Methanol question?

[wiked87gn]

Anybody on this board running methanol on their SMC Alky kit, what kind of results have you all gotten compared to running Pure Denatured alcohol.. is it true about being very corrosive, i found a place where i can buy methanol for $1.98 a gallon much better than paying $9.00 for a gallon of pure denatured alcohol.. lets see some imputs.

thanks in advance.

 

[TurboDave]

Yes it is quite corrosive. If you need talk to an expert, get ahold of Don Wang out in Santee CA. He runs/ran pure methanol in his race car.

http://www.drwtransmission.com/

There's a phone number near the bottom of the page.

 

[b4black]

Originally posted by wiked87gn
paying $9.00 for a gallon of pure denatured alcohol.. lets see

Denatured ethanol can't be that much. Unless your paying for it to not have any water in it (is that why it's 'pure'?). A couple of % of water should be fine in a alcohol injection system, IMO.

Pure denatured is an oxymoron. Denaturing makes it unpure, so it cannot be injested (and therefore not taxed).

 

[zam70]

I am currently waiting for an SMC alcohol injection kit specifically designed for METHANOL use (first of its kind that Steve C. has done according to him). The main difference is in the pump. The regular SMC pump would eventually get eaten/clogged up by the methanol and cease to work or not work well after a bit.

It is true that Methanol is some what corrosive, but with a little maintenance it is nothing to be concerned about. A once a month cleaning (depending on how much you use) and some lube added to the fuel is all that's needed. More of a concern than the corrosivness is the mineral deposits it can leave...this is why you do the cleaning.

I'm going to run Methanol because it is easy for me to aquire....we use it in a top alcohol dragster so it is basically always around. There are some other benefits, increased octane is one but they are probably negligible....

 

[blackbuick87]

Steve Y. and Steve Hill do a lot with methanol. It burns better and provides more power than isopropyl/denatured. It will also eat lines, pumps, and possibly gaskets along the way. It is not for the faint of heart

 

[zam70]

I am a "student" of Steve Y.

One thing to understand about Methanol is that although the claims are true, it's not like any damage is overnight...it all takes time and runs. Typically, any damage done would be addressed during other types of maintenance long before it is done only because you are running methanol.

Just be sure to use the proper components. Much like anything, use items that are not compatible and you are destined for problems.

 

[davbrucas]

i know of 2 people that use methanol in their smc kit and have done so for over a year. all they do to ensure minimal damage is to squirt about 5 seconds worth of wd-40 into the tank before filling! works like a charm.

 

[wiked87gn]

talked to steve from SMC and he said.

No to the methanol, cause it will kill the pump, they are working on some new pump for methanol, but the pump that is in the present kits will not handle methanol, it will eventually kill it.

 

[Mr URL]

Moving to Alchy and Nitrous Tech area.

 

[blackbuick87]

As far as I am concerned, at my current performance level, the potential gains from switching to methanol are next to nil compared to the risks. Now for a car in the 11's it might be worth the trouble, but not to me, not now

 

[zam70]

Re: talked to steve from SMC and he said.

Originally posted by wiked87gn
No to the methanol, cause it will kill the pump, they are working on some new pump for methanol, but the pump that is in the present kits will not handle methanol, it will eventually kill it.

This would be my set up he's speaking of

Last I spoke to him, he just had to set it up and run it through testing...hopefully I will have it soon.