1. What are the benefits of the
Boost Cooler® Water-/Methanol injection?
Boost Cooler® Benefits (Gasoline):
1. Low cost - where else can you get up to 60HP for ˆ399
2. More power than other means of detonation control.
3. Efficiency - leaner air fuel ratio can be utilized for normal
operation.
4. Greatly increases air charge densities for huge horsepower
increases.
Boost Cooler®Benefits (Diesel):
1. Greatly reduced EGT’s. Decreases of 250 degrees F are common
using a 50/50% Methanol /Water mix. This prevents the usual
problems associated with high exhaust car temperatures - rings
sticking, holed pistons, etc.
2. Low cost power - where else can you get 70-100 HP for
approximately $400 along with reduced EGT's.
3. Greatly increased air charge densities - 3-5 psig boost
increases are common.
4. Great for towing - more power/cooler EGT's to haul the
heaviest loads.
2. Do I need an Intercooler with
Water/Methanol injection?
Up to approximately 20 psi boost, water/methanol injection will
provide all the density increase/detonation control needed in
most applications. Of course, Intercooling and water/methanol
injection would provide even greater benefits especially beyond
20 psi boost. Most air-to-air intercoolers are only 50-65%
efficient. That means for example, that with 11psi boost and its
120°f air charge temperature increase, an intercooler reduces
the air charge temperature only 60 degrees. Also, an intercooler
will reduce boost 2 - 4 psi. on average.
3. Why not use a windshield washer
pump?
Water/Methanol must be injected at above 50psi to properly
atomize. Lower than 50psi causes greatly reduced air charge
cooling as the result of larger droplets and their reduced total
surface area.
4. Why methanol?
Methanol is a high octane fuel (113 octane) that is extremely
resistant to detonation with an excellent cost/benefit ratio.
($1.50 - $2.00 per gallon.) Its high latent heat of vaporization
also makes it an excellent air charge cooler which means a
denser mixture and more horsepower. Because of these facts, it
is a better anti-detonant than ethanol or iso-propanol although
they will work in a pinch. It has however only about 60% of the
energy content of gasoline by volume so about twice as much is
used to make similar power if used as a straight fuel. It is
extremely toxic and should be handled with rubber gloves in well
ventilated areas only. Care should be taken to avoid skin
contact.
5. How much Water/Methanol?
To prevent detonation, the ratio of Water/Methanol to gasoline
is roughly 1 to 5 in gasoline applications- 1 to 4 in diesel. In
practice, you give it as much water / methanol as it takes to
eliminate detonation without quenching combustion. The amount
depends on the onset RPM of injection, the octane of the
gasoline, fuel/air ratio, cylinder head type, even the weather
conditions. Your engine is actually pretty tolerant of extra
water vapor, you will know it's too much when the engine misses
and loses power.
6. Where can I purchase Methanol?
Methanol can generally be purchased where racing fuels are sold.
Also, most gas line dryers like "Heat" are simply Methanol.
Suppliers of industrial chemicals can also supply Methanol
usually at a higher price than fuel suppliers. If all else
fails, most windshield washer fluids are up to 40% Methanol and
58% water. Methanol can be purchased on the web at
www.worldwideracingfuels.com and hiperfuels.com.
7. How long will a tank (2 qts.) last?
In high boost/high horsepower application, a full blast 1/4 mile
run will utilize as much as 1/8 tank. A larger tank should be
considered if over 9psi boost is utilized in road racing where a
tank can be used in as few as 6 - 2 mile/ full tilt laps. Under
normal street use in a 400 HP Mustang, a tank usually lasts
about 500 miles. Two reservoirs can be used for 1-gal total
capacity if desired. Turbo diesels use more qty. and usually
utilize the existing windshield washer reservoir (over 4 qts. in
most cases) or the new 8-gal reservoir upgrade. More will always
be used when the system is first installed, less when the
novelty wears off.
8. Can I use windshield washer fluid?
Although most contain some glycol and detergent, most windshield
washer fluids are up to 50% alcohol (methanol, ethanol,
isopropanol) and make an excellent Boost Cooler®. Try to find
one that indicates "contains methanol".
9. At what boost level do I introduce
Water/Methanol?
Centrifugal superchargers/large turbos: Generally, at 50% of
peak boost the recommended quantity should be introduced.
Positive displacement superchargers/ fast spooling turbos:
injection should occur at or near peak boost to avoid combustion
quench since peak boost occurs so fast.
10. What ratio of Water/Methanol is
recommended?
A 50/50 ratio is recommended. This has been demonstrated to be
the best for charge/air cooling, excellent detonation control,
and controlling cylinder temperature. This includes diesel
applications where water conditions the combustion of the
methanol so combustion timing isn't affected.
11. Many recommend Denso Iridium spark
plugs in boosted applications. Will these work also with
water/methanol injection?
Denso Iridium spark plugs are highly recommended with the Boost
Cooler®. Iridiums, with their low firing thresholds and intense
spark, allow for larger quantities to be injected sooner without
misfiring. This allows for more cooling of the intake air. If
you have a misfiring problem, nine times out of ten, Iridiums
will clear it up.
12. Will water/methanol harm my engine?
In theory, at recommended quantities, most of the mixture is
evaporated before it hits the combustion chamber. Also,
injection only takes place at high boost levels minimizing
cylinder wash concerns. Engines that have been torn down after
two years of water/methanol usage have shown no wear issues only
clean combustion chambers. In fact, water/methanol reduces the
probability of engine destroying detonation. Think of it as an
insurance policy against detonation.
13. Can the Boost Cooler® be applied to
naturally aspirated and nitrous engines?
1.Naturally aspirated/high compression engines:
In this application, water/methanol injection allows the use of
pump fuel in all but the most extreme situations which effects
tremendous cost savings as well as horsepower increases due to
air density increase and realized timing potential. The system
is activated by a throttle switch so that injection takes place
only during high engine loads when needed.
2. NOS engines: With NOS, water/methanol injection allows the
use of full timing even with large (250HP+) quantities.
Injection is controlled by the same means that controls NOS
injection.
3. Naturally aspirated/stock compression: With naturally
aspirated engines with less than 10:1 compression,
water/methanol is used typically in warm climates to get the
intake temps back to 60°f. Benefits include: 10-15 HP increases
from air density increases and full timing, Increased gas
mileage, and carbon free combustion chambers. Activation is by a
throttle switch adjusted for onset engine load. With this
application, the nozzle is sized so that no more than 10% of
total fuel consumption at peak flywheel HP is injected.
14. Why is Water/Methanol injection so
effective on Diesels?
Unlike gasoline engines, the power in a turbo diesel is largely
a function of fuel. The problem with continually adding fuel is
that you reach a point where the exhaust gas temperatures become
prohibitive (over 1500 degrees F). A 50/50% Methanol/Water mix
will decrease EGT's approximately 250°+ while increasing power
70-100HP.
Power is increased through:
a. Intake charge cooling - Water/methanol will lower air charge
temps over 200°f in this application.
b. Methanol - this acts as a fuel as well as cooling the intake
charge.
Where else can you get this kind of power with cooler EGT's!
15. Is this technology new with Turbo
Diesel?
Water/methanol injection has been used extensively for years in
high performance truck/tractor pullers. With the elevated boost
levels required for peak power, water/methanol is a common means
of cooling the intake charge and reducing exhaust gas temps.
Also, truckers have used water injection for years to increase
fuel mileage. Water injection improve the torque output of the
diesel engine, simply due to extra cylinder pressure during the
evaporation of water.
16. Should I upgrade my intercooler or
get a water injection system first?
They do different jobs, intercooler makes the air denser and
thus giving more power. Unfortunately more power means higher
combustion temperature and pressure, so water injection is
becoming a more important addition to prevent the onset on
detonation due to peak pressures and peak combustion
temperatures.
The natural progression would be to retaining your stock
intercooler and add water injection to supplement the existing
cooling capacity of the stock system, charge temperature in
particular.
When you decided to go all out for big power, the entire system
would have to be upgraded, not just intercooler, turbo, up and
down pipes etc. Water injection should definately be included on
your list of upgrade components.
17. So I need to buy both
(WIS/intercooler) at the same time?
Ideally, yes. Given that water injection can cool the inlet
temperature as well as suppressing detonation, so water
injection should be your prime consideration, as an intercooler
cannot perform in-cylinder cooling.
18. I want to increase my boost
pressure to maximise the full flow range of the original fuel
injectors, would I then need water injection?
Definitely yes, by stretching the fuel supply capacity to its
limit, the Engine management would have lost its ability to dump
fuel to assist the cooling of the combustion chamber, the
running temperature will increase and soon bring about the onset
of detonation and eventually lead to engine failure.
19. How much water do I need?
The quantity of water injected is normally between 10% to 25%
related to fuel flow. Ask us and we´ll decide the right nozzle
for your specific car.
20. How do I store 99.8% pure Methanol
?
Methanol is highly flammable, store it in a well ventilated
place. It is better to dilute it with 50% water immediately
before storing it.
21. How do I advance the ignition
timing?
Cars manufactured with knock sensor will automatically run more
advance timing in the absence of knock. It is difficult to
advance the timing on car without a knock sensor built-in.
23. Is water injection really necessary
or it is just a new gimmick?
Well, yes and no. For the old fashioned traditional engine
tuners with fixed ideas and blinkered outlook, water injection
is regarded as an utter nonsense and a complete waste of time.
Engines are designed to consume FUEL and not WATER.
On the other side of the coin, engineers such as Sir Harry
Ricardo (1930s) and bunch of aeronautic engineers (German,
English and American) during the WWII (1940s) has found the
positive side of injecting water into their supercharged
fighter-plane engines. So the traditional has begun, Formula 1
engines (1980s) used it. SAAB 9-5 supplied as an OE part and now
World Rally cars use it (1995 onwards). We leave you to decide
...
Whenever a problem is discovered, there is always a tendency to
solving it, that is human nature. Old problems just keep
re-surfacing, detonation, fuel quality, harmful emissions etc
just won't go away, despite the advancement of Electronics and
Engineering materials available.
24. Why isn't there more force induced
engines around ?
Unfortunately there are a few drawbacks. Excess heat is one of
the biggest problems, it has haunted the turbo/supercharging
systems for decades. Without heat problems, we can run higher
compression ratio or lower octane fuel, no need for intercoolers
or chargecoolers, no Boost Cooler, no heat stresses on engine
components and most importantly, no heat-induced detonation
problems.
25. Where does the heat come from ?
Two main source of heat: when air is compressed, it just heats
up naturally, compressor efficiency is the other, it can
contribute over half of the total heat produced. Temperature
rise affects air density. When the air is hot the density
decreases and vice-versa when the air is cold. The proportion of
the two densities is called density ratio
