got talking to a mate about track day fuels and methanol came up ,

what you guys think ? what mods (apart from built engines) need to be done to run methanol ?

i put this in here because he has a boosted b16a and am toying with the idea myself


regards - jack

 

look into the snow performance and devils own kits...good products!

Alky injection is a good way to go, if you dont have race gas available all the time...plus its an excellent tool for thermal management...

 

are you asking about methanol injection or totally switching to run on methanol?

 

totaly switching to methanol rather than petrol

jack

 

ha nm then!

 

lol thanks anyway

so anyone ?

 

Well hopefully someone on here knows more than me but my only knowledge of meth comes from a few carb.'d track beasts in our area I know and talk to. I would asume the process for us injected honda's to converting wanting to run on methanol is very similar to running on ethanol... both alcohol, just derived from different sources.

I do believe methanol is more corrosive and will dry out any rubber o rings or seals it comes into contact with pretty quickly, some say this can be partially avoided by adding top oil to your fuel. Also alot of guys run through some gas before shutdown to clean out the alcohol left in the lines, seems to help the seals keep from deteriorating.

Basically though you are going to have to do some serious upgrades to the fuel system to meet the engines demand for fuel, so while your at it you can switch the majority of the fuel system over to more alcohol compatible components. You would need a alcohol compatible fuel pump, lines, fittings, etc.

Of course you have to tune accordingly for it. Some things to keep in mind, methanol (and ethanol) both run cooler than gas... so getting the engine to build up enough heat can be difficult and once it does you need to compsenate for it in the tune from what I know (it likes to start vaporizing/ evaporating before entering the combustion chamber from the heat, so you have to richen up the mixture to compensate). Also some guys run a mix like m85 and or use additional flow restrictors/ smaller radiators in the cooling system to regulate the temp. of coolant to help aid in bringing the engine up to proper operating temperatures.

Also when it gets past the rings is can contaminate the oil and break it down faster than gas, so more frequent oil changes are required. You will not see the flame when it burns so be aware that if you have a leak or something happens that could result in a fire... be prepared to run when you feel the heat. Also the fumes are very toxic... so when tuning on the dyno, definately use the evacuation system on the exhaust and try to keep the area well ventilated.

I am sure there is more or some of my information may be slightly off because of my limited experience with it and being on carb's. hotrods rather than our injected cars but yeah... some others can post more specifics of what parts they have used and correct me if needed. This hopefully will give a starting point for the discussion.