Let's talk about methanol

[Thatguy]

I'm thinking about going with a methanol kit so I've been doing a bunch of research. If I do this it will be for cooling and added fuel. I haven’t decided if I’ll use a 50/50 mix or 100% meth. I’m kind of leaning towards the 100% for more power if that won’t put added stress on the engine. I’ve read braided lines are recommended if I go that route. I’ve also read that the nozzle should be mounted as far from the throttle body has possible. I’d replace my current cool side pipe with one that has a bung.

A filter is also recommended.

I just pulled up info for the Snow 2.5 kit -

The Stage 2.5 comes standard with 100% methanol resistant components using stainless steel, nickel plating, EPDM, and hard anodizing to ensure years of continued use. Tie that in with new Snow Performance ACU-SEAL™ compression fittings for guaranteed leak free operation even when using 100% methanol.

So there shouldn’t be a problem running 100% meth.

Some are vehicle specific while most seem to be universal. Are there any plug and play kits for the EcoBoost Mustang?

Is there anything else I should know about using this? I sent Ryan @ PD a message to see if there are any kits that he prefers to tune.

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[gixxersixxerman]

I ran a direct port devils own kit with a AEM tank and pump. I ran 80/20 for the safety reason. That extra 20% isn’t that much. It was good enough to replace running E30 mix on the big turbo ST and made 445whp. I don’t think my mustang would benefit from it much, but are installing it in a 70lwhp FRS this weekend and see what it can do there.

 

[Deleted member]

I'm thinking about going with a methanol kit so I've been doing a bunch of research. If I do this it will be for cooling and added fuel. I haven’t decided if I’ll use a 50/50 mix or 100% meth. I’m kind of leaning towards the 100% for more power if that won’t put added stress on the engine. I’ve read braided lines are recommended if I go that route. I’ve also read that the nozzle should be mounted as far from the throttle body has possible. I’d replace my current cool side pipe with one that has a bung.

A filter is also recommended.

I just pulled up info for the Snow 2.5 kit -

The Stage 2.5 comes standard with 100% methanol resistant components using stainless steel, nickel plating, EPDM, and hard anodizing to ensure years of continued use. Tie that in with new Snow Performance ACU-SEAL™ compression fittings for guaranteed leak free operation even when using 100% methanol.

So there shouldn’t be a problem running 100% meth.

Some are vehicle specific while most seem to be universal. Are there any plug and play kits for the EcoBoost Mustang?

Is there anything else I should know about using this? I sent Ryan @ PD a message to see if there are any kits that he prefers to tune.

I never have tried to run 100% mix on mine, I've always done 50/50 with distilled water with no issues. I tend not to run the meth when running E30 though as water and ethanol are not good friends.

 

[Bull Run]

I started with AEM controller injecting into the charge pipe -> ProMeth port setup with the 5th nozzle in the charge pipe -> Snow Stage 3. I couldn't really feel the difference between the setups, but I'll try to dyno the car in the fall when the temperature drops.

 

[mJolnir]

I have used that same kit, it woks but i see no advantage over the non progressive ones, keep in mind i use them only on cars that im pushing hard and the stock fuel system cant keep up with the fuel demand.

On the 50/50 mix i have found that cyl 1 and 2 make corrections, usually they take 1-1.5* of timing, that makes me think that there are some distribution problems, using 100% meth i havent seen such corrections, that makes me feel safer.

 

[DavidEcobeast]

I have just recently installed the Snow perfomance stage 2.5 kit.
Optional parts I choose for install was a relay kit and solenoid and Cp-e charge pipe with meth bungs.
I used an ATP map adapter.
The install was a breeze and I refused to splice into any factory wiring. Everything is standalone. Note... that, pump bracket is temporary lol
Unfortunately, I did have to drill 4 small holes to.mount my tank.
Right now I am just using distilled water with a #3 nozzle injecting at 9/24 psi. Estimated tq on the accessport showed 409 tq from 385 without . Not concrete by any means. Also water did not effect the AFR. I did some pulls and noticed timing stayed higher in the top end. I can post the log screenshots later. If anything, the added timing was probably from cooler charge temps.
Ryan recommends full Methanol and I am waiting for a #6 nozzle and the green light to start injecting. The local speed shop sells M1 for 8.00 per gallon.

Also... I did use pushlock tubing, which I will be replacing with braided hose eventually. We will see how the push lock holds up.

 

[DavidEcobeast]

Part of me wants to just use water as saftey.
To protect against detonation from bad gas.

From Snow

In a properly set-up system, the effective octane ( resistance to detonation) of various mixtures on top of 91 octane pump gas are:

• 50/50 water-methanol( Boost Juice® ) will beat 116 octane race gas.
• 70/30 water-methanol ( -20ºf windshield wiper fluid ) will beat 110 octane race gas
• Pure water will beat 97 octane

 

[Bull Run]

Part of me wants to just use water as saftey.
To protect against detonation from bad gas.

From Snow

In a properly set-up system, the effective octane ( resistance to detonation) of various mixtures on top of 91 octane pump gas are:

• 50/50 water-methanol( Boost Juice® ) will beat 116 octane race gas.
• 70/30 water-methanol ( -20ºf windshield wiper fluid ) will beat 110 octane race gas
• Pure water will beat 97 octane

I've seen that figure from Snow as well but I'm skeptical. From the personal experience, even using nozzles on the larger side, I see STFT of 25%-20% at WOT and 100% pump cycle. Even though methanol has a higher octane rating than ethanol, it's not enough to match or beat E85 at that rate. I believe Adam tunes 91 oct + WMI cars similar to E30 ones.

 

[Yan]

I also went with Snow Performance 2.5 kit

My tuner (Adam from Tune+) recommends 70/30 mixture:

"70M/30W is what these cars like the most, and gives you the best gains from both octane increase and charge temp decrease. The pump can handle it without a problem, 70/30 is not flammable and that is why we run it with water. Some customers run 100% meth, which in my opinion is not safe for the person itself because of it being flammable and methanol flames are clear and cannot be seen. "

this is my setup

 

[DavidEcobeast]

Very nice looking install. I wanted everything accessible and easily serviceable.
I will probably move everything up front eventually, but for now the system is working.

As for water to meth ratio??? I don't know...
I feel like the 100% methonal is being used as additional fuel. Seems to me like methonal is best injected as close to the valves as possible. I like the water idea, because I don't feel comfortable with using the water/meth as a crutch. If somet6was to fail, than definitely BOOM

70/30 sounds good to me

 

[gixxersixxerman]

I mixed my own cheapest way to do it if you have access to buying it. I started at 70/30 then went to 80/20. Both by volume not weight. Though my tuner said it doesn’t matter that much, what ever I mixed and tuned for just to mix it the same from that point forward. Idk what the stock mustang EcoBoost turbo can do, but a throttle body nozzle was fine for the ST until I went big turbo. Then I ran out of nozzle fast. That’s when I went direct port. I was able to hide the pump and filter under the carpet in the hatch, along with the air ride.

 

[Thatguy]

As for water to meth ratio??? I don't know...
I feel like the 100% methonal is being used as additional fuel. Seems to me like methonal is best injected as close to the valves as possible. I like the water idea, because I don't feel comfortable with using the water/meth as a crutch. If somet6was to fail, than definitely BOOM

70/30 sounds good to me

That's one of my concerns. Are their failsafes available incase the system has an issue?

 

[Bull Run]

That's one of my concerns. Are their failsafes available incase the system has an issue?

Snow controllers don't come with a built-in failsafe so I added one. Added a fluid level sensor to the bottle so that when the fluid level gets low, it triggers a relay that opens the circuit for the boost solenoid, which limits the boost to the WGA spring rate. So if you're using a WGA with 10psi springs, then your boost will be limited to 10psi. More extreme method is to open the circuit for the throttle body, which immediately puts the car in the limp mode with rough idle. I plan on adding a fluid flow sensor to the failsafe system after.

 

[jbostian]

I also went with Snow Performance 2.5 kit

My tuner (Adam from Tune+) recommends 70/30 mixture:

"70M/30W is what these cars like the most, and gives you the best gains from both octane increase and charge temp decrease. The pump can handle it without a problem, 70/30 is not flammable and that is why we run it with water. Some customers run 100% meth, which in my opinion is not safe for the person itself because of it being flammable and methanol flames are clear and cannot be seen. "

this is my setup

How did you mount the gauge in the air vent?

 

[DavidEcobeast]

No need for a low level failsafe IMO. The sensor should be installed above the feed. The Snow gauge flashes when fluid gets low. For me that leaves me with a few Pints. The gauge will flash with stars if there is a leak or clog.

My engine is actually idling better and feels smoother. Tail pipes are black. I think I have been blowing carbon and soot out from the intake ports. If anything.... water works pretty good for detonation suppression and possible intake port cleaning with a small nozzle. My afr is unchanged.

Playing with the Cobb estimated torque log. Take it for what it is, but this is what I got.

Peak was 413 tq without spraying and 401 while spraying at the lower end of the rpms.
I didn't include them because my rpm and speed wasn't constant till after 3200 rpm.

These numbers are just for fun till my tuner gets back to me. Seems to me though that I should drop down to a number 2 nozzle and retest with the same settings. From 3800-4800 I believe, the engine is getting too much quench. Same effect as using too much octane .

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