Nitro Costs...

[mgty3whlr]

It's more of a Homeland Security thing as to why it isn't produced here. That's why teams hafta go thru certifications to be able to aquire it, kinda like a commercial fireworks handler having to have an ATF license.

 

[FABMAN]

It's more of a Homeland Security thing as to why it isn't produced here. That's why teams hafta go thru certifications to be able to aquire it, kinda like a commercial fireworks handler having to have an ATF license.

Oklahoma City bombing of Federal Building

 

[Jeff]

No, I'm really talking about global demand .... the process of refining the most complex energy molecules is very flexible, but you only have so many atoms to deal with and remix ... lots of more lucrative things to make than nitro .... it's what comes out of the stack that the EPA regulates. They put excise taxes on stuff that hurts the environment (imported or produced domestically), but since about 10% of the people who read this regularly enjoy snorting this stuff we know it isn't that harmful to the environment. The Homeland problem is because it can help commonly available fertilizer components expel energy at an enormous rate .... it's easier to regulate this one ingredient than all of the rest.

 

[Jeff]

Can I ask why this is? Surely it's more than just "We can't compete with Chinese labor?"

Sam, its sorta funny to assume that cheap Chinese labor is how that economy rolls. They are more about technology and automation than you could ever imagine. Do they make some crap and export it to us ... yes, because we buy it (not you and I, but US). Do they make a fair number of items better than almost anyone else .... yes, they play in that arena somewhat regularly (for example go find a high end golf club shaft that is not made there .... but their alloy golf club head forgings suck). They are dominant in their non labor intensive stuff ... and they are trying to dominate the world's economy. It's interesting and scary, but trust me they don't think it's about cheap Chinese labor.

 

[ironpony]

Maybe like gun control, why worry about the gun make the bullets unobtainable. EPA does not like modified engines, make the fuel to expensive by regulations.

 

[Notch1320]

There's a product called Comsal (sp) that is used for cleaning newspaper printing presses that is 55% nitro (I think) and 45% Alky (not methanol) that can't be burned. The Swensen & Lani Funny Car tried it once with disastrous results.

 

[Muddy]

After the OKC bombing you can no longer buy Ammoinum Nitrate fertilizer except in certain agriculture environments. Nitro was very hard to get for a while and became much more expensive and regulated.

I remember back in the late 60s or very early 70s Racing Fuels Inc gained control of the market and raised the price by 400 or 500 percent. Seems like for a while it went from about 5.00 a gal to over 25.00. Darn near killed many budget racers and caused many of us to start getting serious about sponsors. My memory is a bit vague but it seems like they finally lowered the price but not back to previous levels. Many cars that were funded by a$$ National just quit or limited their racing. That may have influenced the growth of match racing as much as anything.

 

[Pete]

I’m not sure why everyone is surprised the cost of fuel has gone up a few hundred over the past 10 years.
If I remember correctly, when NHRA banned Schumacher nitro (2008), the price of Sunoco or VP jumped from $900 a barrel for 55 gallons to $1200 for 50-52 gallons and is now in the $1350-1450 range. It’s damned expensive.
However, over the same time period, the VP C12 racing fuel I used to run has jumped roughly 100% from $8.00/gal to over $16.00/gal.

It probably doesn’t cost that much more to produce the good, in fact I’m sure the process is more refined (no pun intended).

 

[Nick Name]

I remember back when Angus was raising the price of US made nitro, and one of the well known funny car racers threatened to bring a tanker load from China. I said at the time, are you sure you want the Chinese to control the nitro production. But at the time, money talked. Now look where we are.

 

[Jeff]

there is more risk than meets the eye making your money off of the crack spread ... my dad did it for much of my life .... that's why I got in the much less risky drilling business .... hahaha