Project Methanol

[dynamix]

As the existing tuning has been going well I thought it was about time to start to have some tests with running Methanol directly in the fuel tank.

A lot of the top tuners have been running this for a while, such as Andy F, Bob Rawle, Paul at Zen etc etc so I want to see what the fuss is about.

Advantages of Methanol:
- higher octane
- increased cyclinder cooling
- higher resistance to Det/Knock
- cheaper than vpower

Methanol is more enviromentally friendly than normal petrol but has its downsides.

Disadvantages:
- corrosive
- can attract water
- conducts electricity
- highly poisonous

The long and short of it is that you 'should' be able to run; more boost, more timing, less fuel or a combination of all three if the turbo/engine can take it. This will result in greater torque and more power.

According to John Banks on his Subaru it was able to push a car that was maxxed at 380 with its good tune on vpower to 434bhp with 10% methanol mix. 54bhp is some increase

My methanol arrives tomorrow so tuning will commence then in time for running with this at the weekend

I will update this thread with the results.

[danr55]

very much looking forward to hearing the results!!

[Houdini]

Another disadvantage is trying to put out a methanol fire, if one starts. Been there and done that - very scary indeed!

[dynamix]

You mean you cant see the flames

[Houdini]

You mean you cant see the flames

Absolutely! You just see the person on fire dancing around like he's having an epileptic fit

[dynamix]

hmm

First stage of mapping done .... very interesting so far

Will go out for more this afternoon after I analyse the first set of logs fully.

Suffice to say - I am quite pleased with it so far

[Houdini]

hmm

First stage of mapping done .... very interesting so far

Will go out for more this afternoon after I analyse the first set of logs fully.

Suffice to say - I am quite pleased with it so far

Very interested to know how you get on this afternoon. Have fun!

[The Swede]

You mean you cant see the flames

Absolutely! You just see the person on fire dancing around like he's having an epileptic fit

Sounds like the grandma that crossed the street just behind Spike's car last week.

[dynamix]

Methanol 123 RON

So combined in 10% mix is about 104

Results so far:

- Managed to take the mapped boost up 0.15 bar
- Plus add an additional 2.5 degrees of timing pretty much all the way up the range.

Two minor knock correction points of 1.4 degrees which were there anyway but are now marginally exagerated due to the agressive nature of it flying up through the load points on the map.

Methanol does lean it out and I have seen the afr's go from around 11:1 to 11.6:1 with this mix using a wideband Innovate sensor. My car is fuelled rich for safety so anyone trying this out should bear this in mind.

I havent done a Road Dyno by way of comparison yet but I can hand on heart say that it feels scarey boosting to that level and getting away with it.

I will gather some more facts.

[dynamix]

oh btw the plan for tomorrow is to try and see at what point scarey fun becomes too greedy so I know what kind of safety margin is in there.

Then again I might just stick some Nitrous Formula in for a laugh

[WR 1mposter]

You crazy donk

[dynamix]

Just intrigued and need to know how far this can go before I back it off a bit for safety

So far, for a zero cost mod, I likey a lotty.

[Houdini]

Mmmmmmm. Meths at Cadwell! Nice thought. You gonna do it, Duncan?

[jd]

getting tempted myself

[dynamix]

Mmmmmmm. Meths at Cadwell! Nice thought. You gonna do it, Duncan?

Absolutely going to do it - just been testing the results

Hmmm - I was wrong. The turbo doesnt NEED to flow anymore air for up top power gains. It has to be a mixture of increased timing and oxygen in the fuel itself.

Anyway - for the purposes of comparison to before, these are wheel figures. The blue line was what it was doing before methanol using Tesco 99 on monday this week.

The red line is with 10% mix of methanol into the fuel tank with Tesco 99.

Tests done in 3rd gear with no weight/gearing/road alterations.



To work back to flywheel figures:

16% loss: 377 bhp / 433 lb/ft
18% loss: 386 bhp / 443 lb/ft
22% loss: 406 bhp / 466 lb/ft
24% loss: 417 bhp / 478 lb/ft

You take your pick as to what pub horse power figures that you trust. Bob Rawle uses 22% loss iirc

[jd]

impressive gains for no outlay

[danr55]

all very interesting, cant wait for cadwell, bring it on

[dynamix]

was (tesco 99):

3rd gear:
30 - 50 mph = 2.1 seconds
40 - 60 mph = 1.9 seconds
50 - 70 mph = 2.0 seconds
60 - 80 mph = 2.5 seconds

now (methanol):

3rd gear:
30 - 50 mph = 2.1 seconds
40 - 60 mph = 1.7 seconds
50 - 70 mph = 1.8 seconds
60 - 80 mph = 2.2 seconds

dug out dan's 3rd gear figures too:

30 - 50mph = 2.0 seconds
40 - 60mph = 1.8 seconds
50 - 70mph = 1.9 seconds
60 - 80mph = 2.2 seconds

not a lot in it

[WR 1mposter]

Any preferance to why you use tesco 99 ?
Where do you get the meths from and cost ?

Are you taking enough with you to cadwell for when the bar shuts

[dynamix]

Nearest Shell Garage is 15 Miles away is why I use Tesco 99

Methanol - http://jennychem.com £27.5 for 25 litres

No - dont drink it it aint good for you in a big way

[Houdini]

Can't wait to see this in action! I wonder what the Type 25 would be like with methanol?

[WR1 Bro]

Does this mean you will always be running Methanol or will you be constantly changing the map to suit?

[dynamix]

Does this mean you will always be running Methanol or will you be constantly changing the map to suit?

only on special occasions and will flash back to normal fuel map when not needed

[WR1 Bro]

How much were the software and leads to be enable yourself to do this?

[dynamix]

The leads are about £90

The software is open source so free

It cant be done to ecuteked cars as they lock the ecu.

Read up a lot before doing anything (and I mean a lot) and preferably log your own car for a long time to see what goes on with it.

[WR1 Bro]

What ECU do you have DONK?

[dynamix]

std OE ECU

[WR1 Bro]

So the same as me then? Ecutek with a license to unlock it when it was remapped?

What other data can you download with the lap top from your ECU? It would be interesting to know.

One other question - when you show your in gear times 30-50, 40-60 etc etc, how is the speed calculated? Is it taken from the speedo and is thus out or is it calculated by other means?

[dynamix]

I do logging in Ecutek Delta Dash which is about £250 to buy that gives the road dyno function too. I uses speed with compensation for wheel sizing gearing, front drag co-ef and weight.

If your ecu has been ecuteked then you will need an ecutek agent to remap it.

[Dipsy]

See you mention methanol .Some of the people on Sidc scottish scoobies have there car's maped by Andy f to run V-power plus methanol plus Nf octane booster