use Tesco's 99 Ron as this contains ethanol. Ethanol is made from a bio component and has a higher calorific value and as such burns better. More burn does equal more performance. This was the idea behind engines that ran on methanol - Indycars and some hillclimb cars. The two problems with 99 are that it's not legal as its not EN228/BS7800 and the mpg isn't as good. What you gain in better burn you might lose in carrying the weight of the extra fuel. And you could lose your points when you're caught.

Q Suppose people wanted to cheat?

A I wouldn't countenance that, but if they did I would suggest that anyone that wanted to 'cheat' and use another fuel that isn't in accordance with the MSA definition of pump fuel could argue the following:
The spec in the Blue Book refers to 'Pump Fuel EN228' but the specs for that are different to the MSA in that there is no Max Ron in EN228
Unleaded fuel is carried and stored in universal tanks. The only distinction is that clean unleaded products such as all unleaded petrol, Kerosene, Diesel, and Naphthas are separate to heavy 'dirty' products like Fuel Oils and crude. As 97 Ron is often stored/transported in the same tanks as 95 Ron there will be octane contamination. This is not a problem in the industry as there is no max Ron spec.

My belief is that a1L sample is not sufficient to check octane and then carry out a re-test. Fuel is sampled within the industry in 5L batches. One for the buyer, one for the seller, and one for the shipping company used to transport the oil. If the oil industry require 5L then it is logical and reasonable to expect the MSA/competitors to do the same. A friend of mine who has a degree in stats points out that the MSA accepts results for octane at 95% confidence level - so they're quite happy if they chuck out 1 in 20 people who are completely innocent

Q What about additives?

A The MSA have thought of that and they don't allow anything except for the purpose of lead replacement. Any additives you might be (illegally) tempted to pour into your tank will be alcohol based. As these are very light you could always leave the cap off your fuel tank/sample for as long as you can. It wouldn't take long for evaporation to remove any traces for your additive. This advice won't work if they take a sample right after the race though, which they probably would, so you'll probably get caught.

Q OK, the big question - would an F3 car run on MSA Pump Fuel?

A When I bought my current F3 car it was being raced in the Asian F3 series. This championship is running 98 Ron unl as a way of saving costs. We told the team we bought the car from that we would run it here on 102 Ron. Apparently they re-mapped the engine by simply plugging the computer in and changing the map with 1 click. I guess it wont be so easy for people like Jim Blockley because he chose to save on my inheritance and buy a cheap old car with 1970's technology (was Life on Mars Jim's favourite TV programme?) The choices for the Monposto club to make are simple. Ask any F3 cars to re-map to 98unl which they most likely have to do to accommodate the smaller restrictor or turn a blind eye to the occasional drum of 102 octane that may turn up in the paddock. Given that re-mapping is a complication, I cant understand why F3 cars dont just run on 102.

If nothing else it would bring Jim out of retirement and thats got to be a good thing!

Q Do you think fuel storage is a problem?

A Fuel is stored all the time. It is transported all over the world and when there is 'contango' (the price for future delivery is higher than the spot price) then it is stored in either shore tanks or floating storage (in tankers moored offshore). It stays in storage until the contango gains become smaller than the cost of storage (rental fees and interest). The only drop in quality is likely to be Vapour Pressure (RVP) which is engineered to different market requirements. RVP in simple terms is where the liquid starts to evaporate. RVP in petrol is different in summer and winter specs and also between altitude and sea level markets. That is the 'woosh' sound you often here when you open your petrol cap on the first warm day in spring. If octane diminished in storage no one would ever be able to store mogas (MOtor GASoline) and an entire industry would be wrong.

At the moment Mogas (petrol) is in 'Backwardation', that mean the price now is more expensive than the future price. So you dont store it. Gasoil and Diesel are in heavy contango, that means the price now is cheaper than the forward price. In fact there is steep contango all the way until the end of 2010.

The F3 Team Owner

Q Will an F3 engine run on 98RON?

A Yes.

Q That wasn't the answer I was expecting.

A Then you need to ask the right question. An F3 engine will start and run on 98RON but it's unlikely to run properly without being remapped. That isn't all that easy with some systems.

Q If you can remap what is the effect on power?

A We had to remap the F3 Toyota engines for the Macau Grand Prix about 10 years ago, which uses some sort of control fuel which is provided by the organisers. It was basically road fuel. We tested at Donington with the map on super unleaded. I think the ignition timing changed by about 8 degrees. Compared with the F3 spec fuel I would guess it was 20/30 bhp down. We put it back onto spec fuel (and the map) and it gained 7 or 8mph through the Craners. It brought it alive.

Q How difficult would remapping be?

A It's not something I would choose. Some engines can't be remapped, it depends on the system you've got. But anyway it can be a time consuming and expensive process if you don't already have the map. However, I hope you get plenty of entries for the class.

I think the extra cost of the fuel - around £15-£20 a race - is well worth it for the security it gives. The spec fuel we use in F3 is a bit more than just high octane - there's the consistency and the additives too.

Thanks to Phil Moore and Ray Rowan.

The Dumbreck Dallara F398, subsequently owned by Team Harrison, seen winning at Macau 1998 on Chinese super unleaded. Our F3 man's car was in the same race.

One of our F3 team owner's cars running with Martin O'Connell at Pembrey, challenging the Stewart cars.

Harwich refinery

The F3 car of a leading oil industry insider

American "Rockett E85" ethanol

Nitromethane molecule. A couple of Mono racers have run this fuel in hillclimb cars. Excellent stuff, which has minor H&S issues of producing clouds of nitric acid when it runs properly and sending bits of engines flying high into the air when it doesn't. Great fun.

Pics: TC, Petrochem Carless, lsxtv.com, 3dchem.com