With the summer in Florida right around the corner, I decided to help avoid some of that heat soak we normally get and hoped to give my car a hand at the track. With all the threads I have read about methanol, I finally decided to take the plunge...

I am using this kit:
http://www.coolingmist.com/detailmai...dardtrunkmount

This wasn't a very difficult project for me, but I have quite a bit of experience and the tools to do it.

My goal was to have the engine bay still look rather mundane, and a brass nozzle hanging off the outlet air horn was not going to cut it. So I decided to be stealthy and mount the nozzel under the bottom, outlet side of my Alta i/c.



Once I tapped and mounted this, I ran the lines from the boot under the car (zip tieing the vacuum line and water/meth line to the factory electrical wiring)

There is a convenient grommet already in the boot that I cut to fit the hoses into. Right now the tank is bungy corded in place, but I am making a permanent mount for it this week.

For the wiring, I just tapped into the 12v outlet power lines in the boot.

All in all it took about 4 hours, and this included taking my time to make sure the hoses wouldnt get damaged by debris under the car, remove panels and shields ect to be able to mount it all properly, and of course testing all the fittings and operation.

Right now it is set to come on at 10psi, but I am going to lower that to around 7-8 and see how that feels.

I can already tell a little difference, I did some datalogging earlier tonight and still need to parse the files and compare to before.

Look Ma, no hoses:

 

Good idea!!

Post more pics please. I think it is genius and well made. Congrats

 

Very cool, love stealth.

 

Very stealthy. Please keep us posted on how it works out.

 

The rest of the pics are here:
http://mini.jamesandana.com/images/020407/


The beauty is in its simplicity, so there arent a whole lot more to take pictures of.

 

I am anxious to see some #'s. I know MSFITOY has had this on his car for a while, but never shared much info...

 

Lookin' Good! What's the set-up cost? And how's it work? Just a boost switch? Or is there anything more progressive?

Matt

 

It $369, spring for an extra 5 feet of hose thoug, glad I did or it would have been tight (or you would be doing a straigher shot.)

It is just a boost switch. Based on what it does though, I sorta wish I sprung for the progressive kit, however, the take comes with the mounting bosses so its just plug and play if I go that route later.

I am going to call them tomorrow, I noticed when I was testing it, the pump seems to cycle, not sure if its normal or not.

Otherwise, seems to work great, when I hit around 10-12psi, It feel stronger, which could be accounted for by the boost juice and the ice cubes I dumped in it

To be honest, I didnt buy it for extra power, I am going to dyno on and off though just for sheer morbid curiousity. I bought it to help keep my EGT's and A/F more in line.

 

For those that like to look at numbers, here is the data I logged. Unfortunately I cannot find the files from before.

http://mini.jamesandana.com/images/020407/Meth2.xls

 

Just out of curiosity... do you hear the pump going off when you reach boost? Is it loud (specifically annoying)?

 

Nope, it is pretty dam quiet, youd be hard pressed to hear it over my exhaust or s/c screaming.

You can hear the water slosh around though. I am going to have to figure something out so it doesnt make a mess when we autox.

 

Congrats. This is in my list of to-dos.

Where does this unit hook into to get its boost reading? one of the lines on the manifold?

Thanks!

 

Talk to these folks: http://www.atlinc.com/US/catalogmenu.html
They make racing fuel cells and also sell the tank foam that keeps fuel from sloshing. If it'll flow well enough to fuel an Indy car, it'll probably support your meth habit.

As it were.

 

Just an idea - would be to construct a tank that would fit in the "trunk well" (along w/ pump) and then lay a sheet of wood w/ carpeting over it. W/ the seats folded down you would get a smooth cargo area. It would add to the stealth appeal and might just eliminate any sloshing sound.

 

Good question. I wonder if you could use this to activate an IC sprayer?

 

Here is what I did, there are 2 ways to accomplish it:

1. T off the vacuum line and run the hose to the vacuum switch in the boot (what I did)

2. T off the vacuum line and run the hose to the switch and put it under the hood. Run the power wires to the boot.

You can run an intercooler sprayer in this manner:

Tap into a boost line and run it to a boost operated switch like this one:
http://www.coolingmist.com/detailmain.aspx?pid=09

Then run the power to the pump that will be running your i/c sprayer. Set the boost switch to come on whenever you hit boost. In this case the switch is set for 10psi, but I wouldn't turn it on at its lowest setting, which is 1PSI, but maybe 3-4, so that you dont end up with too much water on the i/c...

I am probably going to do this myself.

 

Nice work, and thanks for sharing with us!

When you want to remove your IC, do you have some kind of quick disconnect somewhere that is fairly accessible? I'm guessing that you probably do...

Also, what made you decide upon the exit snoot? A few have done this before on the MINI, and as I recall, better results might have been achieved on the entry side.

Again, nice work!

 

I am building a flat floor that this will strap to. I am also installing quick connects so I can easily remove it, since the car isn't being tuned to need the meth. The problem is that tank needs a vent , and if you vent under the car, you are going to drip water on the track, which is not a good thing. I think I might just setup a small catch can for this purpose and tap it into the lid on the tank.

The other thing is that this is too tall to make that stealthy.

 

Thanks again everyone for the nice words!


Tony B:

Yes, there is a 1/4" quick disconnect that comes with the kit, also notice the nozzle mounts from the outside, which for me is a big plus. I read horror stories of people who buy the inside mount (regardless of vendor) and end up sucking them in the motor.

I decided on the exit snoot because of a couple of factors. Nearly eveyone I talked to had taken issue about running it before the i/c, talk of puddling and so forth. I spoke with several vendors of the meth kits, and they all suggested spraying after the i/c. I am considering adding a 2nd, albeit smaller nozzel on the intake side. Just waiting for it to get get hot so I can see how it reacts to what I have just installed.

If I had an extra $200, I woulda bought the progressive controller. I can always ask the wife for it for my birthday.

 

Sounds like you really did your homework on this... Good for you. As far as I know, I don't think anyone has done a dual shot (pre & post core).

I would tend to think that with the higher temps seen pre core, coupled with very turbulent air flow from the SC, that puddling would not be an issue. Now at a low PSI activation, yes... but if you are doing 10+, it would seem not to be an issue.

If anything, I'd more worried about excessive water/meth on the exit side, and how that might hamper things in the combustion chamber. The air of course here is cooler, and after getting funneled through the core, more controlled or stable, and less likely, it would seem, to dissipate any excess liquid, as compared to the hotter, and more violent air pre core...

If you go with a dual shot, please let us know! Data-logging for IATs and ignition advance should be able to reveal a lot, especially if you do your runs in a consistent and controlled manner (same road/track, temp & humidity, and no addtional mods...). Thanks again.

 

but I think after the IC will work best, and here's why.....

After the IC, the temps are lower (oddly enough, I think this is good) so that you carry more droplets, not water vapor, into the combustion chamber. This is good in that you maximize the oxygen injested....

When the charge is compressed/ignited, you will vaporise the water/meth mixture, lowering temps and increasing octane.

If it's pre-IC, you will cool the charge better as the air is hotter, but this will have a bunch of effects... First, water vapor will displace oxygen. Not really good. This will push you richer. Second, and I have no clue how this works out in the end, it depends on too much stuff, is the interaction with the IC. Having cooler intake temps will drop thermal efficiency (Things like ICs work better the higher the temp differences) but it will also wet the inside, allowing for evaporation, which will lower IATs, but by displacing 02. No clue here.

The icing on the cake is that anyone I've talked to who has kept the system on because they've had benefit has kept it post IC. But I haven't seen a comprehensive data set, and I think each location may need to be tuned differenty for best effect! (sucks, but isn't that usually always the case?)

Matt

 

Good points Matt! Sounds like a fun project for you to finally get some conclusive answers . I think it was Petrich who had it pre-core, but I don't remember... I guess one other benefit by having it on the inlet is a cleaner IC core also. Especially with a meth, or meth mixture... Oh well, fun stuff!

 

MSFIT toy had the dual nozzle setup as well. I could stand to be a little richer...

I plan on doing the next dyno runs 1 with, 1 without and see how it matches up. I know I cannot eliminate all the variables, but should be able to get it somewhat close.

I also wonder, because the MINIs almost all seem to run lean on the bottom, if even a small amount injected at lower RPMs could help richen it up, and give some better lower end torque.


The additional benefit is walking into work and telling everyone you installed a meth kit in your car. Makes for some great looks

 

My point was to MAKE a tank that would sit in the "trunk well" area along w/ the pump. Build lid and carpet over - creat flush / flat w/ seats folded down.

Vent is easy - add vent connection to tank, attach flexible tubing and run it up the side of the trunk behind the plastic- up to the bottom of the rear side window. If you run it up the rear corner, you go to the head liner

 

you're spraying into the i/c then ? you're not concerned about puddling?