Methanol 4.0

Thought I'd share my experience of using this. Disclaimer- I am not a mechanic. I have followed strict guidelines of random wild ideas I've come up with. This should be used in moderation, unless more sounds like a good idea at the time. I can only guarantee no small rodents were used in testing, yet. So, with that here we are. Thus far I've got about 6k miles using this. I purchased snow performance's universal kit. It runs off the maf center wire. Thanks @loginfailed for that. That yellow wire runs the control box that has both a start setting, and full setting. There is a rough starting suggestion and one tunes according to how and when the engine responds. Too early and too much and the engine bogs. Simple. I chose to use the supplied tank and mounted it next to the washer tank. I didnt use the washer tank because I didnt want to alter it. 12v power I used an add-a-fuse at the fuse panel inside. The truck has all functioning electronics and has not caught fire. Apparently I picked a winner. The pump I mounted next to the aluminum bumper mount up front. The instructions say within 2' of the tank and below the tank level. That left few options. I followed this part of the instructions exactly so I could say i followed them. The low level light i had some errors with at first. I figured it would come on like a low fuel light. Not so much. It stays constantly lit until you run low. Then it flickers a while before going out. According to snow there is no danger in running the pump dry and causing damage. I've done it a few times. No damage, fires, or anything else. For the nozzle placement I chose the intake tube. If I damaged it oh well. If I messed up tapping the s/c I would be very upset. I highly recommend using the correct tools for making the threads for the nozzle. I used a drill for the hole and a bolt with a socket wrench forcing threads. Quite a workout I tell ya. But I did it! Now for the test run. I bought the boost juice for it. But make my own following the instructions. Yes, I did do as they said. One gallon blue -20* washer fluid with no additives. This is important apparently. Then add three 12oz bottles of heet gas dryer. This produces a 50/50 mixture. This is all the more you need. More methanol than this and the pump will not be happy. Like buy a new pump not happy. Pure methanol is a fire hazard. Dont do it. If you're after just cooling abilities rather than the octane run straight washer fluid. It's a 70/30 water/methanol blend. It's fine too. At the recommended start setting I noticed great consumption. It was coming on at 2k rpm. The tech at snow has his come on at 3k in his gen 1 tacoma. I now have mine set at about 2500rpm. Not being a mechanic or having a dyno I cant say how much I'm gaining. Now my octane is well over 100. When I drove it hard on the freeway I pulled over and felt the s/c. Barely warm. Like a baby could sit on it and not be upset. Just remove said baby before closing the hood. I've enclosed some pics for reference. The pics inside the intake and t/b show evidence of a blue tinge after 6k miles. If you look close you can see where a light touch of my finger easily wipes it off. No pitting or corrosion at all. Please feel free to add to this if you like. Even if it's to poke fun.

 

Pics

 

You crazy. I see no pics, tho.

Story related to ethanol, not methanol: I was on a trip to CO in my old '12 and got gas near the Fort Riley Army base in the middle of Kansas, and I swear they must have had E85 in the regular pumps. I went from getting 18-19 mpg down to 12 mpg on that tank. It seemed to run OK, but something wasn't quite right and that tank disappeared quickly. Glad I was on a trip and burned through that tank -- and on a relatively flat section of the earth.

 

Wow! Dont think they offer that in Washington where I am. Pics are below the run on paragraph.

 

Nice, clean install. So the point is both octane boost and cooling? And transporting babies under the hood? Does the ECM have to learn to give you more timing advance over time for more power? Interesting mod, always wanted the SC on my old 4.0.

 

Yes and yes. No babies, just a reference. The s/c couldn't even make your hand warm. Ecm works fine with it. I have the ovtuner now. Need custom tune to see more gains. That will be soon I hope when he gets going again. Superchargers on these trucks are rad. I highly recommend one.

 

My main objective is power. This makes it possible in a safe-ish way. Not knocking or overheating.

 

Ooh, run on paragraphs, hacked installations, and show-and-tells. My kind of discussion.

I am running Snow's base kit, the on/off system that triggers with manifold pressure. I have it set to turn on at 6psi. Note, as @White lightning boosted says, one can have too much at too low rpm that will cause you to bog down - I run the 100ml and 375ml nozzles simultaneously (you might ask - why the heck use two nozzles when you could have one - to which I reply, the question is not why, but why NOT) and even at 2100rpm trigger, I noticed only gains from before (when I was using the 175ml nozzle alone). Note, that's butt dyno. In hot weather, the truck was bogging with the 175ml nozzle. I am also using the 7th injector... that boggyness almost disappeared when I went to 475ml/min.

 

I'm running the #3 nozzle, 375ml. Rated for 200-400hp.

 

Oh, okay. Actually #3 is 175ml/min, #5 is 375ml/min.

 

I have noticed weather has a big influence on my system. When it's cold and wet it comes on earlier.

 

Oops, like I said. I sometimes read most of the instructions.

 

Interesting. Makes sense though. Denser cold air should equal more flow through the intake at the same supercharger RPM.

 

Also, @White lightning boosted how the heck did you get your reservoir to sit so low? Is there a special elbow fitting there? I had to raise mine up as much as possible, and you can see there are spacers where the bolts go into the engine bay side panel, to bring the reservoir closer to the center of the engine bay. And then, the fill cap for the reservoir is about 2mm from the hood...

 

@Athlaos, has your pump worked fine where its at? I may move mine.

 

As far as I can tell, yes, it works fine.

 

I found a 90* brass elbow. I was worried about it hitting the hood. My next choice was a sawzall to the fender. But the elbow was faster.

 

I also didnt want a kink in the hose.

 

Okay. It's a little cramped for that nylon tube where mine sits, but not bad. It doesn't leak. I figured because it's the low pressure side, the chances of a leak are fairly low.

 

Stress on that hose fitting should be avoided. I dont know how sensitive they are.