Any Roe S/C Guys Using Powermist Methanol

[00prowler]

Instead of using washer fluid I tried mixing my own concoction of Powermist methanol and water 50/50 mix...it definitely helps with the detonation problems many have been having with there Roe setups..I still am weening my race fuel out of my system but I do notice less detonation than with the washer fluid...Cant wait to just have 93 octane and see if it clears it up completely...give it a try..It works...AL

 

[KenH]

Is there anything different about the powermist or is it just a brand name for methanol?

I run Boost Juice and still get a little detonation at times on 92, so I have started running a little Torco in the gas to raise the octane from 92 up to 94. Seems to work good.

--- Ken

 

[99 R/T 10]

I use the washer fluid and one bottle of HEET. HEET is pure ****, so it brings up the concentration to about 50/50 and has worked well for me.

 

[GTSPOWERED]

I buy 99.9% pure methanol and mix it myself at 50/50 with no detonation problems at all.

 

[plumcrazy]

question for you guys..

i know i was told to add 1 gallon of xylene to a full tank of gas to raise the octane to about 95. i was told it wouldn't be a problem to do so. have you guys tried anything like this.

before i did this, id talk to tom f&l about it though.

 

[Knight Viper]

I'm running "VP M1 methanol" (comes in metal 5gal can) and mix 50/50 can go up to 70/30 if I need more cooling or notice any detonation. Same stuff your alcohol cars would run off of

 

[GTSnake]

You guys must really have your timing advanced. I have a 10lb pulley and no H2O/**** injection and I don't have any detonation. My dyno was at 675RWHP tuned by PBJ. I've thought about adding H2O/**** but I don't really think I need it.

 

[DAMN YANKEE]

I agree with GTSnake, I would think if one was getting detonation that a quick look at the A/F and Ignition Curves would be the place to start. OOProwler, KenH do you guys have wideband?

 

[KenH]

I agree with GTSnake, I would think if one was getting detonation that a quick look at the A/F and Ignition Curves would be the place to start. OOProwler, KenH do you guys have wideband?

Yes I have a WBO. Even with the car tuned for 11.8 A/F and no timing advance over stock I can occasionally get detonation, especially at tip-in. If you guys have better than 92 octane gas, that would probably explain the difference. I have seen a number of base 5lb cast piston cars grenade even though they claimed they never had detonation, so I am taking all possible precautions.

 

[DAMN YANKEE]

KenH, thanks. Precaustions are good! Just trying to help here.

I take it your flat across (1,500-5,400) at roughly 11.8, got that.

But what I don't understand is how you ended up with "no timing advance over stock" with a 6.5lb blower installed. Or do you mean no changes were made to the original card that came from Sean to set-up for 92 octane?

In other words on your "Ignition RPM" tab in VEC...you have all "0" all the way down? As that is where one would enter negative or positive values that would impact "stock ignition"...got all zeros....you've got zero changes to stock. Got numbers.....you may want to tune them a little less aggressively.

Really concerned, why not go to a 5lb pulley as that will generate 7+ on a disciplined car?
With W/M...belt and suspenders.

 

[Mopar Steve]

question for you guys..

i know i was told to add 1 gallon of xylene to a full tank of gas to raise the octane to about 95. i was told it wouldn't be a problem to do so. have you guys tried anything like this.

before i did this, id talk to tom f&l about it though.

Xylene starts a deterioration of the rubber parts of the furel system. "o" rings hoses etc, start to deteriorate and once the chemical reaction starts it does not stop untill the part is replaced. Guys will suggest putting brake fluid in an automatic transmission to stop leaks. This does work except that it works by softening the rubber parts causing them to swell and seal. unfortunately they dont stop swelling and the entire trans must be rebuilt. The same can happen with additives not speciffically designed for the fuel system, causing long term harm to the soft parts.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

Xylene is a C8 hydrocarbon, like isooctane. The octane value is ~115. It is an aromatic, like toluene, and is already in auto and aviation gasolines. The aromatic nature makes it a good solvent, so it is used as paint remover and dry cleaning. I'm pretty sure you can buy it at Home Depot in the paint department.

The octane boost of one gallon in a 20 gallon tank of 92 is about one number ( 1/20 times 115 plus 19/20 92 equals 93.1) I don't think it's a seal compatibility risk, I just don't think the benefit is worth the hassle.

I do think that 100% methanol is the best option. Besides the extremely slight octane boost, methanol has a very high latent heat of vaporization - it cools the surrounding by sucking heat out of it in order to get enough energy to convert to a vapor. That is why the highest power turbo engines (Cosworth XFE Champ Car) run fine - they actually inject methanol ahead of the turbos to cool the intake plenum, then also inject methanol at each cylinder as the fuel.

When the nurse wipes your arm with an alcohol to give you a shot, doesn't it feel cold? That's what methanol will do, too. Lowering intake temperatures by 10F just prior to combustion is almost a one octane number equivalent.

 

[GTSnake]

What about E85? It's already at 105 octane and it's easy to get. And a lot cheaper than buying cans at paint stores and risk spilling it on your paint. If your fuel system can handle methanol or other alchohols I would just get E85.

 

[plumcrazy]

thanx tom.

 

[Mr Hemi Head]

Please keep saftey in mind.

A Roe tank with 100% methanol strapped to the rear of the passenger compartment is not safe in a collision..

 

[KenH]

KenH, thanks. Precaustions are good! Just trying to help here.

I take it your flat across (1,500-5,400) at roughly 11.8, got that.

But what I don't understand is how you ended up with "no timing advance over stock" with a 6.5lb blower installed. Or do you mean no changes were made to the original card that came from Sean to set-up for 92 octane?

In other words on your "Ignition RPM" tab in VEC...you have all "0" all the way down? As that is where one would enter negative or positive values that would impact "stock ignition"...got all zeros....you've got zero changes to stock. Got numbers.....you may want to tune them a little less aggressively.

Really concerned, why not go to a 5lb pulley as that will generate 7+ on a disciplined car?
With W/M...belt and suspenders.

Seans cards did not run on my car. Mine is one of a couple that had to be tuned from the ground up with Sean's help to get them to run at all. Basically what I am saying is that I am retarding timing at the lower end and either running stock timing advance on the upper end or perhaps advancing by no more than 2 degrees or so. I could go down to a 5lb pulley, but I wouldn't be happy throwing 30HP or so out the window.

It may be that some of the cylinder heads are not as cleaned up as they should be from the factory or something which makes some of the cars more prone to detonation, I don't know.

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

Good comment about safety. They put out methanol fires with water, so maybe 10-20% water is safer.