Methanol..............

[Big - D Racing]

So I am interested in hearing everyone's opinion on Methanol. Good and bad. I am thinking of playing around with it a little and do a little experminting. ANy advice on what to do, what not to, etc. Thinking about running a mix of Methanol and Gasoline. Currently I have a fully built race 440 built from the ground up by Duncan Racing runnning VP C-12 108 octane gas, which is costing me damn near $10 a gallon now. Want to throw some methanol in the mix so I don't have to completely redo my carb setup, still allow my rubber parts within the carb to exist without getting ruined from the methanol, and still pick up some performance and power. Give me your thoughts.

I run an Edelbrock Carb, the eichner edition which has a pretty nice accelartor pump on it so I don't think it will be too big of an issue running a methanol mix in it.

[boosted3g]

I absolutly love methanol although it has its downsides. It runs cool, its 116 octane, and makes power and torque. On the bad side you need more frequent oil changes and if you run it lean it will melt stuff, trust me. When tuned correctly youll see about a 10% increase in power and the torque increase is even better. The minimize the effects on rubber try and keep the tank full and sealed. It will also help with the methanol wanting to absorb moisture. I dont know if the tank will take it over time but i know it does start to swell most rubbers. If you mix it with gas it takes alot of the bad properties out of it and it will still make power. You may want to do that anyways because starting a cold engine on methanol is a pain in the butt. If it gets below 60 degrees you will struggle to get it started and keeping it up to temp. This may not be an issue but i thought id point it out.

[Big - D Racing]

So running it in like a 50/50 mix what do you think will be the downside to that? Do you think it will need drastic jetting and carb changes?
Why do you recommend keeping the tank full and sealed? Does it try to asorb moisture out of the air allowing it into the tank?

It's my first time ever exploring Methanol so I want to make sure I have a clear understanding of it first. I think I will try it but in a lean mix of like 20% methanol 80 gas. Then work my way up to 50/50 as I get comftorable with it. Even running it at a mix do you think it will still have a good benefit?

Is there any other tuning that has to be done to the bike?

[Big - D Racing]

Also you sig say you run ethanol, what is the difference between ethanol and methanol. Is there an advantage of running one over another?

[boosted3g]

I run e85 (85% ethanol and 15% gas) just because i can get it from the pump and its better than gas and only 2.19 a gallon. Its about a halfway point between gas and methanol. I always topped off the tank so there was no air in it for it to pull moisture from and then seal it. People claim it can do all sorts of things to the fuel system and rubber lines but to tell you the truth i have never had any problems. One thing to think of is if you are planning on converting is to take advantage of it. Methanol loves lots of compression and lots of timing. There is a guy on this board named scruff_mcruff, he has experience in methanol also. You might want to send him a PM and get some more info on it. I ran it in an old racecar i had and its been a while since i touched it. There is also a post on the 400ex section concerning methanol.

[400exrider707]

I bet GPracer2500 has vast knowledge on the subject, he knows a lot about all different kinds of fuels. PM him, or hope he finds this thread.

[machwon]

I use 100% alky on my Banshee and every differrence is huge. I would caution you on the use of more than 25% without getting your carb converted to alky and tweaking the fuel system or getting a fuel pump.

First the big cautions, alky burn invisibly to the naked eye. So be very careful with it as it can catch fire and you will not know it. Most organized racing events require fire suits, etc if the fuel is allowed at all. Its also very toxic and can be absorbed through your skin, just try to not get any on you. I feel a little safer using it with a 2-stroke as I mix oil in the gas, the oil will definitely smoke if on fire. Use only maxima 927, klotz benoil, or equivalent when mixing for two strokes. Normal 2 stroke oil will not blend with alky.

Alky is also very corrisive, so I drain the gas tank, carbs and then run the motor on regular gas/oil every day after riding. It will dry out main seals very fast and ruin them if the motor is not purged. Alky also absorbs water very fast, a few drips on your gas tank and it turn milky white with a minute from absorbing water from the air. leaving alky in your motor overnight will absorb moisture and flash rust cast iron cylinders and main bearings.

For jetting, a good starting point is to more than double your fuel input when using 100%. Most people start and end up around 120-125% more fuel in addition to what is used on gas. With a 100% usage rate, I also must remove the fuel filter from the bottom of the tank, drill out the gas cap vents, this will allow enough alky to flow to the carbs. Running out of alky will lean the motor so fast, a lot of times it will melt the piston.

If you use a 25% blend alcohol, you will likely go up 30-35% more fuel. You will likely be able to flow enough with stock fuel system.

The up side is its a big power gain in two strokes, the motor runs very cool, you can almost touch the motor on a 80 degree day within 3 minutes. Heat robs HP especially in 2 strokes, so less heat equals more power. Most banshees pick up at least 5 hp, more commonly they see 10hp or more on 100% alky. I have never used the fuel in 4 strokes, but I bet the gains can be pretty good.