water injection
Omega_5
04-20-2005, 06:43 PM
I was just wondering if a water injection thread has been started before.
It seems like alot of people are kind of lost to the concept.
If it hasn't been done, i could start a thread in with all of the information needed (this usually applies to forced induction cars, so that is where the thread will be).
It seems like alot of people are kind of lost to the concept.
If it hasn't been done, i could start a thread in with all of the information needed (this usually applies to forced induction cars, so that is where the thread will be).
1stGenRocks
04-20-2005, 07:25 PM
its been discussed some before but if you can do a writeup about it im sure the mods will save it if its written well.
guitarXgeek
04-20-2005, 07:52 PM
Oh boy, so much information about water injection (WI from now on) that it'd take a couple pages to get most of it down :) I guess I'll start off by just laying out some of the basic concepts/ideas/reasons behind WI.
First off, I'd like to mention that WI has been around for a LONG time. The turbo buick guys I think started the whole WI thing way back in the day, and for good reason too. Since water cools so incredibly well (hence the reason you use it partly as coolant for the motor :) ), it has the ability to almost completely eliminate knock/detonation caused from excessive heat in the combustion chamber - which happens to be the main cause for detonation in turbocharged motors.
Also, the continuous use of water injection actually cleans the entire intake stream, the valve tops, and the combustion chamber. I'm sure some of you have heard of people using Seafoam to clean the carbon out of the combustion chamber, right? Well, before Seafoam came about, people used small amounts of water to clean the carbon build-up in the combustion chamber. I don't know exactly what property of water allows this to happen, but it works VERY well. So not only do you get the benefits of hardcore knock suppression, you can rest assured that there are no carbon hot-spots inside the combustion chamber causing knock/detonation :)
The whole reason WI works so well with turbocharged vehicles is water's latent heat properties. Basically, water absorbs heat extremely well, especially upon evaporization. A small nozzle is placed somewhere along the intake path on the intercooler piping. A common place is roughly 6-10" or so from the throttle body. Now, remember that the temperature of the charged air can reach well over 250 degrees F. The water is injected into the intercooler piping via the small nozzle (which is sized to the amount of fuel available, usually %15 of the total amount of fuel available). The water is sprayed into an ultra-fine mist and almost IMMEDIATELY it is evaporated by the hot charge air. Now water's latent heat of evaporization comes into play. As the water hits the intake stream, massive amounts of heat is absorbed by the water and is almost immediately taken away as the water evaporates. Thus, a MUCH MUCH cooler intake charge!
As for me, I plan to take FULL advantage of this wonderful idea and use a two-nozzle water injection system on my GSX. I actually plan to put a very small nozzle just before the intercooler (the stock SMIC) and a larger one pre-throttle body. My reasoning for keeping the stock SMIC is for the sleeper look, as well as the whole money issue ;) The only thing limiting me on the stock SMIC then would be the airflow restriction of that POS.
I'm sure you're wondering why I opted for a small nozzle pre-intercooler, since that would effectively reduce the entire purpose of the intercooler. However, since the stock SMIC likes to heat soak extrememly quick, the small amount of water injected just before it will keep the heatsoak to an absolute minimum! I even know of people in extremely hot climates that use a small nozzle just before their front-mount intercooler just to help combat heat soak.
Another popular thing to do is for people to inject is a mix of water and alcohol (methanol, to be exact). The magic % from what I've read is 25% water and 75% methanol. The reason for using methanol is it's ability to compensate for low-octane fuel. Methanol in itself has the ability to effectively "raise" the overall octane of fuel mixture (it doesn't literally raise the octane, but it has the same effect) allowing you to lean out a little more and raise the boost a little more. It's kinda the same effect as running "race gas" all the time. Another reason is that methanol has much better combustable properties than water, which is why a good mix of the two is pure sex. You get the heat reduction properties from water, and the "octane raising" properties from methanol. I've seen some results from users on the dsmlink forums, and I'm further impressed each time I see results!
The one downfall to methanol is that it is quite corrosive, so extra care must be taken with regard to the pump, container, and lines. I should also note that only distilled water and/or "smurf piss" (winshield washer fluid - 49% water, 49% methanol, 2% blue dye) should be used for water injection. I have heard, though, that the smurf piss has a tendency to clog the nozzles.
There is a LOT more information about water injection out there, especially on dsmtuners.com. But I think it would be good to get a base of information on here, though. I think I just covered the tip of the iceberg, so someone else may chime in if they like :)
Here are some links to a couple vendors that sell nothing but water injection kits. Lots of good information there..
www.coolingmist.com
www.aquamist.co.uk/
-Matt
P.S. Here is a thread on dsmtuners.com that shows the wonderful results of pure water injection... http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41303
First off, I'd like to mention that WI has been around for a LONG time. The turbo buick guys I think started the whole WI thing way back in the day, and for good reason too. Since water cools so incredibly well (hence the reason you use it partly as coolant for the motor :) ), it has the ability to almost completely eliminate knock/detonation caused from excessive heat in the combustion chamber - which happens to be the main cause for detonation in turbocharged motors.
Also, the continuous use of water injection actually cleans the entire intake stream, the valve tops, and the combustion chamber. I'm sure some of you have heard of people using Seafoam to clean the carbon out of the combustion chamber, right? Well, before Seafoam came about, people used small amounts of water to clean the carbon build-up in the combustion chamber. I don't know exactly what property of water allows this to happen, but it works VERY well. So not only do you get the benefits of hardcore knock suppression, you can rest assured that there are no carbon hot-spots inside the combustion chamber causing knock/detonation :)
The whole reason WI works so well with turbocharged vehicles is water's latent heat properties. Basically, water absorbs heat extremely well, especially upon evaporization. A small nozzle is placed somewhere along the intake path on the intercooler piping. A common place is roughly 6-10" or so from the throttle body. Now, remember that the temperature of the charged air can reach well over 250 degrees F. The water is injected into the intercooler piping via the small nozzle (which is sized to the amount of fuel available, usually %15 of the total amount of fuel available). The water is sprayed into an ultra-fine mist and almost IMMEDIATELY it is evaporated by the hot charge air. Now water's latent heat of evaporization comes into play. As the water hits the intake stream, massive amounts of heat is absorbed by the water and is almost immediately taken away as the water evaporates. Thus, a MUCH MUCH cooler intake charge!
As for me, I plan to take FULL advantage of this wonderful idea and use a two-nozzle water injection system on my GSX. I actually plan to put a very small nozzle just before the intercooler (the stock SMIC) and a larger one pre-throttle body. My reasoning for keeping the stock SMIC is for the sleeper look, as well as the whole money issue ;) The only thing limiting me on the stock SMIC then would be the airflow restriction of that POS.
I'm sure you're wondering why I opted for a small nozzle pre-intercooler, since that would effectively reduce the entire purpose of the intercooler. However, since the stock SMIC likes to heat soak extrememly quick, the small amount of water injected just before it will keep the heatsoak to an absolute minimum! I even know of people in extremely hot climates that use a small nozzle just before their front-mount intercooler just to help combat heat soak.
Another popular thing to do is for people to inject is a mix of water and alcohol (methanol, to be exact). The magic % from what I've read is 25% water and 75% methanol. The reason for using methanol is it's ability to compensate for low-octane fuel. Methanol in itself has the ability to effectively "raise" the overall octane of fuel mixture (it doesn't literally raise the octane, but it has the same effect) allowing you to lean out a little more and raise the boost a little more. It's kinda the same effect as running "race gas" all the time. Another reason is that methanol has much better combustable properties than water, which is why a good mix of the two is pure sex. You get the heat reduction properties from water, and the "octane raising" properties from methanol. I've seen some results from users on the dsmlink forums, and I'm further impressed each time I see results!
The one downfall to methanol is that it is quite corrosive, so extra care must be taken with regard to the pump, container, and lines. I should also note that only distilled water and/or "smurf piss" (winshield washer fluid - 49% water, 49% methanol, 2% blue dye) should be used for water injection. I have heard, though, that the smurf piss has a tendency to clog the nozzles.
There is a LOT more information about water injection out there, especially on dsmtuners.com. But I think it would be good to get a base of information on here, though. I think I just covered the tip of the iceberg, so someone else may chime in if they like :)
Here are some links to a couple vendors that sell nothing but water injection kits. Lots of good information there..
www.coolingmist.com
www.aquamist.co.uk/
-Matt
P.S. Here is a thread on dsmtuners.com that shows the wonderful results of pure water injection... http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41303
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