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Stillen Blower + Water/Meth injection...is it worth it?

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Old 10-28-2009, 08:30 AM
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halfass872
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Default Stillen Blower + Water/Meth injection...is it worth it?

So i've grown bored of my Stillen output (as everyone predicted), but not so much to the point that i want to part out, do a build, go TT, etc. I want to keep my set up but maybe "bolt on" a little more power, without too much fuss.

I've been reading up on Methanol injection, and i have a couple questions reguarding it.

1) From what i've read so far, it seems the injector needs to be placed before the TB. If this is true would i loose any cooling benefit because it still has to get compressed by the blower before going into the cylinders? (Vice a normal SC/Turbo setup where the air has already been charged before reaching the TB and introducing the Methenol into the air path)

2) Is this a simple plug and play? I checked out the AEM kit which has an adjustable start and stop point based on boost. Will i need to do a "tune" to make this safe? My computer is stock, and i have the Stillen piggyback computer so i don't think it will be cost effective if i need to try to retune either.

Lets try to keep this informative. I don't need 40 people telling me how i should burn the car and i'm an idiot for buying a Stillen blower. It is what it is, it works for me, and i don't drive aggressive often enough to bother starting all over from scratch again
Old 10-28-2009, 08:48 AM
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Originally Posted by halfass872

2) Is this a simple plug and play? I checked out the AEM kit which has an adjustable start and stop point based on boost. Will i need to do a "tune" to make this safe? My computer is stock, and i have the Stillen piggyback computer so i don't think it will be cost effective if i need to try to retune either.
Meth isn't going to hurt your car, essentially you can start spraying from 2k rpm if you want, but this is pretty wasteful. I doubt you will need a tune, as this is similar to putting (correct me if im wrong) c16 in your car (50/50 meth water), and will only reduce the probability of detonation. You might actually pick up power if the stock ecu decides that the lower air intake temp and increased octane level is good to run more timing.
So imo you wont need a tune to be "safe" but you will likely need a tune to get all the benefits meth has to offer.
Old 10-28-2009, 08:49 AM
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Ok, well i think i answer question #1 for myself. Did a google search and it appears that injecting pre-blower will still be effective as it cools the lobes, and evens out the dispersion to the cylinders.
Old 10-28-2009, 08:51 AM
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Originally Posted by halfass872
1) From what i've read so far, it seems the injector needs to be placed before the TB.
This is not correct. I have injectors that will be spraying straight into the intake runners. Just get a good controller that will back off the injection flow when you pull off the throttle. If you want to inject pre-blower, you can do that as well, but still no need to be before the throttle body with a good injection kit.

Originally Posted by halfass872
2) Is this a simple plug and play? I checked out the AEM kit which has an adjustable start and stop point based on boost. Will i need to do a "tune" to make this safe? My computer is stock, and i have the Stillen piggyback computer so i don't think it will be cost effective if i need to try to retune either.
You should re-tune if you use meth or a meth/water mix. If you don't want to re-tune, you can get by with injecting straight water, but then what's the point? Injecting water will stave off detonation, but if you are properly tuned now, detonation should not be an issue... Using injection will allow you to adjust your tune so that you can advance the timing and/or use more boost (in which case you need to change a pulley wheel). If you are not doing either of these, imo it's not worth the expense and effort.

Last edited by ttg35fort; 10-28-2009 at 08:54 AM.
Old 10-28-2009, 08:57 AM
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Originally Posted by ttg35fort


You should re-tune if you use meth or a meth/water mix. If you don't want to re-tune, you can get by with injecting straight water, but then what's the point? Injecting water will stave off detonation, but if you are properly tuned now, detonation should not be an issue... Using injection will allow you to adjust your tune so that you can advance the timing and/or use more boost (in which case you need to change a pulley wheel). If you are not doing either of these, imo it's not worth the expense and effort.
Doesn't the stock ecu have a few different timing maps that adjust via conditions? or am i mistaken?
Old 10-28-2009, 08:58 AM
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Originally Posted by Resmarted
Meth isn't going to hurt your car, essentially you can start spraying from 2k rpm if you want, but this is pretty wasteful. I doubt you will need a tune, as this is similar to putting (correct me if im wrong) c16 in your car (50/50 meth water), and will only reduce the probability of detonation. You might actually pick up power if the stock ecu decides that the lower air intake temp and increased octane level is good to run more timing.
So imo you wont need a tune to be "safe" but you will likely need a tune to get all the benefits meth has to offer.
With respect to injecting straight water, that's fine so long as you don't over do it. With respect to injecting a 50/50 mix or straight meth, this is not correct. Methanol is a fuel. If you add methanol without adjusting the tune, your AFR will drop. The amount of the AFR drop will depend on the amount of meth being injected. Too low of an AFR is counter productive because it starts to decrease hp. If your AFR drops to around 8 or below, then you start to wash the cylinders, and that is not good.

Last edited by ttg35fort; 10-28-2009 at 09:04 AM.
Old 10-28-2009, 09:01 AM
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Originally Posted by Resmarted
Doesn't the stock ecu have a few different timing maps that adjust via conditions? or am i mistaken?
There are timing maps, but the stock data is configured to deal with pump gas, not meth injection.
Old 10-28-2009, 09:03 AM
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Originally Posted by Resmarted
.....You might actually pick up power if the stock ecu decides that the lower air intake temp and increased octane level is good to run more timing.
Do you think the stock ECU can adjust timing quick enough to keep things "safe" when the Meth stops flowing, and i let off the gas?? (I'm not ECU heavy obviously, lol)

Originally Posted by ttg35fort
... If you want to inject pre-blower, you can do that as well, but still no need to be before the throttle body with a good injection kit.

Good to know!! I'll probably install it at the neck of the blower, that will allow it to spray directly into the lobes evenly.

I can't go any smaller on the pully, i have the smallest on Stillen makes. My main deal is the blower becomes very inefficient in the summer months. So hopefully this would be an inexpensive way to try to counteract that!
Old 10-28-2009, 09:03 AM
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..........
Old 10-28-2009, 09:04 AM
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Originally Posted by ttg35fort
With respect to injecting straight water, you are correct. With respect to injecting a 50/50 mix, this is not correct. Methanol is a fuel. If you add methanol without adjusting the tune, your AFR will drop. The amount of the AFR drop will depend on the amount of meth being injected. Too low of an AFR is counter productive because it starts to decrease hp. If your AFR drops to around 8 or below, then you start to wash the cylinders, and that is not good.
Yes this is true, but in the sense that you can run the car and drive it for a little while before you get a tune it should be "ok". I mean if you are running a 8 afr shtuf is gonna get messed up (to me thats a given). It's adding fuel, so within reason he shouldn't be in danger...

Maybe the better thing to say is:
OP: Can you get a retune and do you have an A/F gauge?
Old 10-28-2009, 09:05 AM
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Originally Posted by ttg35fort
With respect to injecting straight water, that's fine so long as you don't over do it. With respect to injecting a 50/50 mix or straight meth, this is not correct. Methanol is a fuel. If you add methanol without adjusting the tune, your AFR will drop. The amount of the AFR drop will depend on the amount of meth being injected. Too low of an AFR is counter productive because it starts to decrease hp. If your AFR drops to around 8 or below, then you start to wash the cylinders, and that is not good.

Woudld you reccomend a 25/75 mix of meth/water then if running on a stock ECU?? I've read of people using washer fluid which is 30/70 ish.
Old 10-28-2009, 09:09 AM
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Originally Posted by halfass872
Woudld you reccomend a 25/75 mix of meth/water then if running on a stock ECU?? I've read of people using washer fluid which is 30/70 ish.
ttg35 has a lot more knowledge than I, but at the end of the day I would stay away from washer fluid. There are some additives that don't burn, and that makes me nervous...
Thats about all i can contribute to this thread
My vote is meth/water + used utec + good tune.
Old 10-28-2009, 09:38 AM
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Originally Posted by Resmarted

Maybe the better thing to say is:
OP: Can you get a retune and do you have an A/F gauge?
I do, but it's just a narrowband. My main concern up untill now, in reguards to my AF ratio, has been ensuring i'm not running lean when at WOT. I haven't really needed an exact reading since i'm stock except for the blower kit. Which is untuneable, and suopposed to be safely setup out of the box. I simply bought the AF gauge for peace of mind that i'm not too lean when putting my foot in it.

Originally Posted by Resmarted
ttg35 has a lot more knowledge than I, but at the end of the day I would stay away from washer fluid. There are some additives that don't burn, and that makes me nervous...
Thats about all i can contribute to this thread
My vote is meth/water + used utec + good tune.
I'm gonna have to call Stillen and see if i can still run the piggy back in conjunction with the stock ECU.




Thanks for all the great responses!!!

Last edited by halfass872; 10-28-2009 at 09:40 AM.
Old 10-28-2009, 10:21 AM
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Originally Posted by halfass872
Woudld you reccomend a 25/75 mix of meth/water then if running on a stock ECU?? I've read of people using washer fluid which is 30/70 ish.
There really is no point in going with an injection system unless:

1) You presently have a detonation problem (i.e., knocking); or

2) You are going to re-tune and up the boost and/or advance the timing.

Other than this, I see a lot of money and time spent with no real benefit.

Last edited by ttg35fort; 10-28-2009 at 10:22 AM.
Old 10-28-2009, 11:06 AM
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Originally Posted by ttg35fort
There really is no point in going with an injection system unless:

1) You presently have a detonation problem (i.e., knocking); or

2) You are going to re-tune and up the boost and/or advance the timing.

Other than this, I see a lot of money and time spent with no real benefit.
Good deal. Just getting all the facts together. Like i said before, i really just wanna offset the effects of the hotter air in the summer because i can tell a considerable difference in performance. But if my sotck ECU is gonna counteract any benifits i gain with meth without a tune, then you're right, it'll likely be a waste.
Old 10-28-2009, 11:19 AM
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Originally Posted by halfass872
Good deal. Just getting all the facts together. Like i said before, i really just wanna offset the effects of the hotter air in the summer because i can tell a considerable difference in performance. But if my sotck ECU is gonna counteract any benifits i gain with meth without a tune, then you're right, it'll likely be a waste.
Unless you are knocking, your issue is that hot air is less dense than cool air. I'm not sure which stillen kit you have, but I beleive that there is an intercooler available that sits between the SC and the intake runners. If you do not already have that, that would be the first upgrade I would recommend. If you do have that already, focus on getting more air to the heat exchanger.

Last edited by ttg35fort; 10-28-2009 at 11:20 AM.
Old 10-28-2009, 11:23 AM
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Originally Posted by halfass872
So i've grown bored of my Stillen output (as everyone predicted), but not so much to the point that i want to part out, do a build, go TT, etc. I want to keep my set up but maybe "bolt on" a little more power, without too much fuss.

I've been reading up on Methanol injection, and i have a couple questions reguarding it.

1) From what i've read so far, it seems the injector needs to be placed before the TB. If this is true would i loose any cooling benefit because it still has to get compressed by the blower before going into the cylinders? (Vice a normal SC/Turbo setup where the air has already been charged before reaching the TB and introducing the Methenol into the air path)

Actually this provides some extra benefits in the case of a positive displacement blower. By keeping the blower case cool we prevent heat soak very effectively along with reducing charge temps and providing direct detonation controll through increased octane.

2) Is this a simple plug and play? I checked out the AEM kit which has an adjustable start and stop point based on boost. Will i need to do a "tune" to make this safe? My computer is stock, and i have the Stillen piggyback computer so i don't think it will be cost effective if i need to try to retune either.

With a positive displacement blower, injection based on boost is a flawed strategy, because the boost curve is more like a step. So rather than getting a nice progressive injection curve, you get a sudden slug of fluid. MAF based controll or better yet EFI PW controll is more effective, as it allows for a very nice progressive injection curve.

Lets try to keep this informative. I don't need 40 people telling me how i should burn the car and i'm an idiot for buying a Stillen blower. It is what it is, it works for me, and i don't drive aggressive often enough to bother starting all over from scratch again
Answers above within the quote....
Old 10-28-2009, 11:27 AM
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Originally Posted by ttg35fort
Unless you are knocking, your issue is that hot air is less dense than cool air. I'm not sure which stillen kit you have, but I beleive that there is an intercooler available that sits between the SC and the intake runners. If you do not already have that, that would be the first upgrade I would recommend. If you do have that already, focus on getting more air to the heat exchanger.
No knocking (that i knwo if). And i have the stage 4 kit, which has the heat exchanger, smallest pully, better piggyback, new fuel pump, and larger 6th injector.

I added a fan to the front of the heat exchanger at the beginning of the summer. But even without the fan, the water in the heat exchanger resivour never got hot to the point that it would burn you. I'm thinking of buying an aftermarket heat exchanger. The one supplied is pretty small, thus not really giving the water much time in it to get cooled by the air flowing through the bumper.
Old 10-28-2009, 11:28 AM
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Originally Posted by ttg35fort
There really is no point in going with an injection system unless:

1) You presently have a detonation problem (i.e., knocking); or

2) You are going to re-tune and up the boost and/or advance the timing.

Other than this, I see a lot of money and time spent with no real benefit.
There are many benefits regardless.

For one, you are much safer in the event of a bad tank of gas. For another, the reduced blower temps mean less ( often virtually 0 ) heat soak in repeated runs. Finnally, it does allow for a more aggressive tune, which allows you to get more from the parts you already have.

Very few setups are not octane limited on pump gas. Water/methanol removes this limitation to a very large degree while also effectively dealing with heat issues.

No mod is perfect, but 400-500 dollars to get all the octane you need and effectively intercool a setup at the same time with minimal down time or complication is a pretty good deal.
Old 10-28-2009, 11:30 AM
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Originally Posted by halfass872
No knocking (that i knwo if). And i have the stage 4 kit, which has the heat exchanger, smallest pully, better piggyback, new fuel pump, and larger 6th injector.

I added a fan to the front of the heat exchanger at the beginning of the summer. But even without the fan, the water in the heat exchanger resivour never got hot to the point that it would burn you. I'm thinking of buying an aftermarket heat exchanger. The one supplied is pretty small, thus not really giving the water much time in it to get cooled by the air flowing through the bumper.
Apologies for the multi-post folks, just one more thing to mention:

Injecting extra fuel is a method of absorbing heat. The gasoline results in a cooler, slower burn, which preventsdetonation. BUT, you have to deal with the rich AFRs this can create and the fact that gasoline is pretty poor as a heat absorber, especially compared to water, and especially compared to the cool burn of methanol combined with water. Long story short, you dont have to run rich to control detonation if you use injection.


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