Postby Weatherhound » Wed Nov 04, 2009 12:47 pm
Art,
I began playing around with MeOH back in 2001. Since an alky engine runs cooler than gasoline engines, they are hard to heat up. When I started I went thru as much fuel in the pits as I did going down the track. At idle, the crank case is basically a condensing exchanger for fuel and water after combustion. If you look at your oil right after a warm up you would feel sick. Don't worry about how it looks until after a pass or 2 is made. The crank case needs to be heated so MeOH and water can boil out and leave via the crank case evacs.
You can reduce the amount of malting by cracking open the shut off valve to lean the engine out. It will idle higher, elevate the EGT's and hence warm up much faster. Some milking will occur, but not nearly as much as before. Which makes it easier to clean it up after the engine soaks up some heat.
I used to change the oil after every event. Now I might change the oil around every 20 or 25 passes, and the oil looks as if it was ran in a gasoline engine for a couple of passes to make it slightly darker. I invested in a wide band O2 sensor and mapped the AFR going down the track. Several things that did for me is save a LOT of methanol. I got twice the runs from a drum than I did prior. By modifying the fuel curve with high speed poppet style valves, the engine has been running with the same set of plugs for almost 1.5 years. And I change the oil as frequently as I did my old gasoline engine. I don't use anything fancy...I use Valvoline VR1 20W-50. I don't think the expensive synthetics help much when you change the oil so often when compared to a road race engine.
I only dumped my fuel once back when I first started as the standard protocol called for. Too much of a pain for me. So I began using lab grade methanol (currently $185 per drum) which is cleaner than most or all fuel manufacturers, and never use additives that change the smell and lubricate at the same time. Those additives have some compounds that precipitate out after the lines dry (white waxy compound) and it won't go back into solution unless it is mixed with it's primary solvent which isn't methanol. VP makes an unscented top lube lead substitute that won't leave a residue. When I get home I top off the fuel cell to reduce the vapor space and close the inlet vent valve so no the methanol won't suck up moisture (unless nitro is blended, then I remove it and fill with fresh methanol).
Sometimes I purge a little air thru the crank case to sweep out the high moisture when the intake and valve covers cool.
Just be sure if you have an aluminum tank that it is anodized, and you have the correct flexible fuel lines type of rubber. Also, the O-rings in the injector unit stay swollen so they don't drip for 15 minutes after you start the engine.
Not saying this is the way to do things. Just this form of discipline has worked well for me since 2001.
Brian "Weatherhound"
1969 Z/28 Camaro
540 Injected Enderle Bird
Lake Jackson, TX