Interesting thread. Use of methanol water injection here puzzles me though. Are folks attempting to get more fuel efficiency with it? More power? Both? Unless you folks are racing I cant imagine wanting to inject except under hard boost, towing etc. If you inject under just normal driving conditions I imagine you'd use up even a large reservoir rather quickly.
I have recently purchased a 2000 jetta tdi. But my experience in meth/water injection is with my 1973 Trans Am, nicknamed The Beast. She makes approx. 1200 hp @ 15 psi on pump gas, is driveable long distance and relatively quiet as a street car, while comfortable with Vintage Air A/C. It has been set up to carve corners and while untested as of yet I am hoping she can come close to hanging in the corners with a C5 vette.
Back to the meth/water injection. She is set up with a progressive system, and usually use the deep winter type windshield washer fluid which contains somewhere between 30-33% methanol. I'm not the only one in the performance world with engines producing north of 1000 hp to be using this simple formula either. Its quite common in fact. Some studies in boosted cars have shown little improvement in performance by increasing the methanol percentage. Others have shown improvement. I think a lot has to do with the specifics of the engine, and it seems the greatest improvement corresponding to greater methanol percentages is in the more pure "race" engines. That is MY interpretation of what I have seen. Other than the color on the tip of the nozzles, I have never had an injection nozzle clog from using washer fluid.
In my experience the methanol/water can do 2 things. 1st.....it cools the intake charge. A byproduct of this is a reduced EGT as well, but the cooled intake charge is more dense. More dense equates to more fuel and O2 in the chamber when combustion occurs. Water and methanol are both capable of doing this, and both have been used over the years, individually as well as together.
2nd.....water is excellent at preventing detonation. Detonation is the enemy of any engine, but especially high compression/turbo engines tuned with highly advanced timing to eek out maximum performance. Many of the race guys use this to advance the timing maximally while avoiding detonation. I have seen the meth/water injection systems fail and engines grenade in a most spectacular manner VERY fast as a result. A lot of modern race fuel injection brains are set up to sense whether the meth/water injection is functioning and if not...they pull timing out.
In my case, I have not concentrated on advancing timing maximally. I do not care whether I make an additional 20 hp, because it is impossible to put to the ground efficiently what the car already makes. Instead, the meth/water is my insurance against some poor quality fuel and possible detonation under boost.
Cant say I noticed any improvement in mileage
13 mpg on the highway is IT. lol. Sometime I would like to put an overdrive transmission in her, and then hopefully hit 16-17 mpg.....lol
So back to the VW's...
I can maybe see an increase in power due to a more dense/cooler fuel charge? Are you using it as we do in the gas world to advance timing more? Not sure how you would get greater efficiency (MPG)? Teach me guys, as I really know very little about turbodiesels, and I'm not sure if you guys are racing your cars, or...?
I have recently purchased a 2000 jetta tdi. But my experience in meth/water injection is with my 1973 Trans Am, nicknamed The Beast. She makes approx. 1200 hp @ 15 psi on pump gas, is driveable long distance and relatively quiet as a street car, while comfortable with Vintage Air A/C. It has been set up to carve corners and while untested as of yet I am hoping she can come close to hanging in the corners with a C5 vette.
Back to the meth/water injection. She is set up with a progressive system, and usually use the deep winter type windshield washer fluid which contains somewhere between 30-33% methanol. I'm not the only one in the performance world with engines producing north of 1000 hp to be using this simple formula either. Its quite common in fact. Some studies in boosted cars have shown little improvement in performance by increasing the methanol percentage. Others have shown improvement. I think a lot has to do with the specifics of the engine, and it seems the greatest improvement corresponding to greater methanol percentages is in the more pure "race" engines. That is MY interpretation of what I have seen. Other than the color on the tip of the nozzles, I have never had an injection nozzle clog from using washer fluid.
In my experience the methanol/water can do 2 things. 1st.....it cools the intake charge. A byproduct of this is a reduced EGT as well, but the cooled intake charge is more dense. More dense equates to more fuel and O2 in the chamber when combustion occurs. Water and methanol are both capable of doing this, and both have been used over the years, individually as well as together.
2nd.....water is excellent at preventing detonation. Detonation is the enemy of any engine, but especially high compression/turbo engines tuned with highly advanced timing to eek out maximum performance. Many of the race guys use this to advance the timing maximally while avoiding detonation. I have seen the meth/water injection systems fail and engines grenade in a most spectacular manner VERY fast as a result. A lot of modern race fuel injection brains are set up to sense whether the meth/water injection is functioning and if not...they pull timing out.
In my case, I have not concentrated on advancing timing maximally. I do not care whether I make an additional 20 hp, because it is impossible to put to the ground efficiently what the car already makes. Instead, the meth/water is my insurance against some poor quality fuel and possible detonation under boost.
Cant say I noticed any improvement in mileage
13 mpg on the highway is IT. lol. Sometime I would like to put an overdrive transmission in her, and then hopefully hit 16-17 mpg.....lolSo back to the VW's...
I can maybe see an increase in power due to a more dense/cooler fuel charge? Are you using it as we do in the gas world to advance timing more? Not sure how you would get greater efficiency (MPG)? Teach me guys, as I really know very little about turbodiesels, and I'm not sure if you guys are racing your cars, or...?
