What fuel & oil do they use? INDY 500

[Domenic T.]

Just wondering what they use for fuel, and what oil stands up to running that hard.

Dom

[Steve B.]

Re: What fuel & oil do they use? INDY 500

I think that they use an alcohol type blend, could be totally wrong though.

[Michael J.]

[Duke W.]

Re: What fuel & oil do they use? INDY 500

I believe the fuel is 100 percent ethanol, and has been for about 10 years. It was 100 percent methanol for decades. Gasoline was optional back in the early sixties, but was outlawed after the big '64 wreck that killed Dave McDonald.

The oil is probaby a non-detergent racing oil, which is changed out after every practice session and race. It is not meant for long term use and is totally unsuitable for a road car, either new or vintage.

Back in the methanol days fuel systems were drained and flushed after every use because of methanol's corrosive properties. I don't know if that's the case with ethanol, but the practice may have been carried over.

Indycar engines, like F1 engines, and NASCAR engines are specfically designed for full output for a few hours, so internal parts are designed for that specific service and lubricants are choosen accordingly. Road engines that are designed to operate for many years and many tens of thousands of miles at relatively low average load are completely different animals than racing engines that are designed for a few hours of maximum output and then rebuilt using many new parts like cranktrains and valvetrains.

The engine oil requirement for such short term use is actually not as rigorous as what is required for a road engine oil that is designed to last for months and thousands of miles and hundreds of cold starts. Most real "racing oils" have little or no detergent/dispesant, but have a good does of anti-wear and anti-foaming additives.

A big consideration in racing engine design is the oil cooler. It must be big enough to keep oil temperature in the design range, but too big a cooler increases aero drag. In order to keep viscosity in the desired range, oil temperature in the low 200s is the likely target, not to exceed about 250-260.

What works best of Indy, Daytona, and Monaco is not the same as what works best in normal road driving.

Duke

[William F.]

Re: What fuel & oil do they use? INDY 500

Web site says "E85 fuel.

[John D.]

Re: What fuel & oil do they use? INDY 500

Duke, I use Non Detergent 30 Wt oil in my 1928 Model A.

[Jerome P.]

Re: What fuel & oil do they use? INDY 500

Well said Duke.

[Rod K.]

Re: What fuel & oil do they use? INDY 500

IndyCar does use E85. One reason is that since pure ethanol burns without a visible flame, they use E85 so the 15% gasoline will provide a visual indication of fire to the rescue crews, etc. Not a good idea to run into an alcohol fire without warning. The big fireballs you see when a car hits the wall, etc., probably mostly comes from oil.

[Domenic T.]

Re: What fuel & oil do they use? INDY 500

Well from what Duke says, my guess is that the oil is a brew of their own? I would have guessed that driving in the 10K RPM range for 500 miles would be worse than cold starts. At the drag races which have much less running time, oil companies such as Valvoline were giving oil away to the top contenders. Many also did rebuilds after seconds of running, a few passes of about 5 seconds.
I actually received oil from friends that were given the Racing oil, 50W & 60W, and have used it in my low RPM airplanes engines since the 1970's. It did extend time before overhauls (TBO) by over 1/3 and the engines were absolutely clean inside vs using aircraft oil.

DOM

[Duke W.]

Re: What fuel & oil do they use? INDY 500

I would have guessed that driving in the 10K RPM range for 500 miles would be worse than cold starts.
DOM

Not at all. Those are small engines - 2.4L V-6 or 400 cc per cylinder. F1 engines are even smaller - 1.6L V-6 and they are rev-limited to the same as IndyCar engines - 12K. The bearings are minimum diameter to keep surface velocity within the range that is acceptable for plain bearings. Above that roller bearings are required, which is why aircraft turbines have roller bearings.

Over the life of a typical car, 80 percent of engine wear occurs during cold start and warm up. Since racing engines don't see many cold starts they wear very little as long as they are properly designed and oil temperature is maintained within design specifications.

Race engine component life is limited by fatigue issues, not wear.

Duke

[William F.]

Re: What fuel & oil do they use? INDY 500

Duke,
Concerning cold start wear; what's best way to reduce wear when starting my C1 and C2 Corvettes after they've been sitting for a few weeks or couple of months? Is it best to disable ignition and turn engine over a bit with starter or is it best if engines fire right up? for Is use Rotella T 10W30 oil and cars are kept in temp controlled garages around 74 degrees.
Thanks

[Duke W.]

Re: What fuel & oil do they use? INDY 500

You're not going to wear out the engines with cold starts. You may do one once a month, but the average daily driver sees at least 50, and it doesn't make any difference if it sits overnight or a month. The bearings, rings, and everything inside the engine has plenty of oil. Minimum cranking time is best, so put some fuel in the bowls if they are dry so it starts as quickly as possible, and the choke system should be in good working condition.

Once the engine starts allow a few seconds for the fast idle to stabilize, then drive off slowly on neighborhood and city surface streets. In warm weather the engine should be up near normal operating temperature within a few minutes, but it will take another 5-10 minutes for the oil to reach full operating temperature in the range of 180-220F.

I see it all the time in my neighborhood. People start up their cars in the morning and zoom down the street. They probably wonder why I drive off so slowly.

Duke