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Mothballs in the gas tank

BossDuB27

Illuminati
Location
South Florida
I have a really cheap friend who's really cheap hahah but hes always trying to save money everywhere he can and scrub of everyone. So last week we were driving up to Orlando and some how I got him to take his car, before we left he goes in his garage and puts like 8 mothballs in his gas tank and im like wtf was that for and hes like better gas milage? wtf? has anyone heard about that or is that just another one of his cheap ways?
 

Bad hare

Ex-mkv owner
Location
Long Island, NY
found this online.

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.
 

07Noside

Banned
Location
x
para-dichlorobenzene, basically carbon hydrogen and chlorine atoms is the main composition in todays moth balls. Has a high melting point and is also basically insoluable in water. The fact that it sublimes at basically room temperature might be filling your gas tank with excessive air that may trick your fuel indicators. I'm no scientist but just from a little wiki research it sounds like your friend is just an idiot :thumbsup:
 

nayfen

TDI NINJA
Location
brisbane
also add 2 cups of sugar to help give the car a better sweet spot in the motor.
 

kwongo

will fly for food
Location
toronto
i hear that if you put pebbles that are exactly 2cm diameter into your turbo, it gives about 10 more mpg
 

Marky-Mark007

Stig's American Brother
Location
Lafayette, CO
Car(s)
2007 Black Magic GTI
i hear that if you put pebbles that are exactly 2cm diameter into your turbo, it gives about 10 more mpg

Common misconception. It's actually three small pieces of silver no larger than 14.7mm and no smaller than 14.3mm per piece. MPG gained is usually 10-12 more, but same amount of horsepower is lost.:thumbsup:
 

BossDuB27

Illuminati
Location
South Florida
Common misconception. It's actually three small pieces of silver no larger than 14.7mm and no smaller than 14.3mm per piece. MPG gained is usually 10-12 more, but same amount of horsepower is lost.:thumbsup:

Wow are you joking? I used to put 16.3mm pieces mixed with 8 mothball halves, and 6 apple slices I was losing about 15mpg, thanks for clearing it up now
 
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