methanol (alcohol)

[ramey-racing28]

Anyone ever tried running these mini's on methanol or alcohol? Just curious, it Burns much cooler, figured someone has tried it. Thanks

[machwon]

It's on my to do list, but havn't got there yet. Still working on other motors, someday I'll get to my own kids and I might post something up.

[selbygirl]

i heard methanol and ethanol can be corrosive to motors , here on the easten shore our gas contains 10% ethanal and causes big prolems with boats eny thing with a plastic tank it gums every thing up , and isnt alcohol same as ethanol it contains corn or soy bean oil , i may be wrong , plus its hard to find alcohol around here unless you have a still

[ramey-racing28]

You are correct they are all corrosive. Methanol and alcohol are different from ethanol though. We run methanol in micro's and sprint cars around here, was just curious if anyone had ran it in any mini's. I know you have to change jetting and you must purge it out of the Carb after every race.

[edwardsp&b]

Im not sure about the alcohol, or methanol. But I can tell you that the ethanol is some very bad crap! We are seeing alot of problems diesel and gas around here. Take a clear cup and pour in some fresh ethanol and sit it on a shelf. Watch after a few days it turn brown and gell up. Real bad stuff they are selling us now. I wouldnt dream of putting it in our race motors. I use to mix race fuel and pump fuel 50/50, not anymore!

On the bright side I have been changing a ton of fuel filters and doing services for just these reasons. And for all the 6.0 Ford diesel guys out there (And there is a bunch of you) those motors have nothing but problems to begin with, ethanol only makes it worse. Ive seen numerous fuel filters pulled and have a jelly like material in them. Guess what happens when it gets to the injectors! Cha-Ching!!!!
Bryan

[ramey-racing28]

You are right, big problems around here as well with the ethanol. Missouri has made it manditory that it be mixed with our fuel. But the methanol is somewhat different. With micro sprints there are huge HP gains and it will run way cooler on methanol. I think I'm going to try it. Ill post updates when I get it figured out. Thanks Chris

[fomospede]

Originally posted by selbygirl
i heard methanol and ethanol can be corrosive to motors , here on the easten shore our gas contains 10% ethanal and causes big prolems with boats eny thing with a plastic tank it gums every thing up , and isnt alcohol same as ethanol it contains corn or soy bean oil , i may be wrong , plus its hard to find alcohol around here unless you have a still
FYI
there are web sights that list E0 (ethanol free fuel)
ethanol disapates into the atmosphere at a much higher rate gumming up and ruining fuel system works
produces less power over all as well
this nightmare leads to alot of work for repair guys and im sure some stuff gets thrown away to go buy new just for it to happen again to the unsuspecting soul
cheaper now twice as expensive in the long run!
my .02

[bloodswet&gears]

Google E.C. Birt, ecbirt. I went to school with one of his sons here in Dickson,Tn.. He just passed away about a month ago, but anyway, he was a kart eng. builder/motorcycle enthusiast that knew alot about carbs and methanol. He shared alot of his tips and tricks. Maybe you can find the info you are looking for that way.

[ramey-racing28]

Thanks for the info. I want nothing to do with ethanol. I will run methanol, way different. Ya it is ran in a lot of motorsports. I will do some research and post a reply later. Thanks everyone.

[Coley'sdad#8]

I have run Methanol in go carts, dirt bikes and quads, if you are really wanting to do it you need to be a master jetting expert and by the way your little "look at the plug color" thing doesn't work the same with meth, hard chocolate is about it willl get even on full rich so you gotta be able to do it by hear, feel and smell......<< yes thats a period. Running methanol in 4 strokes is not as finiky and yes it does run alot cooler (so cool you could put your hand on the camcover on a 200x) but one thing that you will encounter is a moisture problem because it will condensate inside the intake manifold, I had to actually build an insulated intake for that. Methanol has an octane equivelent of about 113 and it loves high compression, give it all ya got and advance the crap out of the timing but your going to have to put a capful of mint extract in your tank if you dont want anybody to know your running it (not like I have :devil: ) it is pretty fun to play with in the 4 strokes because it does have more cooling and more power, the best rule of thumb for beginning jetting that I came up with was increase 70% to start (if your running a 100 main plug in a 170:eek2: ) thats right your going to be suckin alot more fuel because the meth is not as dense and yes you need to drain and flush tank n carb after use and yes just sitting will collect moisture in the bowl and yes dont mix more than you can use that outing and yes you need to keep it in uv resistant metal cans and yes it is expensive.
Now for tha 2 stroke end of thangs= remember the moisture in the intake thing I was telling you about, well that aint real good for a 2 smoke that has its lubrication oil mixed with the fuel because the oil and wata dont mix so you get scuffing and "milking" (man it makes a nasty sludge when ya have a meltdown, like the old quaker state) there may be something else now but you used to have to mix it with a castor based oil and nothing else (and the mint extract works here also)
a 2 stroke moves alot more air than a 4 stroke which makes the condensation factor 2 fold and you WILL DEFINATELY be changing your jetting from practice to 1st moto to 2nd moto. Every change in temperature (even 2 degrees) humidity , the sun goes behind clouds, a large bird flys over and blocks the sun,ect will keep you on your toes. IMO stick with what ya got, it's alot easier and more reliable. Look at it this way, if it was so much better wouldn't the bigboy teams be trying it more??:ermm: