Leaded gas ban from drag racing in Canada.

[old farmer]

Just read an article saying that Canada's environment ministry will ban leaded gas from racing starting on the beginning of 2009.
This is after many years of extensions to allow the racers time to convert over to unleaded gas.
Now the government says no more extensions, you have had many already and the hammer will drop in 2009. The concern is a lot of families go to the drag races and the kids are highly suseptible to lead poisoning, more than adults.
A track near me says that 2008 could very well be their final year! A lot of Americans come here to race and are part of American sanctioning groups. The track operators say they won't come over any more because they use leaded fuel.
My question is whether this is as big a deal as it sounds. Is it that hard for drag racers to switch to unleaded gas?
Is there more to it than hardened valve seats?

 

[PandaBear]

Leaded gas have higher octane, so if they are tuned/build for that you have to retune and lose performance.

 

[Shannow]

It's the same garbage that you hear every time something is done.

If lack of leaded gas will lead to closure of a dragway, then they were looking for an excuse to close IMO.

Look at the VP racing fuels website to see what is available with and without lead.

 

[rshaw125]

They're still using leaded gas? i thought they had gotten rid of it years ago.

 

[dailydriver]

I just read an article about Shell developing very high octane unleaded racing fuels.
I believe it was in issue # 87 of Race Tech magazine.

 

[SD26]

Unleaded racing fuels have more dangerous chemicals than the threat of lead in a leaded racing fuel.

It's dumb, reactionary government intervention to special interest.

 

[Shannow]

Leaded gas has just the same nasty cehmicals (albeit lower concentrations), plus lead.

 

[MGregoir]

Leaded gas has been banned in Canada since 1990 except for specific exemptions for auto racing and a few other things, and they only renewed the exemption for one year this year. It's been coming for 20 years and I don't necessarily agree with the ban but all parties involved knew it was coming.

It does signal the end of professional drags in Canada for many classes until changes are made, however.

 

[racer12306]

Yeah, I guess that means the IHRA won't be visiting canada anymore.

 

[ted s]

the IHRA still exists?

 

[ALS]

Didn't NASCAR switch over to unleaded this year?

 

[ted s]

Yes a couple years ago.

 

[Dieselbob]

I thought Canada banned it in the early 90's, and that was why the NHRA quit going there. Wasn't John Force's first win up there?

 

[ProStreetCamaro]

MMMMM sucks for canadians. My 13.5:1 compression 383 stroker just loves 110 octane leaded race fuel. I drive it on the street with leaded fuel.

 

[RRocket]

This ban has been repealed until 2010.

 

[rshaw125]

The governing bodies should take the lead in this and ban leaded gas. Why have they done this before?

 

[ted s]

BECAUSE the racers cry?

 

[losershot]

Lead is a neurotoxin. You don't want to be inhaling it.

"Overexposure can lead to blindness, kidney failure, hearing loss and probably cancer. Around 350 B.C. Hippocrates recognized a link between smelting lead and abdominal colic. In 1767, George Baker linked Devonshire colic to cider that had been contaminated by storage in lead containers. In the 1890s, childhood lead poisoning was recognized and linked to lead-based paint by studies in Australia."

More information: http://www.intermed.med.uottawa.ca/Curriculum/IPH/data/Lead_in_Gasoline.htm

Find a better way, lead already has screwed up the world enough.

 

[Dieselbob]

The problem is that it can VERY difficult (read EXPENSIVE) to get racing engines to work properly on unleaded fuel. NASCAR teams with multi-millin dollar budgets spent considerable time and effort before they felt comfortable using unleaded. Racers working on a smaller budget wouldn't have a prayer of making that switch until the technology has matured enough to bring cost and availablity of parts down to their level.

 

[SD26]

Originally Posted By: Dieselbob
The problem is that it can VERY difficult (read EXPENSIVE) to get racing engines to work properly on unleaded fuel. NASCAR teams with multi-millin dollar budgets spent considerable time and effort before they felt comfortable using unleaded. Racers working on a smaller budget wouldn't have a prayer of making that switch until the technology has matured enough to bring cost and availablity of parts down to their level.

Agreed.

Additionally, the chemicals in high octane unleaded racing fuels, which can't touch the octane in a leaded fuel, are dangerous on their own merits.

Out of the frying pan, into the fire.