Posted by jack cain on Wednesday, April 19, 2006 at 11:57AM :
In Reply to: That statement.... posted by MoparNorm on Wednesday, April 19, 2006 at 10:42AM :
Tetraethyl lead (TEL) is still used as an anti-knock additive in AVGAS (aviation fuel).
EPA rules say that fuel containing lead may continue to be sold for off-road uses, including aircraft, racing cars, farm equipment, and marine engines.
That being said CD-2 does not contain lead, only lead substitutes (which are not banned by the EPA).
Additionally when using octane boosters or anti-knock enhancers it is worth remembering that a "point" increase as defined by the manufacturer is not a "point" of octane. Usually the "point" used by the manufacturer only comes to about 1/10 of an octane "point". So when they claim that it boost's octane ratings by ten points the true result is an increase of about 1 octane point.
At the price they charge for octane additives it would really be cheaper to just put AVGAS directly into your off-road vehicles. Although doing so is illegal because road taxes are not paid on AVGAS.
Alternately you can buy tetraethyl lead (perfectly legal) from any number of chemical supply companies and mix up your own. Although I highly recommend against it as it is lethal if handled improperly.
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