2EHN (2-ethylhexyl nitrate ) is used in about 10% concentration in diesels.
...
I wonder if 2EHN would be a good additive for gasoline racing engines? It does oxygenate to an extent.
For street, dragracing, and sledpulling we use maybe 1-2% to keep the injectors and pump clean, the same levels as I run in the tow vehicles. For LSR, none.
Someday I need to get around to dyno testing various concentrations and fuel blends. Mfr claims huge gains with additives, but I never trust mfr claims. I already figured out nitromethane doesn't mix well with diesel. Pity...
McRat - -
I want to say that I have been impressed with the extent of your replies related to my oxygen question. Your knowledge of diesel and other related fuels gave me an education of the complexity of my question of looking for more power with just simple oxygen. It is clear to me why you hold several records in the diesel class. I don't ever think I'd be able to run in a diesel class because you have shown me there is too much for me to learn to be competitive. However, I must say I am totally impressed with those diesel transAm cars I see racing on Speed TV.
I'll probably stick with the gas route and perhaps go with a turbo if I feel frisky. I am more of a mechanical guy then a chemist. However, plan B could always take your suggestion of nitrous oxide.
I have learned from everyone who replied. I have received several PMs giving me additional technical thoughts. Thanks to you and all others. I really like this Forum. 
You're welcome.
However, I'm just a newbie at LSR, and I'm still learning. This site is a great resource to learn at, there are some really smart guys here. We still haven't gotten our truck to run correctly, so I'm certainly no genius. I started "bombing" (a slang for hotrodding a diesel, and somehow quite ironic) diesels in 2004, so I'm even a bit new to that world as well. I'm a serious diesel advocate and enthusiast, but have way more questions than answers.
Diesels are not harder to hotrod than gassers, but race parts are far more rare, and way more expensive. For us, A set of better rods is about $3000, one piston is about $400 (stock), headgaskets are $200 a pair (stock), one stock injector is $400. There is no throttle or air-fuel ratio or pre-ignition to worry about, so tuning is just injection timing, pressure, and amount. You can build a mechanical diesel with NO electrical system at all. If you push started it, you wouldn't even need a battery. But ours is a modern computerized diesel with more wires and computers than a typical late model gas engine, which is the hardest part to deal with.
The good news is that most diesel engines can be turned up to at least twice the factory rating with stock parts (when racing). So if your HP needs are modest, it's just a matter of tuning.
The diesel hotrod community is interesting. You have farmers, truckers, and guys with engineering degrees, all competing at the same events. Never take the farmers or truckers lightly, currently they are the dominant force. Being book smart isn't as important as experience. Don't make the mistake of thinking a bombed farm tractor is not just as sophisticated as any other race engine, or less expensive. Some of these guys make their own engine blocks, pistons, and heads, and the level of secrecy is at least as high as other racing if not higher.
Advertisement -
If the USA would embrace modern diesel technology instead of trying to stop it, we could rid ourselves of dependence on middle-eastern oil. A diesel-electric hybrid the size and performance of a Prius would get at least 20% better mileage, and require 24% fewer barrels of oil to be refined. Making diesel SUV's and half ton pickups would save even more. You won't lose performance or drivability, you'll just use less fuel with today's existing technology. No additional infrastructure is needed, no technological hurdles to be overcome, and no trade-offs from a driver's perspective.
GM developed a "plug-n-play" 300HP 4.5L diesel small form factor V8 that will bolt in anywhere a V8 gas engine normally goes. It's finished and they are sitting in warehouses. Some junkyards have the test engines for sale. Due to it's higher initial cost, tighter government restrictions, and GM's financial woes, they abandoned the 2010 release. I'd be driving one right now if they would have shipped them. If our government is in control of GM, how come they did not want to save fuel?
It's not a replacement for rechargeable electrics, or hydrogen fuel cells, but it's cheaper, with less trade-offs, and will actually work with the vehicles that the average American likes to drive. And it can be done NOW. This year, not 20 years in the future. And in 20 years diesels will be even better. Ethanol is a poor excuse for a motor fuel, hydrogen comes from fossil fuels, as is much of our electricity, but diesel made from plants has a wildly higher yield per acre than any other fuel and no significant performance hit. And diesel can be made from natural gas, a fossil fuel we have a surplus of.
How hard would it be for the government to get diesels on the road for the average American? One change in the accounting register. Move the diesel fuel tax over to the gas tax. Since gasoline is used in far higher amounts, the initial change would be about 2 cents in gas prices. But suddenly the diesel option is now far more attractive, with a cost per mile of 2/3'rds that of gasoline at first. As more diesels come online, that number gets better and better, without a sudden crush targeting the common automobile driver. They will be gently moved over to diesel in the name of fuel economy without giving up any performance or making them drive some little POS they don't want to buy.
Now I will admit to being frustrated with LSR diesel rules, as they forbid bio-diesel or diesel derived from natural gas, but that another informercial for a later date.
