What Fuel Do Indycars Use?

The Indycar Series is a premier competition in which people drive cars. However, there are four different types of fuel used by these cars, which many people might not be aware of.

The most common type of gas for Indycars to use is methanol. This type of fuel generally costs less than any other and provides a good amount of power as well. However, unlike gasoline, it takes longer for this type oil to combust and does not produce as much horsepower or torque.

Another popular option that Indycars can use is ethanol which has been found to be more environmentally friendly than methanol because it produces less carbon dioxide emissions when burned and also generates fewer pollutants into the atmosphere overall.

Indycar use an 85% mix of ethanol and gasoline, a fuel mixture that is much safer than the series reliance on methanol. We are carrying over this green appeal to our new motorsports series, which will also adopt a fuel mix that uses up less energy.

There’s a lot to consider when think about the fuel used in IndyCar racing, and we’ll go over that below. In this article, we’ll also talk about some of the advantages associated with ethanol-gasoline blends for use in IndyCars.

The Early Years Of IndyCar

The Indy Racing League used methanol as fuel for IndyCar racing from its inception in 1994 until 2009, when the league switched to a cleaner ethanol blend.

Safe

The fuel used in Indycars is not gasoline because of a fiery blaze that happened at least partly due to the gasoline. Methanol (CH3OH) has a higher flash point than gasoline (C2H6). This helps minimize fire or explosion risks as they are less likely to happen and if they do, it will be easier for responders to

Yet another unique point about methanol is that it can be extinguished by soaking it in water. This property makes the fuel optically clear and pleasant to work with, but also makes it dangerous because of its flammable nature.

Cleanup is easier

One of the main differences between Indy cars and Formula One or NASCAR is that racing in America never stops for refueling, which can happen more than once during a 3-hour event. This means that risk of fire at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park could be quite small as there is no fuel to spill and catch on fire.

One problem with methanol is that the flame is invisible. TRacing cars in the dark is hard. You can’t see them and they might hit you.But this effect can be seen more clearly by people during the day.

Renewable

Many people were worried that if a fire happened, it would be hard to see. So some people did something so that the fuel burned with the right color. That made it more safe. Methanol was one of these fuels. But ethanol was easier to make, which is why ethanol replaced methanol in IndyCar races in 2014.

IndyCar And Ethanol

Ethanol is safer than methanol. They are both liquids, but ethanol is less dangerous than methanol. The past was bad for ethanol because it can hurt car parts like the engine.

EPIC Changes

But this was not true. People thought that ethanol meant that cars could not do well. But then someone told them about EPIC, which is a group that promotes the use of ethanol as a fuel in IndyCar. They sponsored Paul Dana in 2005 to show people it would work.

There was a crash in 2005. The Indy Racing League realized the potential gains of using ethanol and not methanol as fuel in 2006. Fuel in Indycar racing changed from a 91% methanol 9% ethanol mixture to 98% ethanol and 2% gasoline.

Tiny tanks

This fuel met a rule that said it was not safe to use as food. It also made the flame from a fire show up with color. When we switched from methanol, we got better mileage and could have smaller tank tanks.

Harmless

Ethanol is less harmful than methanol.  Right now, Indy cars use an 85% ethanol/gasoline blend because some cars on the road use this blend. Motorsport in the world tries to stay relevant to the everyday world so much as possible.

Fuel suppliers change over time. Speedway LLC is the current supplier of the fuel. They took over from Sunoco in 2019. Sunoco has been supplying fuel for Indianapolis since 2004, and they were also supplying the fuel to IndyCar for a few years before that.

Besides Racing, what about rest of the motorsports?

Ethanol is frequently used as fuel across the world, mainly owing to its high efficiency and low net impact on the environment. Although it can be made from renewable resources like corn, making it environmentally smart. Renegade races still use leaded gasoline and regular gasoline which is a major hazard to the environment.

F1 Vs NASCAR

NASCAR uses a fuel called Green E15. It has been in use since 2011. F1 cars can either have an octane of 87 or 98.The lower the octane level, the more fuel-efficient the car will be. F1’s low octane

Drag Racing

Drag racers use nitromethane fuel. This is a special fuel that burns fast. They use up to 15 gallons in their sub-5 second runs. IndyCar racers have a good fuel economy and they are safe for the environment. Drag racing is different because they have an unsafe fuel, which makes it hard on the environment

Summing Up!

IndyCar cars use special fuel that is 85% ethanol. Before, they used fuel that was 98% ethanol. The change happened for safety reasons and to save money. Most other motorsports use gasoline-heavy fuels.