Engine Drivetrain 2nd Gen S Most liked posts in thread: Learn me about Water/Meth Injection

I plan on getting an Aquamist HFS-4 Methanol injection system.

From what I've read, the methanol/water mix in the tank lasts for months. Just check the level as you'd check the oil, if you run out of mix, you are just being lazy.

With an Accessport, you can load two maps, one like the standard OEM map, and one performance map, then use the sport button to switch between them. You could turn off the meth/water injection whenever you want.

Here are some great links for more information.

R56 MINI Cooper Methanol Injection

Howerton Engineering, LLC – MINI

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Dave

 

Jeff Howerton wrote this article for the Motoring Alliance Library

An Introduction to Water/Alcohol Injection Systems

 

A friend buys methanol by the drum, for his business.
I don't think I'll have a problem getting it.

Dave

 

There are probably moonshine stills that you can get a fill up anywhere along the Dragon..... Just be careful approaching them.....

 

:cornut: BUMP!!!!! One of the Power Mod Gear Heads will probably be along shortly.

Jason

 

I haven't done it on an R56, so I'm not going to say a lot.

You have to decide what your objectives are for the car overall... then determine where W/M fits into that.

In my case, I was going for cooling primarily, with minimal impact on octane, and ability to run with or without meth with no danger to the car, and no need to tune specifically for meth. That meant I could buy a much less sophisticated system, but it also significantly limits my upside. In my case, it DOES keep things clean (but I don't have DI), and it helps the retain power in hot weather and hard driving (it doesn't "add" power in my case). In my case, it doesn't take a lot of juice. I refill my small tank (actually the headlight washer tank) once about every 3-4 gas tanks for normal driving, or every 1-2 gas tanks for hard driving, or every couple of sessions on the track...

At the other end of the spectrum, the sky's the limit. I'll let others chime in on that.

 

The issue I see in tying a tune to Meth/Water injection is that if you run out of Meth during a run you can fry things since the tune is tied to that extra bit that is not there now. Just my 0.02 cents on that matter.

 

Generally true.

So either you (a) have to design the entire "package" around that issue (failsafes, perhaps multiple tune maps with/without meth, etc.) or (b) you stay very much on the "safe" end of what's possible, and you baby the car if you have no meth...

Which, IMHO, is why I prefer to simplify it to three options:
1) don't do W/M
2) do a TINY amount of meth ONLY for cooling (plus the little bit of fuel/octane you get as a side effect (what I do)
3) go ALL OUT with a full integrated engine and tuning package that include meth, failsafes, etc. as part of the whole

 

Eventually I want to do a water/meth hookup, planning on using a 50/50 mix of meth/water--that mix isn't flammable, doesn't need a tune, and should work wonders for cooling. I'd like to go 100% meth, but I don't want to deal with any potential headaches that can come along with it.

Hmmm....Headlight resevoir...Might have to think about that, not sure if it would be large enough for a 50/50 mix, but it sure would be nice to use that instead of a stand alone tank.

 

Water meth should be just an add on for ping and carbon build up. there is NO NEED to 'chip' or remap for w/m that is the beauty of the stuff.
Also you dont need the best on these systems.. they all work great for the DD and running in the mountains. Here in Fl where it gets HOT, we would see more benefits than you in Canada where it is cooler...

It is a great feature... been running mine since 06 !! Pulled an add'l 8 whp from the system with the w/m allowing the ecu to run more ign timing under a load..

Just saying...........................

Thumper

 

Thumper, what mix are you using? 50/50?

 

tried all and ended with the 50/50 mix..

Thumper

 

I've heard that you can use the cheap windshield washer fluid, because it's a meth/water mix, Is that true?

You could use the same reservoir for your squirters and your meth injection, in that case.

Dave

 

No, you don't want to use windshield wiper fluid--it'll crystallize. It's ok if you're spraying the IC from the outside, but if it's internal injection, you want something more pure.

 

I have used the -30 degree washer fluid when I was on the Dragon and ran out of my own.. worked fine

Just saying.............................

Thumper

 

I wouldn't do that long term. Put some on some metal, let it dry, then see if you still want that in your engine...

 

+1 on the washer fluid....key word being washer. It has detergents in it.

 

I wouldn't long term..

 

There's actually very different stuff sold as washer fluid... and there are sites that have actually done analysis on brands. Some is NOTHING but water, methanol, and color. Some has detergents. Some has glycerin, etc.

As long as you identify stuff as pure water/meth (plus color) it's OK... I ran A LOT of it for A LONG time with no issues.

That said, I run between 70-80% meth now. I've tried everything from pure water to pure meth, and in my setup, this provides the most oooomf.

I haven't burned up yet.

But that's why folks test... different results.