Anybody ever think of running a Stage II RACE car on methanol??

[86brick]

The top dog import guys in the Pro RWD class run on methanol and from what I was told they are able to make 300hp or more because of this so I wonder why nobody with a badass Stage II motor has tried running it on methanol instead of gas.....

Is the methanol really worth that much power over the gas or did I hear wrong?

Just another one of my crazy thoughts

 

[John Wilde]

Steve O.,


http://www.drwtransmission.com/gnpage.htm

 

[TurboDave]

Hmmm, that looks a little different than the motor he blew to smithereens trying to run meth.

Wonder how long this one will last.

 

[John Wilde]

do you have to be on meth to try and run it???

 

[86brick]

John, thanks for the link! That's an interesting project and I wonder how it will work out for him..... I still gotta wonder why a guy like Bill Anderson wouldn't run his race car on methanol if you can make more power than you could on gas Is there some down sides to running your race car on methanol compared to gas??

 

[re-evaluating]

Why not meth

I haven't run a Meth car since the early 80's but if memory serves me it take 3 time the amount of fuel to feed the motor and that take a lot of fuel pump and a lot of injector.. A lot of us have thought about it but I don't think large enough injectors are available to avoid multiple injector set up. If Bill is currently running 160 lb injectors he would have to plum 3 sets of injectors and have several Weldon pumps to keep up with the fuel consumption plus the headaches of corrosion... You can find a crank driven pump that will do the job but I think the injector size is the biggest issue.. Good luck to those who try and eventually someone may do it successfully but there are a lot of stumbling blocks. I guess another point to consider is will the block etc withstand the added HP?? Who knows.. just my take on things.

 

[EightSecV6]

Well.... I have considered it, the fuel thing is a little closer to double. compatible with Meth. ( not really a big problem). 2 rows of 160s would do it. The major issues I had were maintenance related, my car sits for long periods as we simply dont have enough time to race it regularly. Meth. requires alot of upkeep, it is corrosive and you have to have enough room to store twice as much. I'm not into draining the fuel system etc, everytime I race. I KNOW it would make more power but I should have enough to get where I want to be anyway. Bob Borelli has 12 160# injectors on his car, those guys may have already tried it????Dale Cherry would know. On another note my Banshee (350cc ATV) picks up over 10 HP at the flywheel on Methanol.

 

[86brick]

Sounds like Meth. is the way to go as long as you don't mind the extra maintenance/upkeep that it requires.... Guess it's just a matter of how important those extra ponnies are to you....

Thanks for the info

 

[John Wilde]

Steve,

It seems like the v-6 parts are to hard to come by to try to take on the meth. Who wants to wait 6 weeks for a crank and even longer for a block unless you have them stock piled.
If you have a SBC, SBF or import factory sponsorship then that is another story.

 

[DFAST1TTYPE]

Brick:

Make a long story short.

A good friend of mine Cesar Febus did it about 3-4 years ago. Cesar is currently the world champion in the NHRA sport compact modified class, running a 300Z V6 Nissan twin turbo with methanol. This one has a Haltech system with 2 injectors per cylinder. He also had the record in this class until the end of last year. The Nissan has run a best of 7.7 (I think) and it is a back half car.

Anyway, before the Nissan he ran for several years a Monte Carlo with a Buick V6 stage II. It had twin 66’s and a power glide. He converted it to methanol around 1998 and ran it for about three years. He used a FAST DFI with 160# injectors and two nitrous solenoids to inject additional methanol in the intake manifold. The car had three Weldon pumps. Hob switches activated the solenoids. I personally saw this car run 7.80 in 1999. This engine made 1000 RWHP at 25PSI in 1998.

The best part is that I found him the buyer for this engine, which sits, complete with all electronics and systems at a garage in Broward County Florida. So one day let me know and I will take you there and show it to you.

We have repeatedly told the owner of this engine that we will help him get it to run. He is a very nice guy. He has had this engine for about 2-3 years and has done nothing with it.

 

[86brick]

Originally posted by DFAST1TTYPE
Brick:

Make a long story short.

A good friend of mine Cesar Febus did it about 3-4 years ago. Cesar is currently the world champion in the NHRA sport compact modified class, running a 300Z V6 Nissan twin turbo with methanol. This one has a Haltech system with 2 injectors per cylinder. He also had the record in this class until the end of last year. The Nissan has run a best of 7.7 (I think) and it is a back half car.

Anyway, before the Nissan he ran for several years a Monte Carlo with a Buick V6 stage II. It had twin 66’s and a power glide. He converted it to methanol around 1998 and ran it for about three years. He used a FAST DFI with 160# injectors and two nitrous solenoids to inject additional methanol in the intake manifold. The car had three Weldon pumps. Hob switches activated the solenoids. I personally saw this car run 7.80 in 1999. This engine made 1000 RWHP at 25PSI in 1998.

The best part is that I found him the buyer for this engine, which sits, complete with all electronics and systems at a garage in Broward County Florida. So one day let me know and I will take you there and show it to you.

We have repeatedly told the owner of this engine that we will help him get it to run. He is a very nice guy. He has had this engine for about 2-3 years and has done nothing with it.

Ricardo, that's cool to hear that your friend actually ran a Stage II motor with methanol successfully especially considering the great results he had.... Definitely gonna have to check that motor out one of these days! Thanks for posting

BTW, congrats on getting Lee kicked out of Moroso the other day with his street car!

 

[chevyII]

There was a guy running a 400 pontiac with twin turbos on meth. I dont have exact numbers but the first time out in a tubbed 62 tempest the car went 9 flat off an idle punch. The one thing that raised my eyebrow was the car had no intercooler,turbo to intake prolly from the cooling effect of the fuel.

 

[mec108]

The thing I like the most about methanol it's a lot cheaper then torco 118 racing fuel!!!

 

[TS6]

I'm going to be running methanol in an alky injection kit, which is not what we're talking about here, I know. But I bought the remainder of a 55 gallon drum off my buddy who is getting out of the car stuff. He has a blown big block on meth, and its full of block filler. The intake would be ice cold after even idling. But, what concerned me, was the condition of his oil after running. It looked like it was full of antifreeze. Thats what the meth did to it. That cant be good on bearings and stuff. Can't see any buick motor taking that kind of abuse.

 

[TurboDave]

Originally posted by TS6
I'm going to be running methanol in an alky injection kit, which is not what we're talking about here, I know. But I bought the remainder of a 55 gallon drum off my buddy who is getting out of the car stuff. He has a blown big block on meth, and its full of block filler. The intake would be ice cold after even idling. But, what concerned me, was the condition of his oil after running. It looked like it was full of antifreeze. Thats what the meth did to it. That cant be good on bearings and stuff. Can't see any buick motor taking that kind of abuse.

Kinda goes to what I was hinting at in my first post. Give Don Wang a call and ask him what happened to his motor ($20,000+ SII buildup) while trying to tune to methanol.

 

[EightSecV6]

Originally posted by mec108
The thing I like the most about methanol it's a lot cheaper then torco 118 racing fuel!!!

UMMMM no its not beacuse you have to use twice the amount!

 

[Lee Thompson]

methanol

I have been playing with methanol in a home made alky kit for 3 years now. You will have to change earl more often. BTW Total Seal top ring does help keep it out of the oil. Last year methanol was $2. a gallon (where I buy it). What are you guys paying for 118?

 

[mec108]

Lee; I pay $10.00 a gallon for torco 118 from my local speed shop. But that's the price one must pay for being a "horse power junkie"

 

[EightSecV6]

$3.50/Gal for Meth here, $8.00 for 118 , The fuel I use is $10/gal

 

[postal]

I believe ATR used to run a stage 2 TTA that they where running on meth. I'm sure they will be at the nats so you could talk to them there.


HTH: Jason