14spnt Posted June 20, 2013 Report Share Posted June 20, 2013 Getting back into racing and the division I will be racing in uses methanol.What extra work do I have to do over gas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4cylfordz Posted June 20, 2013 Report Share Posted June 20, 2013 Getting back into racing and the division I will be racing in uses methanol.What extra work do I have to do over gas? Different carb. Or large jets and the alcohol gaskets. Alcohol fuel pump. Larger main fuel line made of alchohol resistant rubber. And lots and lots of oil changes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
14spnt Posted June 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2013 At the end of the race night do you need to flush out the fuel system because of the corrosiveness of methanol and if you do what do you flush it out with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sm44 Posted June 21, 2013 Report Share Posted June 21, 2013 At the end of the race night do you need to flush out the fuel system because of the corrosiveness of methanol and if you do what do you flush it out with? No you don't need too, if its going to sit through the winter than yes, I just start my car once a week and have not had to winterize it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwmbishop Posted June 21, 2013 Report Share Posted June 21, 2013 Methanol itself is not really that corrosive to most metals (aluminum is a weak link though - alloys specific to methanol should be used in carb etc). However the WATER that it collects is VERY corrosive. Take care to make sure venting etc is not directly exposed in humid environments (vents should be filtered - the carb should always have its air filter on between race weekends etc) as this moisture speeds up the oxidation side of the equation. Also why just blowing out the lines end of season is bad - should flush and store with cleaner or gas at worse (but keep in mind gaskets exposed to methanol then gas will soften - even IF the alky gaskets are used)! Unlike gas - when it does evaporate off it does so in equal parts (mostly). The water only evaps while perfectly blended so when stored in your vented system the alky goes first raising the corrosivity of the water. One or two weeks is not going to be a huge problem. Not only will methanol soften cork gaskets - its hard on teflon tape, many nylons and some older rubber blends. Always use methanol rated plumbing. Highly recommend using AN everywhere on the fuel system. It burns slower so you run more timing advance through the curve, it burns cooler so you use larger jets to get back to the same (and higher) thermal conversion, and you can raise the compression ratio more before you get compressive detonation. When youre really out on the edge A|Fr and compression ratio wise - you may have to back down the engine after a run and cooldown- the moisture the ethanol holds (condensation on the cyl wall) can hydrolock it and be real hard on the starter and rings. But this typically is not problematic below 11:1 but overfueling CAN severely wash off the cyl wall oils - dry walling the compression rings - better to be lean than rich whereas gas is often safer the other way around. Gloves, apron and shoe covers when fueling! The burn comes after you forgot that insignificant splash. I splashed about 1/4 cup refueling for a transfer race and some hit my work boots - never felt "wet" so I soon forgot it. Two hours later I had hamburger for the top of my right foot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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