Propane injection

[tminer]

Jay,

I might be interested in trying propane on my GS. I am bone stock and planning on a pulley, scantool, ubend and maybe cai.

This is a daily driver, and it gets cold here. I could use a bottle heater for really cold days, but can I realisticly expect to run propane at say 15F without a heater and without having to retune? If not, what would be the pertinant parameters/requirements?

I am also concerned about spraying pre-supercharger. Is blower explosion even a concern?

GS/GTP guys,

If I tune for no KR under normal conditions, how much would be acceptable (engine lives) under abnormal conditions at same tune?

Is there any way to reduce max boost without installing a larger pulley or reprogramming the ECM? Looking for something that I can use to detune for cold days, etc.

Thanks,
Tom

 

[JayC]

You will need a bottle heater for cold days. We have bottle heaters in stock. The pressure comes back around pretty quick with a bottle heater. We are looking for some sort of automatic heater but for now we are using heaters that you activate through a momentary switch.

Far as blower explosions, I really don't see that as being a problem unless there was some sort of catastrophic failure. Even then I think the word "explosion" is a gross overstatement. We're dealing with a pretty small amount of propane here so even if it did ignite, I doubt it would be anything catastrophic.

I have been talking with another SC 3800 owner about this same thing and his general feeling also is it would have to be a pre-blower deal.

 

[90rocz]

This is interesting b/c this tech has been used in the turbo-diesel industry for years and has a NOS effect on those truck motors. (I work at International Truck Corp.) Not sure if it would be of more benefit than an octane booster on gas cars or not, but interesting...

Not to sidetrack, but where can I get a reprogrammed PCM for my '95 Ultra, how much$$, I'd like to tap more boost out of the stock set up for now and downsize the pulley slightly later. Also the wastegate seems errattic at times???

 

[mandersgtp]

Originally posted by tminer
GS/GTP guys,


Is there any way to reduce max boost without installing a larger pulley or reprogramming the ECM? Looking for something that I can use to detune for cold days, etc.

Thanks,
Tom

Well, I've found my rockers have reduced my boost by about 3lbs of pressure. Added bonus for rockers is that top-end runs and highway races become a LOT more fun That's the only thing I can think of off hand.

 

[90rocz]

tminer,
The amount of KR degrees won't affect the engine life,(unless zero with audible knock) it's actually the retarding that saves the motor. But it will have a BIG effect on power. Anything under 3* will hardly affect power output, but as KR increases from there it will have a larger effect as it increases nearly linearly.4-5 degrees will probably cost a tenth, 6-7=2 tenths etc.
Increasing boost and gaining more KR degrees will lose more power than stock rating sometimes.
(I've owned turbo cars before, and will be looking for a TR in the Spring. I've got a Park Ave Ultra SC to play with for now.)

 

[scottyb]

Originally posted by 90rocz
tminer,
The amount of KR degrees won't affect the engine life,(unless zero with audible knock) it's actually the retarding that saves the motor. But it will have a BIG effect on power. Anything under 3* will hardly affect power output, but as KR increases from there it will have a larger effect as it increases nearly linearly.4-5 degrees will probably cost a tenth, 6-7=2 tenths etc.
Increasing boost and gaining more KR degrees will lose more power than stock rating sometimes.
(I've owned turbo cars before, and will be looking for a TR in the Spring. I've got a Park Ave Ultra SC to play with for now.)

KR degrees is an indicator of detonation. Many say that 2-3 degrees is no big deal, but continuous detonation will chew away at parts in the combustion chamber, and likely lead to a blown headgasket.

 

[turbowrenchhead]

My expericence with excess knock is wiped rod bearings. I have pushed my motor hard and had a few mishaps and had the knock gauge peg on me. The rod bearings will actually mushroom.
I also had alky injection on the Regal. It worked great but it did bog the engine when first activated. It needed to be a pogressive incline of alky. It wasnt, it was on or off. So I sold it before propane takes over and no one wants it. I have been doing some research and have seen the propane is rated at 105 octane minumum. If you have a higher octane fuel injected when you need it there is no reason why you cant run a higher boost without knock. I bet you could easily run 12 psi of boost with no other mods exepct propane injection.
When I get my Regal done and get ready to put propane injection on it I am going to put it on my Riviera and see how it works. But this won't be for a while. Cause I need lots of $$$ to finish it.