methonal
Turbo Mini Forums

ok im looking at running the mini on methonal seeing as i can get my hands on it....
just wondering if there are any dissadvantages? i know a good thing about it is that it will burn at a cooler rate meaning more power + less chance of detonation :)

just looking for some opinions? piston wise im running forged omegas and steel MED race valves in the head.

is there anything i need to change to run it on methanol?
the car is just a weekend toy and wil NOT be used all the time.

Edited by jameswildcooper on 16th May, 2012.

You will need a lot more methanol than a petrol fuel system will normally deliver. Expect to use larger pumps and pipe work as well as possibly needing a larger carb.
When we look at putting to Pro ET drag car we raced on to it we needed to go from dash 8 to dash 12 on all the fuel system.

As an example of how much more fuel you will need to flow, consider that some drag bikes leave out the main jet altogether and drill out the threads !

from what i remember with some drag cars i have dealt with i think they said its about double the amount compared to fuel. Also the materiels things are made of have to be checked as i think it eats brass away and some seals have to be checked and changed for different grade. i remember a carb that hadn't been purged after a season and the jets went all brittle strong stuff.

EDIT ah and not mention if it catches alight you cant see the fire just a heat haze unless its burning something got to be so carefull

Edited by jlay on 16th May, 2012.

My small bore turbo project http://www.turbominis.co.uk/forums/index.php?p=vt&tid=473901

well i havnt got fuel lines just yet so its the perfect time to get nice big fat pipes if i need it....lol
looks like i need to look into it a bit more though.....thanks for the advice.
if anyone has any more fire away please?

double is about right, where as you need to run about 12.5-12.8:1 on petrol with methonal its about 5.8-6:1,

On a blown setup, you can run more boost without fear of detonation? Therefore more power?

The downside is that your carb or injection setup has got to be able to flow around 50% more fuel for the equivilent power on petrol. So that means not just fuel lines and fuel pump but the carb. The drillings may not be big enough.

Like said back in the old days Amal did a special carb for drag motorbikes with bigger drillings.

Have you got a 'still' in your back garden?

Matt W

Methanol is Hygroscopic, therefore the longer you leave it in the tank, the more water it absorbs. This then leads to corrosion.

My mates Jap Import Impreza WRX was run on a methanol mix and then left for a while. He removed the fuel pump to upgrade to a walbro 255 to find the aluminium casing had corroded and exposed steel parts had rusted.

James dont be a fanny and run high octane petrol

Squirt the methanol in as well as the fuel? Perhaps with a bit of water?

In the 13's at last!.. Just