As technology has advanced, so has the ability to make big horsepower with relatively small-displacement engines. With superchargers and turbochargers becoming more popular, people are achieving power levels with their street cars that were once only found in the racing community. This growth in horsepower, coupled with gasoline restrictions and lower octane, has forced many people to run some form of race gas to prevent engine failures. But what if you want to run on pump gas?
Water/methanol injection has become a viable option for anyone who wants to make big power on pump gas, and Snow Performance is one of the best at it. Combining a blend of water and methanol is a great way to increase octane and cool the intake charge at the same time, and doing so offers the ability to increase ignition timing, which can greatly increase power.
The Stage 3 kit from Snow...
The Stage 3 kit from Snow Performance comes with everything needed to start your alcohol addiction. When you open the box, you'll find Snow's UHO pump, reservoir tank, a digital controller, two nozzles, plus all the fittings and tubing needed to plumb the system.
Snow Performance's Boost Cooler systems have been around for nine years, and the line has grown with the consumer's need for more power and better operation. Snow's newest kit for the S197 Mustang brings significant advancements, providing precise control, smoother delivery, and more power in both forced induction and naturally aspirated applications.
Snow's Stage 3 kit (PN 20130) is simple to install, and will make a significant difference in power and inlet air temperature (IAT) for around $600. The Stage 3 kit offers the most advanced controller the company has ever offered. It also acts as a stand-alone controller, making on-the-fly tuning (of the water/methanol kit) a breeze, without the use of a laptop computer or other tuning aids. The LCD-screen, dash-mounted module displays boost, EFI information, and water/methanol injection levels in real time.
Our test mule is a Redfire...
Our test mule is a Redfire '05 Roush Stage 1 convertible owned by John Welsh. With the exception of the 2.6 Kenne Bell, John's Roush is stock.
"This controller is important because it doesn't just run off boost," explains Matt Snow, owner of Snow Performance. "It can run off fuel-injector pulse width or it can run off boost, making it ideal for a wide range of applications.
"The great part is it can be set up to 90-percent off boost and 10-percent off fuel-injector pulse, or any other combination to accommodate the application. With the controller, you have infinite adjustability within the tuning parameters (boost and fuel-injector pulse width)."
Matt Frith of Blow-By Racing...
Matt Frith of Blow-By Racing starts the install by removing....
The rest of the kit includes Snow's ultra-high-output (UHO) pump; two nozzle sizes (375- and 625-ml/min), which allow the kit to work with combinations up to about 650 rwhp; and all the connections and fitting to use the windshield-washer reservoir tank in place of the traditional tank. Additional options include a dual-nozzle kit, 2.5-gallon tank, solenoid upgrades, and a low-level indicator.
To tackle the installation of Snow Performance's Stage 3 kit, we headed to Blow-By Racing in Boca Raton, Florida. Our test vehicle is an '05 Roush Stage 1 convertible owned by John Welsh. In John's quest for more power, he has installed a 2.6 Kenne Bell Twin Screw supercharger making 10 psi of boost to seriously raise the fun factor. This also makes his S197 the perfect candidate for a little alcohol.
....the air intake tube and...
....the air intake tube and installing the 625-ml/min nozzle.
Follow along as we install and test Snow Performance's Stage 3 water/methanol injection kit.
After reinstalling the intake...
After reinstalling the intake tube, Frith drilled a hole in the reservoir tank for the low-level sensor.
The low-level sensor slides...
The low-level sensor slides into the hole and is sealed with adhesive to ensure there are no leaks.
Next, the fittings are installed...
Next, the fittings are installed and sealed with the same adhesive. Once the fittings are in place, the tubing supplied in the kit simply pushes into the fittings, locking it into place.
Frith then shifted his attention...
Frith then shifted his attention to the trunk, where he mounted the pump and reservoir. Even though the kit is designed so the pump mounts in the engine bay, Frith knew Welsh would be adding Snow's larger 2.5-gallon reservoir in the near future. This requires more room than is available under the hood, so the truck is the perfect place.
After the pump was mounted,...
After the pump was mounted, Frith bent some brackets and mounted the reservoir tank just above the pump. Gravity will ensure a constant supply of water/methanol to the pump so that it doesn't run dry.
Next, Frith removes a few...
Next, Frith removes a few of the interior panels to run the wiring for the dash-mounted controller. The feed and power lines are also run to the trunk, where the pump and reservoir are mounted.
Frith then drilled a hole...
Frith then drilled a hole in one of the interior panels to mount the on/off switch for the system.
One of the main benefits to...
One of the main benefits to water/methanol injection is the higher-octane level offered by the methanol. This gives the tuner the ability to get more aggressive with the tune for more power. Jones spent the afternoon tuning Welsh's '05 Roush, picking up some serious power and torque. When the day started, Welsh's S197 spun the rollers to the tune of 454.9 rwhp and 427.3 lb-ft of torque. With the timing adjusted for the water/methanol mix, which comes in according to boost and fuel-injector pulse, Welsh's convertible now lays down 484.1 rwhp with 484.9 lb-ft of torque, for a gain of just over 24 rwhp and just under 58 rwtq. These numbers also represent a real-world street tune. In a race tune, you can get more aggressive for maximum horsepower.
When we decided to test this...
When we decided to test this water/methanol kit, we wanted to test more than just horsepower and torque. Jones made back-to-back pulls, logging changes in IAT with and without the Snow kit. The yellow line in the graph represents rpm and the spikes are two of the dyno pulls made at BBR; the red line represents IAT over the course of the same pulls. After three quick pulls without water/methanol, the IAT rises as the rpm rises, but what happens after the run is significant. Run without the Snow kit, the IAT drastically increased as the constant flow of incoming air stopped. At the run start, the IAT was 120 degrees, but it quickly rose to 130.9 degrees. It was a completely different scenario with the water/methanol injection. The IAT decreased slightly as the rpm increased during the dyno pulls, due to the water/methanol, but the temperature fell dramatically once the run was over. At the start of the runs with water/methanol, the IAT was 125 degrees; once the run was over, the IAT fell to as low as 114.1 deg
The wiring is simple and straightforward....
The wiring is simple and straightforward. Frith connects the wiring to a positive lead, the fuel injector harness, and back to the pump. A vacuum tube is also connected so the controller has a boost reference.
Being that the system can...
Being that the system can be turned on and off from the driver's seat, Chris Jones and Matt Frith dove right into installing the Stage 3 kit. Installation was quick and easy, and done in just a few hours. Once all of the plumbing was complete, Jones strapped the convertible to BBR's Dynojet and made some baseline pulls. Using data-logging software from SCT, Jones kept an eye on the IAT while making pulls with and without the water/methanol injection.