Moth Balls

tpunx99GSX · 10-25-2004

Ok so im watching Mythbusters last night and they are testing all the theories on cars such as Drano in the gas tank making the engine explode, Bleach in the gas seising the engine, suger in the gas tank... etc. they tried many many theories and they came across one that was pretty interesting.
They heard that if you put moth balls in your gas tank it will increase the octane in your motor... Im sitting there like "this one is definatly gonna be busted" so they ground up the moth balls and started the motor letting it run, nothing seems to be happening, and they start revving it and its sounding the same when all of the sudden then its idleing a little longer, the engine starts sounding different, they start revving it some more and the shit is sounding mean as hell. They stated "without the proper testing equipment, we will say that this one is PLAUSABLE"
Has anyone heard about this myth? I would like to try it but im not sure i can trust the tv anymore, with all the politics going on, it could be some conspiracy agains my car or something.

unreal808 · 10-25-2004

Have you seen moth balls?

AJ · 10-25-2004

unreal808 · 10-25-2004

I mean,... how do you get their legs apart?

tpunx99GSX · 10-25-2004

are you in a perverted mood right now, between moth genetalia and enes's ass you are sounding like youll fuck anything that walks, or flys.

Super Bleeder!! · 10-25-2004

or comes from bosnia

tpunx99GSX · 10-25-2004

From http://www.indianaobserver.com/2002/09/octane.html:
"One old story was that if you put moth balls in a car’s gas tank it would keep the engine from pinging. The story had a basis in fact. Moth balls contained a chemical that has a powerful anti-knock effect. I have seen moth-balled gasoline tested in the laboratory for its octane rating. The moth balls would dissolve in the gas tank and become an anti-knock additive. The trick was to put enough moth balls into the tank to increase the octane enough to prevent pinging. Modern moth balls do not contain that chemical and will not stop engine pinging."

**JET** · 10-25-2004

Yeah, and if you knew anything about octane, you would know that you could not tell anything by rev'ing a car in neutral and being able to hear any difference. If it sounded "mean as hell" it probably wasn't a good thing as far as perfomance goes.

SuperSleeper · 10-25-2004

Just throw a cup of mothballs in with your next gas fill, and find out for yourself. :stick:

unreal808 · 10-25-2004

OT... The stuff used to help with foot corns, could be used to recondition old car batters that had sulfated. from what I have heard.

tpunx99GSX · 10-25-2004

I did a couple more searches and it proved to have a couple chemicals that has been proven to increase Octane. but like the quote states, they are no longer in moth balls probebly because of the flammable properties and the fact they are used usually around wool and clothing. lets see Flammable chemicals + Flammable Material + a nice spark = early 4th of july.

Raptor · 10-25-2004

One of the engineering sites I go to often just had this come up probably for the same reason Tom posted it. They had some interesting theories as to why the old style ones might have worked. I won't repeat it all because honestly, they are theories and while it is interesting, what benefit is it when there are a number of things available and more easily attainable that increase the octane rating and are known to work.

The most interesting part of the thread was the guy who started it requesting that no one made any jokes on how hard it was to pry their little legs apart.

npaulseth · 10-25-2004

Do you know what the octane rating even stands for? In no way at all would you be able to tell a difference at idle just from listening to it.

A//// Guy · 10-25-2004

Yea my car sounded mean as hell once when I put 110 leaded in it. :blah: haha that was funny.

I like the Joke Unreal!

Alpine TSi · 10-25-2004

Only thing I notice when I put 110 octane is that I start feel shinier faster when I sniff the exhaust compared to when it is only 92 octane.

JDM · 10-25-2004

1 Box Moth balls: $10
1 Litre Octane Boost $10
Watching someone actually try this on their own car: Priceless

There's some things money can't buy, for everything else, there's Tom.

niterydr · 10-26-2004

Quote:

Originally posted by JDM@Oct 25 2004, 09:30 PM
1 Box Moth balls: $10
1 Litre Octane Boost $10
Watching someone actually try this on their own car: Priceless

There's some things money can't buy, for everything else, there's Tom.

OWNED!

LightningGSX · 10-26-2004

Old moth balls contained napthalene(sp?) which is from petroleum, and is about 90 octane.The myth came from way back before WWII when the average octane of gas was like 50-60, so adding napthalene moth balls actually did increase the octane.Now, if you could still find napthalene moth balls, adding it would be pointless since average octane exceeds that of napthalene.Anyway new moth balls are made from a chemical(I forget the name, but it breaks down into hydrochloric acid) which will definately be bad for an engine.

npaulseth · 10-26-2004

Quote:

Originally posted by LightningGSX@Oct 25 2004, 10:44 PM
Old moth balls contained napthalene(sp?) which is from petroleum, and is about 90 octane.The myth came from way back before WWII when the average octane of gas was like 50-60, so adding napthalene moth balls actually did increase the octane.Now, if you could still find napthalene moth balls, adding it would be pointless since average octane exceeds that of napthalene.Anyway new moth balls are made from a chemical(I forget the name, but it breaks down into hydrochloric acid) which will definately be bad for an engine.

LightningGSX > the interweb and all of it's knowledge

Raptor · 10-26-2004

Here are two quotes from the board I was reading.

"I worked on the cleanup of a facility who manufacutred mothballs. The product (which they had made since the early 40's)was made from dichlorobenzene not naphthalene."

and

"This is really a stretch, but here goes. Leaded gasolines were formulated with scavenging compounds to help get rid of the lead residue from combustion. These scavenging agents were typically bromine (chemically a halogen, as is chlorine)compounds. It could be hypothesized that by adding a chlorinated benzene compound(mothballs), the lead scavenging would be enhanced and spark plugs would last longer, as well having less lead build up on valves.Performance wouldn't be improved but durability might be."

and finally

"Bromide lead scavengers are carefully balanced against the amount of lead in the fuel, so as to remove almost all of the lead. An excess of lead scavengers will also remove other metals, and is therefore highly undesirable. A little bit of lead is preferable to erosion of the valve seat and bores and piston tops"

So it would seem that since all old school mothballs were not made from Napthalene, you also stand a risk of not knowing which type you have and trying experiments with them could cause some damage.

So to some this up for tom.

trying the new style - potentially putting acid in your gastank
trying the benzene based old style - potential valve and seat damage
trying the napthalene based ones - not enough of an octane increase to notice
using C16 or other specifically developed high octane fuel - the expected results

Is there really any point to discussing mothballs any furthur? Just spend the money on the right fuel and you and your motor will be much better off.