VP Racing Fuels

For those of you who'd like that extra blast. Refer to the 'Fuels' & 'Find a Dealer' tabs along the top of the page, you'll need to call your regional office for a location near you. Leaded, unleaded, oxygenated or not, & tons of octane w/o ethanol
I've switched to their new VP Vintage & the V12 is lovin' it

http://www.vpracingfuels.com/page469663.html

 

Greg, the VP Vintage in 15 gal. cans are easier to move around but it's more economical in the 54 gal. drum...that is if this stuff could be considered economical It was introduced last summer. I was paying $12.+/gal. for Sunoco leaded race fuel 5 yrs. ago, didn't matter if it was 100, 110, or 116 octane. So might as well use the 116. I 50/50 mixed that with ethanol-free 90 octane (~$3.50/gal.) for an average 103 octane rating (~$8./gal. overall). I now pay about $7./gal for gas in the Bahamas (still less than European markets), we Americans have it so good @ ~$3.50/gal. (well, except for Venezuela @ $.08).

15 gal. drum: $230.
54 gal. drum: $600.



Ken, for starters...the OM calls for a premium grade of 98/100 O.N. (I'm figuring European). My understanding is that Europe used the research octane number back then (don't know what is used presently), where we use the average of the research & motor octane #'s. VP's Vintage motor octane = 96 & the 'R+M/2' = 98…it follows that the research octane = 100. The spec seems to be spot on with the OM.

Reality is the other side of the equation. I hear all the time that fuel @ major 'branded' retailers are no different than those @ Costco or other spot market retailers. Yet I feel the difference between the 2 in most cars/vans/trucks/suv's that I've used them in. For instance, we've got an older Jeep Wrangler 4X4 with the old 2.4 liter Detroit Iron in it that's the most sluggish thing I've ever driven with most gasolines out there, but with Shell V-Power that think runs like a top. I just 'light pedal' that thing & it just goes & goes. Older Ford vans also had a tendency to knock really bad after a lot of miles were put on them but with V-Power, problem solved…not to mention the performance & gas mileage advantages. For all the opinions out there, I find that I don't have to put as much pedal into it to realize the same performance & I feel it in the seat of my pants. Why load up the carbon in those jugs?

VP lists MSDS's for all their fuel grades on their site. I'm thinkin' oxygenated equals ethanol, right?? I just mentioned that for those who think they need to use that for whatever reason.
I haven't & never will use ethanol blends in the 400, I think the use of ethanol products in aluminum tanks is a recipe for disaster

Oh, & btw...
I haven't forgotten that you're a petro-engineer, & believe you me, you'll be the 1st to hear from me with a ? in that regards.

 

You are so right Ken, gas is gas...they all pull from the same pipeline. It's the additives that make the difference.
I stay away from Exxon & BP because of how they handled things during their escapades.

That was a very interesting move Delta made a little while back, I hope it works for them & help bring the $$ down. But if my suspicions are correct, the price will remain the same & only please upper management & possibly shareholders.

 

5 Gal. Can: $61.54 or about $12.31/gal.+ state sales tax
15 Gal. Drum: $191.23 or about $12.74 + state sales tax
54 gal. Drum: $555.07 or about $10.28 + state sales tax

These are the prices from my dealer in Clearwater, lower than Retail List quoted by VP Racing.
15 & 30 gallon drums are special order, hence the reason why they're more (but still below list price mentioned earlier).

Much higher octanes are available from VP Racing & will cost less overall when mixed 50/50 with ethanol free gas compared to VP Vintage.

 

Greg, the problem is the ethanol-free gas at the Mobil near me is only 90 octane...OM recommends 98~100 octane.
You guys have a ton of race/drag strips in your state, that'll probably be another route you can take if the VP Regional office doesn't have a dealer close to you.

VP-Atlantic

Barga - Car Power Equipment
Phone: +351.253270443
Cell: +351.938181800
[email protected]

Newark, DE
Phone: 302-368-1500
Fax: 302-368-1869
[email protected]

Sunoco's site has the various unleaded & leaded fuels, at the bottom of the page you'll find "fuel finder", afterwards click on a particular race track & it'll bring up what they sell there.
I don't have any race tracks particularly close to me so I just order VP from my oil dealer.
It turns out that the 5 gal. & 54 gal. are the popular sizes, & my guy gets deliveries weekly from VP Racing. I do have a handicap van with a lift on the side door for heavy lifting/moving so no lateral raises being performed here. Cans/drums are metal & recyclable, a syphon or transfer pump is necessary.

Search results for: 'multi-use transfer pump'

For the high octane nay sayers out there, I used to mix nitromethane with premium leaded gas in my dirt bikes back in the day & they ran like a bat out of h**l. A quote of VP's Motorsport 100 fuel:
"Dyno tests with a turbocharged application proved VP100 generates up to 14% more horsepower compared to premium grade 91 octane unleaded gasoline."
You don't know what you haven't tried.

 

Steve, I did make reference to the research octane number in post #4, & AKI equals R+M/2 if I'm not mistaken. Not only were higher octanes more available back then, I'm thinking that leaded gas was what was available in Europe @ the time & intended for use in these. Another note: Generally, the R+M/2 rating is .95 of RON (or a 10% difference between motor octane & research). And many/most manufacturers not worrying about the minimum octane levels...probably. But Ferrari, who's cars/engines are race proven before street use,...I don't know., I would hope not. Or else, maybe their service intervals would be called into question.
I would think they were on the ball more so than most of the manufacturers out there.

In the same post (#4), I made mention about the pinging problems I've experienced in a couple of vehicles. I'll reference a 3rd vehicle now, the 1980-85 Cadillacs. They had 4.2 liter engines that had real problems in this area. With repeated dealer service visits & $$$$ spent on upper end cleanings, etc. with no resolve, I began using premium fuels (Amoco, Shell, & Chevron). It took a few tankfuls but the pinging disappeared during normal accelerations & probably took 10 tankfuls before I could floor the accel. pedal without a ping. The optional digital dash included a gauge that would report miles traveled on the tank @ any time & instant or average mpg. All #s went up! Those engines were infamous for their sluggishness & I found I didn't have to put the hammer down to get half-way decent acceleration out of it (& I mean half-way ) with the premium fuels.

When I replaced my plugs a while back, I peered into the cylinders & noticed the piston tops were carbon'd up. I'm sure the 2% CO setting on the car had something to do with it but I have no idea what the mentality of the previous owners were...if they felt that regular gas was fine, that would have something to do with it as well.

VP has a bunch of fuels they offer, one with an octane rating above 120.
Sunoco has a bunch too, unleaded & leaded:
Sunoco Race Fuels | Leaded Fuels
I used to 50/50 mix their Maximal leaded with 90 octane ethanol-free but my nearby source dried up. Sunoco advertises that the 116 has a shelf life of 3 yrs. (I'm thinking in 'sealed' containers, not in your tank). Holding 140 @ 2/3's throttle says something. Do any or all of them stretch the true,...quite possibly. I use the seat of my pant to be the judge.

 

VP attempts to market in other parts of the world but I think it might be due to the dealers that step up to retail the product (just suspecting). I asked my SouthEast regional office about dealers in the Bahamas & they said there was only one company that would order from them (in Nassau) but it wasn't often. It's a logistics thing too, the transportation/costs, the various permits countries make you pull, import taxes/duties, then add to that retail mark-up. The stuff is already expensive, add all that to it & it's got to be off the charts. I really don't see that being an option outside of the States at all!!
Consider yourself lucky to have Shell 98, that's beautiful. If we had that here in the States, this thread would't be in existence. My recommendation, steer clear of E85

 

No big deal, guess I was fast at the draw
With respect to high octane nay sayers, I was referring to those who say that any higher an octane than needed is just blowing $$ out the tailpipe. In my vehicles in the past that have pinged & then switched to Shell V-Power, I'm figuring that in time it'll clear out the carbon deposits.

No, I haven't...but I'm very reluctant to use the 400 as a ginny pig