This is so crazy I just had to post it. The last time I was at a national event I was talking to some of my dad's friends who used to race and one of them said that he could knock a tenth off his ET by using Mothballs in the air cleaner. He absolutely swears by this. I thought it was the most ridiculous thing I ever heard. According to him they release a vapor that works something akin to N2O in that under high temps and pressure the oxygen separates from the rest of the molecule. I thought he was joking until some of the other guys started agreeing with him. I was wondering if anyone else had ever heard of this.

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'87 Bird 350 .060 over 700R4 + Lots more

 

man... i dunno. if you use that AND a toro leaf blower.. i thnk ur gonna have one demon of an engine. i'd be careful, dont add more than a few ***** if you add the blower too, it might be too much for the engine to handle to answer your question without an overdose of sarcasm, no.

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• 83 Z28-- not a pretty site to look at, 200k miles and im sure it was treated like a rental car every day of its sad life(before i got it).. sold, thank the lord
• 74 Z28-- 383/400, green on black. pretty clean. FOR SALE!!!

 

I have heard of that but I dont see any reason why that would help any/a significant amount. they are full of Hydro Carbons, so that might be what does the trick.

BW

 

yes, they ARE made of napthaleyne, which IS explosive... Maybe crush some up and put em in a cotton sack or something so they dont rattle around like all hell :P

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1992 Pontiac Firebird
- 305ci V8 TBI / Automatic Trans / Loaded
- MODS: Edelbrock 14x3 Open Element Air Cleaner, Dual outlet exhaust
1985 Chevy Z28
- 350ci V8 TPI / Automatic Trans / Paid $200 for it
- In the process of restoration!

 

Well, it MIGHT kill the "bugs" in your system.

 

I've heard of people putting them in their fuel, but from what Iunderstand, it causes more problems than it's worth.

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82 Camaro:
350,
Erson cam, ported heads,Comp Cams 1.6:1 rocker arms
Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, Holley 600
Crane Hi-6 ignition, Accel supercoil
TH350 tranny with 2500 stall.
Eibach Pro Kit
SLP 1 3/4" headers

 

lol glenn

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89 IROC-Z 350 TPI

-Flowmaster Catback
-Performance Resource Chip
-700R4 (Rebuilt) Too much done to actually list
-K&N Airfilters
-Ported Plenum
-2.77 Gears (not much to brag about but eh, its there)
-MSD 8.5 mm plug wires
-Gutted cat
-!AIR
-Gutted Air Boxes

 

Well I'll be damned!

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'89 Red Formula 350- 350 .060 over forged pistons 232* @ .020 cam Performer RPM Holley 750 DP Vortec 1.94 1.50 Hedman shorty headers Dual Exhaust w/ cutouts 1LE WS6 suspension, wheels, and brakes, 9 Bolt 3.27 Posi 700R4 Harwood snorkel scoop Eclipse Head Unit Delco Bose Speakers 2 12" Pioneer subs w/ 400 watt/chanel amp

 

If anyone attempts this beware of the exhaust, no telling what burnt mothball fumes turn into when mixed with gas run trough an engine and converter. Just a health tip.

 

This a joke I hope. I hope no one is stupid enough to do this.

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1991 Z28 ZZ4 with LPE superram base, SLP runners, LPE 58mm T-body,Random Technology ramair,TES headers,24#svo injectors,ZEX nitrous,Walbro 255lph f-pump,Accel AFPR,Random Technology catback,!cats,and mutch more.

 

Not sure about a car, but I know I guy who used to put them in the gas tank of his motorcycle. Supposedly increases octane rating, but at the expense of hotter engine temps. Not sure if it is bs or a legit. trick.

 

From my reading here is what I have gathered. The general thinking is that mothballs when added to gasoline will raise the octane and thus allow higher compression and more ignition advance and hence more power output from the motor. Mothballs contain Napthalene, this falls in the broad catagory of aromatics, and more precisely, Poly nuclear aromatics. Since tetra-ethyl lead was banned from gasoline formulation, aromatics were substituted to raise the octane of the newly formulated unleaded fuel. Aromatic content for current US pump gas runs around 20 to 25%. Napthalene is present in only trace amounts with almost all aromatic content being made up of Toluene and Benzine. The problem with using mothballs is that they in general are no longer made with Napthalene, rather they use para-dichlorobenzene which does not raise octane. The article I read said that with modern gasolines, naphthalene is more likely to reduce the octane rating, and the amount required for raising low octane fuels will also create operational and emissions problems. In addition, it went on to say that there are toxicity concerns with para-dichlorobenzene, so be careful about over exposure.