Over the last few several months I’ve been piecing together a custom Alky Injection setup. There really isn’t much too it….a Sureflow pump that puts out around 150psi, a check valve to keep the pump primed (it’s mounted above the tank), a water solenoid valve located close to the injection nozzle to open and close when the pump turns on (keep motor from sucking Alky mix out of injector nozzle when pump is not running), and an adjustable boost switch that will activate the pump when a certain amount of boost is reached ( have it set for 8psi), and a Devils Own 2PM injector nozzle mounted on the “out” side of the IC. I’m using the head light washer tank to hold the 50/50 di water/ denatured alcohol mix.

I finally got all of the wiring done over the weekend, and was able to test the system out. It works just like it’s supposed to…when the boost hit 8psi, the pump turns on…and fogs the motor with a 50/50 mix of water/alky.

The only problem…..is that is does not feel like it adds a single bit of power…..not even the slightest bit. From everything I’ve read, when using alky injection your intake air temps should drop around 60+ degrees……and at 1% power increase per 10 degrees of intake air heat reduction, that should net you around 6% more power (10-15hp) on a 90-100 degree day. Well, I was testing out my system when the temps were in the 90’s…..and when at WOT and I switched it on….nothing, not a single notable increase in power.

So is the mythical meth/alky systems people are selling to make more power just a gimmick?……unless you have a special tune that can take advantage of the higher octane charge the alky/meth injection provides?

 

If tuned and running around 100% meth, yes..(some pumps are limited to 70-90%)it adds octane, fuel, and cools the intake charge. If not tuned...you are not going too see much of a change.
RMW (AKA JAN) will tell you if you use a lesser mix...like washer fluid you will see less gains....you still GAIN the safety of a cooler intake charge, so less chance of ping or detonation, but less gains. Reality is a meth system only runs at WOT or near it....so a fairly small amount lasts a long time...but it is an expense, and logisticly, you have to.plan ahead.

Now a tale...when I had my car tuned, another owner was there, running washerfluid as meth...with 550 injectors....I made more power than him...I had just jcw380's, and a 17%pulley, and a CAI, 100% stock exhaust still....
Jan said he obviously had some excess wear or other issues....
In aviation many planes use AWI from the 50's-90's era...(yes I have flown one, we had a 17 gallon tank, good for short field takeoffs, hot days, or engine failures).some planes, even earlier going back to ww2...engine tech has moved on, but the MOST IMPORTANT THING is to ensure the system is serviced with a mix of pure meth and DEMINERALIZED WATER. ANYTHING else, and little mineral crystal grow when the water/meth evaporates....it's like adding SAND to your intake...and don't trust any dreamer who says washer fluid is made with demineralized WATER. It's not.
If you do it, do it right, or don't do it. Doing it wrong...the wrong fluid, it cheaping out may destroy your motor.
Plus is the mix keeps the motor clean...

 

Zippy is correct, W/M will only give you a power gain when tuned for it, the addition of methanol works like using a higher octane fuel, (so without tuning for it, the results would be similar) it gives you a higher point of detonation so more timing can be added which will give you more power.
As far as the % amount, it works like this, the methanol is for power/octane, the water is for cooling, so your needs or wants can dictate your mix, but 50/50 is a good choice for overall, esp. if you accidentally run out without being aware of it.

 

I thought that the methanol/alky has a much higher rate of absorbing heat (cooling) vs. plain water......but I though the water was used to keep the mix non-flamable. 100% meth and you have a leak....you have a fire. 50/50 mix.....no fire.

 

Over 100% water, yes. It helps to keep the water from flashing immediately to steam.

 

Well.....I went to check the level in my tank to get an idea of how much Alky I was using. The tank was just about full. I pulled the nozzle out of the intake and tested the system.....the pump turned on, but nothing sprayed out of the nozzle.....turned out that the Alky mix did something to the in-line check valve I had....and it was locked close. I guess it wasn't Alky compatible. I pulled the check valve, replaced it with a better one.......and now it's injecting like it's supposed to. Now, I can honestly say that it does feel a little stronger when it's at WOT and it's injecting.

 

Good, colder IAT on an egg boiling machine with no results was weird. The intercooler horns gets so freaking hot after 10 minutes of track.