Jump to content

Water / Alcohol injection


pitboss
 Share

Recommended Posts

I'm adding this kit to my auto quest and had 2 questions.

 

I'm using the windshield washer resevoir as the holding tank. Everyone seems to use 50/50 mix of denatured alcohol (ethenol) / distilled water. Will that eat through the windshield washer fluid supply lines or the plastic trim, or discolor it any, near the windshield? Is windshield washer fluid just as effective? Denatured alcohol is 7.50/gallon at my local hardware store and windshield fluid is like 2.50/gallon and is safe for lines and plastic. I can't find the contents though on windshield washer fluids. I'd like to know what I'm putting into my engine

 

My pressure switch is set to 4 psi, and it's non adjustable. Would I get better performance if I bought one set to 10 psi, or an adjustable one and set it to 10, or 12 psi?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have alcohol injection in our Grand National and we used the www.alkycontrol.com kit. He uses braided SS line in his kits. I'd imagine you could use hose rated for fuel though. Its not expensive. And it shouldn't eat through any of the plastic.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was waiting to see a post like this !!!

I wanted to install the injection on mine also but was wondering how it was done on the quest, and which res. is used the front or the back, sorry for jacking the thread !!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm adding this kit to my auto quest and had 2 questions.

 

I'm using the windshield washer resevoir as the holding tank. Everyone seems to use 50/50 mix of denatured alcohol (ethenol) / distilled water. Will that eat through the windshield washer fluid supply lines or the plastic trim, or discolor it any, near the windshield? Is windshield washer fluid just as effective? Denatured alcohol is 7.50/gallon at my local hardware store and windshield fluid is like 2.50/gallon and is safe for lines and plastic. I can't find the contents though on windshield washer fluids. I'd like to know what I'm putting into my engine

 

My pressure switch is set to 4 psi, and it's non adjustable. Would I get better performance if I bought one set to 10 psi, or an adjustable one and set it to 10, or 12 psi?

 

i run the snow performance stage II boost cooler and love it, i dont know why others are not doing the same. best to use polyethylene tubing and yes you can use you wiper bottle, will not harm anything. 50/50 water meth is the best way to go some run 100% meth but i would not. you can mix your own meth/water by using the BLUE -20* washer fluid and add two bottles of HEET to the gallon.

 

ONLY use the blue -20* fluid it has about a 60/40 water meth mix adding the HEET will bring the mixture to about 50/50. heet is about 90% meth. you can buy both at your local parts store. i buy my meth/water from snow performance "boost juice" it's ready to go $45 for 4 gallons.

 

as for when you want your meth to spray that's up to you. the question is how much will depend on your HP #'s, pump pressure, injection nozzle size (ml).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll have to find that -20* blue windshield fluid your talking about. 60/40 water/meth is fine to me. I don't have to run 50/50. It'd be better for my pump if I ran only 60/40 water/meth .

 

I got a couple gallons of windshield washer fluid.

1 is yellow Prestone and it goes down to -35* and has methanol and isopropyl and water but doesn't say how much of each.

 

The other is Orange Rain X down to -25* and I got it at Walmart and it's only like 2.50/gal. It doesn't say what's in it though.

 

I can always go to Ace and buy a gallon of Denatured alcohol and mix it 50/50 with distilled water, but I don't want to eat up the washer lines or plastic trim that it would spray on as the fluid is stored in the washer resevoir.

 

Sounds like I just need to find the right windshield washer fluid.

 

I/m only spraying with 1 nozzle, but have 4 different sizes of nozzles and don't know which to use. I guess I'll start with the smallest and work my way up, but hitting at 4 psi is lowwww. I read it can slow down the spool. I can advance to 15BTDC and test which is best.

 

Oh yeah, stock set up but with 14G and 3" exhaust on auto tranny.

Edited by pitboss
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sounds good pitboss. I was just thinkng about water/meth injection last night. I'll probably be right behind you. As for a resevoir I've heard the bigger the better. Also, you need to keep track of how empty the tank is. Many blown motors have come from running out of meth on an aggresive tune. Edited by michael knight
Link to comment
Share on other sites

you know....using the wiper washer resevoir is not a bad idea at all, cuz once the 50/50 mix gets low your dummy light will go on telling you that you need more.. all you would have to do is figure out where to mount the motor and run the lines and what not.. good thinking pitboss! :thumbsup:

 

 

 

Daniel

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

meth/water injection is not a power adder itself but will allow you to run a more aggressive tune. meth raises your octane level and the water lowers cylinder temps. i would not run with a mix less than 50/50, meth should be equal or higher than the amount of water.

 

i have a snow performance tank that i did not use. it was too big to fit in my engine bay and i did not want to mount it in my hatch. sell it real cheap!

Edited by LEPORE
Link to comment
Share on other sites

ok the advantage of running water meth is it is like running on race gas the other advantage is that your egts are lower as well as it prevents detonation. i personally am running a cooling mist trunk mount kit and love it. the advantages of it make it worth wild to get. i would recommend it to anyone. the only thing i would say is keep the storage tank away from the engine bay being that the mix evaporates fast if kept around heat. if anyone has any questions let me know
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the kind words guys. Yeah I was thinking about advancing the timing some, but not going too aggressive. Maybe 15-17* BTDC. Well, since the washer fluid is hard to pin down, I guess I'll just go buy some denatured alcohol from Ace tomorrow (15.00/gal.) and distilled water from the grocery store or Walmart and make a 2 gal. batch using old milk gallon jugs. No more than 8.50/gal. tops I'm thinking.

 

I got a slight leak at the fitting where it goes into the bottom of the resevoir, so I'll have to take that tank out again and seal it up better. I'm using some 4mm rubber vacuum line from the fitting at the resevoir to the hard plastic line about 6" away. Anyone see any issues with that, like deterioration or anything?

 

Got all the harnesses made and ran, and the pump and solenoid are all wired up and an LED wired in to light when the pressure switch activates and sends power to the pump so I know the system is working. Got the smallest nozzle I have installed this evening too into the hp that comes through the core support from the IC. Only things left are to redo the fitting at the resevoir, put everything back and mix the fluid. Then take it for a drive and see what's what and start advancing the timing a little. That'll help it run better at idle and suppress detonation when I boost spike to 17 psi (one day I'll get an electronic boost contoller). I'm a little concerned with where the pressure switch is set to though. I might want to go to a higher pressure activation. 4 psi is lowww and I have no increase spray design. It's all on at once until I go off boost. I think Napa sells these switches and their adjustable.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ok the advantage of running water meth is it is like running on race gas the other advantage is that your egts are lower as well as it prevents detonation. i personally am running a cooling mist trunk mount kit and love it. the advantages of it make it worth wild to get. i would recommend it to anyone. the only thing i would say is keep the storage tank away from the engine bay being that the mix evaporates fast if kept around heat. if anyone has any questions let me know

 

What do you have your base timing set to and what mix are you using? Also how many nozzles?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ok my base timing is set at stock but im pushing 26psi on an18g turbo with 8.5 compression ratio. as for the mix im running 90/10 (meth/water) anything else you would like to know ? what psi is your pump? and it is useless to bring it in before 10psi or you will slow the turbo spool and bog the motor
Link to comment
Share on other sites

ok my base timing is set at stock but im pushing 26psi on an18g turbo with 8.5 compression ratio. as for the mix im running 90/10 (meth/water) anything else you would like to know ? what psi is your pump? and it is useless to bring it in before 10psi or you will slow the turbo spool and bog the motor

 

How long have you had your injection set up on BTW?

 

I've been running 12* BTDC before this kit and the motor likes it, except when I spike to 17psi, so I may go up to 15* and stay there, or just stay at 12*.

 

Stock compression ratio and plan to stay at 15 psi or go up to 18 psi with the 14G. IDK, I may go back to the 12A since it shifts early b/c its an auto. With the 12A, I wouldn't be pushing hot air past 14 psi though lol. That'd be sweet. Instant spool up and it'd stay there until 15-18 psi.

 

Label on pump says 1.4 GPM, with a pressure rating of 100 psi. It's a Sureflo with a pressure switch on top of it that cuts power if it goes over 100 psi? Here's a pic of the set up:

 

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s242/pitboss123/PICT0052-2.jpg

 

Yeah, I was worried about slowing the spool (cooler exhaust coming in way early) due to low switch activation. I might switch it out with an adjustable type.

 

I don't think it's a rising rate (i.e. compensating) system though, or atleast it hasn't been described as such. It's all on all the time at the same full flow rate, past 4psi. I can only control how much is injected by swapping out different injector sizes.

Edited by pitboss
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great.

 

So now I have everything back together and sealed up, and wouldn't you know it, something else goes wrong.

 

3 of my gauges don't work right.

 

The voltage gauge doesn't come on at all, the gas gauge goes all the way up to the top limit and the temp gauge goes all the way up to the top too, but slower.

 

Only the tach and oil pressure gauge work right.

 

Anybody got any suggestions on where to start or know why this is happening? I did do a little wiring and I put an LED in the dash that signal when the pump comes on. The water/alky injection sprays BTW. The car starts up and runs fine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm up and running finally. I put the smallest nozzle on and it comes on, according to my autometer boost gauge, at 1 psi. It's rated at 4#. Anyways, my boost does seem to be slightly slower at first but it pulls stronger in higher gears and doesn't make unhealthy clack noise when I spike to 17. NB shows a little richer but not much. Almost the same, but juuust a little richer.

 

seems to run smoother and better all around now to. I'll check the timing tomorrow.

 

Should I swap out the nozzle for the slightly bigger one, or increase the timing? I'm thinking no more than 15*BTDC.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Damn that looks like a nice kit.

 

Well i just bought it ;)

So I will have to let you know how it works out, if I can find some time to get it installed. Sooo many projects going on right now.

 

You should really look into getting a different pressure switch. It's just wasting your mix at those low boost levels.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, I got a question in to the guy I got the kit from on if I can swap out the spring inside this switch so it'll activate at a higher pressure, like around 10 psi. It's not the adjustable type.

 

Our washer resevoir holds damn near a half gallon, and your kit holds 3 quarts. Where you gonna put that big ol thing :biggrinumbrella1:

 

I can help you out on mounting tips or bracket info if you need it on what I used.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ok my base timing is set at stock but im pushing 26psi on an18g turbo with 8.5 compression ratio. as for the mix im running 90/10 (meth/water) anything else you would like to know ? what psi is your pump? and it is useless to bring it in before 10psi or you will slow the turbo spool and bog the motor

That sounds like alot of fun!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

you can mix your own meth/water by using the BLUE -20* washer fluid and add two bottles of HEET to the gallon.

 

ONLY use the blue -20* fluid it has about a 60/40 water meth mix adding the HEET will bring the mixture to about 50/50. heet is about 90% meth. you can buy both at your local parts store.

 

 

I checked out my local Autozone and they have 2 different bottles of Heet.

 

1 is a red bottle and it says ISO Heet and the other is a yellow bottle. Which one am I supoosed to get?

 

And that's 2 Heet bottles mixed in with the 1 gallon jug of the blue -20 washer fluid right? This is a cheaper way to get to 50/50 mix, so thanks for informing me Lepore!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i like this kit but i need to know the long term effects and what to expect from heavy use of the system. also you are using off the shelf products to get the meth what about when the extra additives in some of that stuff will it gum up over time / can you get pure meth is that available ? Edited by macrophage
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My battery is in the trunk so I have some room there but I am thinking of just using the stock washer tank so I have a low level fluid indicator. Probably be at least a few weeks before I get around to installing it.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...