Mothballs in Gasoline

[tpodwdog]

hi dudes. Not that i would ever do this, but it hit me just today. When i was a kid, i can remember people talking about putting mothballs in gasoline to increase the octane.

Just how much truth is in this 'ol wives tale? and have any of you heard this also?

 

[marlabuck]

:cat:...I heard the same thing when we had our 1966 Malibu...my brother in law in Louisiana said it would increase the power...got a box of moth balls but never did do it. Marla

 

[70rr-brian]

From Mythbusters:
Adding mothballs to the fuel tank of a car will increase its horsepower.

plausible
The engine still started, but it soon started spluttering. When Jamie pressed the accelerator, the engine sounded more powerful.

And this:

Moth balls can be used as a fuel additive but only if they consist purely of a chemical called naphthalene. Most moth balls these days are made up of a chemical called paradichlorobenzene upon combustion its byproduct would be hcl which would be pretty corrosive to your engines components. If used correctly the naphthalene in moth balls may give you a bit of an octane boost but for todays cars this is not necessary unless you have a high compression motor that demands such. Too much naphthalene can cause carbon deposits (it is derived from coal tar) because of the ratio of carbon to hydrogen as you could imagine this can be bad for the engine as well. I wouldn't suggest doing this unless you know exactly what ratio of naphthalene and fuel is necessary for your particular automobile.

 

[Budnicks]

Very well said Brian, hey I saw the same Mythbuster, I still wouldn't have ever done something like, putting moth balls in my tank either way... Chalk it up to an old wives tale

 

[BuckNeccid]

Back about 1979 my cousin had an enduro he was trying to carry 3 people on as "Daily driver". He was complaining about the power, and I told him to add 1/4 mothball to each full tank of gas on the bike. He did, drove it for about 3 days and was bragging about how much more power he had.

It was fine until he added 4 mothballs per tank... melted the piston into a slug
of aluminum

 

[iraqivet01]

Use to put them in my yamaha when I was a kid.

 

[shorty64]

No myth - messes up an engine really quick with enuff of them.

Was an enlisted guy on an airbase in the late '60s, married, living off base in an apartment. We had an a$$hole Lieutenant and his wife in the apt complex as well. He would drive past where we were washing our cars, splash the dirty water on us and laugh about.

It was a small complex, only around 23 units, and parking was a zoo. Most of us had a 2nd car for the wife. We tended to honor each other's "spot" even though they were not marked.

The wife and I came home late one night and you know who had his Corolla parked in my usual spot. All other spots were taken so I had no choice but to park in the aisle (near "his" car). Someone woke me the next morning tom tell me about a note under a wiper and a crease in the left rear quarter panel of our '67 Cutlass. The note said something to the effect of "park here again and it will get hit again!" And of course the Corolla was the only one gone in the vicinity of our car.

Called the CHP about the "hit and run", two motorcycle cops stopped by heard my story, saw the note and damage, and we went to knock on the guys door. Of course he was gone. The cops asked why we didn't realign this fellow's way of treating others? I reminded them I was enlisted and he was an officer, so the good old boys network could be a problem.

I confronted the Lt. that night with the note and issue and he just laughed in my face and said he got out of the spot just fine and didn't know anything about the note or damage.

So I waited until the early am of the day I left the service, put most of a box of mothballs in his tank, and left. I checked in with one of my buddies in the apartment on a regular basis and he said the guy was bragging about the mileage and pep his ricer had (vs the muscle cars my buds had), right up until the engine blew. He just couldn't understand how that happened!

Now I don't believe in vandalism but this was one time I felt the a$$hole had it coming, esp with his attitude about feeling he was untouchable and being such a #@%$!!**&.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

 

[MalamuteJohn]

70rrBrian is correct. Like many, actually most, things now, theyre just not as good or effective as they used to be. Such as moth balls. The napthalene does work as an 'octane booster' ; bitd, we used it in a really lowbuck race effort as real Sunoco 260 was something like 3 dollars a gallon...Seemed to help a bit as we got away with more timing than w/o it - this was on a small block Chevrolet and y'all know how octane sensitive those are. Well, the truly faithful here might NOT know...but they are. And it made the exhaust smell different. You could tell who was 'cheaping out' on fuel and who wasn't!
So my most humble opinion is that the answer to the question would be "yeah, used to, but not anymore".
Anyway

 

[tpodwdog]

SHORTY...........i just love home made justice.:headbang: im not a trouble maker by nature....but when im done wrongly, its fair game on an open field. Good for you ! A$$holes need to be taught a lesson and i have taught MANYYYYYYYYYY, just as you did. Great story Shorty.:hello2:

 

[Ron 73]

I got to say thats a good story Shorty! Sounds like he had it coming. I don't agree with vandalism but ive had my share of the home made justice myself back in the day.. Sometimes, it the only way a problem gets stopped, considering some arent going to listen to reason, period..

 

[Richard Cranium]

It sure must take a keen eye and steady hand to simotanieously spread their lille wings and cut their testicles off. How many moths do you have to castrate to reach the desired octane level?

 

[tpodwdog]

It sure must take a keen eye and steady hand to simotanieously spread their lille wings and cut their testicles off. How many moths do you have to castrate to reach the desired octane level?

LMAOOOO... i was waiting for you to post that!!!:headbang:

 

[Red63440]

I have been known to insert a small plastic sandwich a time or two in the past and it worked extremely well.