Sentry mentioned in another thread about using e85 gas instead of meth . What are the differences between the two ? Will the E85 cool as much as meth. ? What is the octane differences between the two ? Will the meth hurt the engine over time , or does it burn off with no damage ?

Just thought it might be something to talk about .

 

my understanding is E85 is 105 octane while meth is 107-113 octane depending on the type

If I could pick up some E85 at the pump at a lot of places, that seems more convenient than buying ethanol from a racing fuel place

I run 50/50 water/meth, but am going to be switching it to more like 60% water, 40% meth but only because my water injection kit is lame and has brass fittings and nozzle which the meth has actually eaten away at and left brass coloring all over my intake pipes and intake manifold. None has made its way into my engine yet...but it could happen. I'm also going to turn it down and cut back on the amount of fluid being sprayed since maybe I'm using too much

Anyway what happens with aluminum is meth will wear off the top oxidized layer off the aluminum which is what protects aluminum from corrosion. Aluminum is supposed to be one of the worst metals to react to meth and corrode away.

E85 won't work as well as meth or cool as well. You could use E100 too - straight ethanol. Ethanol is supposed to be a fraction as corrosive as meth, but almost as good as meth as far as cooling


Anyway, that's my take on it. I think keeping the engine from blowing up is the most important thing, but meth will over time eat away at the aluminum. I'm not sure how gradual it is

the people who run more meth than 50% IMO are nuts. It's flammable and you have to have a pump specifically made to withstand it and not get damaged or eaten away at, as well as it becoming more corrosive. Just because a race car or a car with an iron engine might do it, doesn't mean a street car with an aluminum engine should

 

What kit do you have and when do you start to spray ?

I'll stick to my 50/50 mix of water/meth . Maybe I'll change my mind if I take off the intake pipe or plenum and find what you did .

 

it's a cooling mist kit - which is a huge POS for so many reasons. I'm going to switch it to a snow performance kit if I can't eliminate the brass corrosion

it doesn't start spaying until around 3500 rpms where I get around 3.3 psi, but I'm going to turn it down some

 

ya you must go thru meth like crazy! i had mine set at 5psi and used 1/2 a liter in just the drive to get some pizza. bumped in back to 9psi and used teh same amount in a 150 mile drive.
i'm so rich below 70% load (9.5 psi) that spraying down there is a waste right now.

 

9psi WOW!

I have mine set at 12psi last me forever!

 

I have the Snow kit . From what they say , you should start spraying at 1/3 of your total boost and ramp it up to full spray at full boost . I used to have mine come on at 4or 5 psi . But Ive since changed it to 7psi after reading the Snow kit site instructions

 

well if my car boosted to 20psi, i'd set it at 12 psi as well

9 psi is about 5000 rpms so once everythng is set, i hope to be able to pull a bunch of fuel from up top and reduce my idc.

 

E85 is 102 and Methanol is 115+ octane rating.

The thing about E85 is that you gas mileage per gallon will decrease and you will also need bigger injectors to achieve the same power. The plus is the decreased emissions for E85, increase in octane of pump gas, cheaper than pump gas (~$2.50 gallon) and that cars are considered smog exempt in CA.

 

We arent talking about running E85 in the gas tank . We are talking about using it instead of Methenol in the water/meth spray kits .

 

Oh, ic. I'd just stick to meth.

On a side note, I am planning on running like 7psi low boost on a TT kit. Turning it on 1/3 the was would mean ~2-3 psi. I was planning on just turning it on 7 psi at full spray and not gradually. Any draw backs from this?

 

Louie....Do you have any issues with corrosion

 

If I were to consider methanol, I would try to find a methanol fuel blend that includes corrosion inhibitors. I am pretty sure they exist because I have read about hobby shops and tracks carrying such fuel. Ask Sharif as he said he has a source for high octane unleaded fuel that may well contain methanol as a primary ingredient. It might be a little more expensive to buy a drum of it, but for peace of mind, I'd probably do it.