Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2004 13:54:45 -0500
Reply-To: Bruce Nadig <motorbruce@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Bruce Nadig <motorbruce@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Experiment
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed
Jim,
The only down side I can think of is if something goes wrong, either with
the engine running or while parked (more likely scenario is while van is
parked). If for some reason your injector/s or water valve fail or leak at
all and too much water is allowed to enter the engine, you could end up with
hydraulic lock. That is sure to cause some problems. Best case, you can't
crank the engine. Worst case, you bend something expensive.
While I think that the chances of something like this happening are remote,
you did ask if any harm could be done.
Interestingly, I was watching the Formula 1 race this past weekend, and they
were talking about water injection (it might have been during qualifying
that they were talking about it). Originally water injection was used in
plane engines during WWII. The Formula 1 guys adopted it during the turbo
era, but the F1 gods quickly banned it.
During the F1 turbo era, water injection was used primarily to cool the
combustion chambers because temperatures had gone out of control. However,
the F1 engineers also discovered that they could get power gains from using
the water injection. The TV commentators said (they said, not me) that even
the engineers weren't quite sure why they were getting power gains. There
was speculation that it had to do with the extra oxygen introduced into the
combustion chamber (the high temperatures and pressures would cause the
water molecules to break into their basic hydrogen and oxygen components). I
find the whole topic pretty interesting.
Now there is one area where I don't feel that water "injection" has been
exploited to nearly the extent that it can be. Any turbo motor with an
intercooler could benefit from a very, very fine cooling mist of water shot
across the surface of the intercooler under high boost conditions. This
would go far to cool the intake charge.
We also know that in many forms of drag racing (or all (?), I'm not a drag
racing fan) nitrous injection is banned. Some clever builders have set up
nitrous spray bars in front of their intercoolers on turbo motors (primarily
on the newer import cars). Talk about a shot of cold air! Now this is legal
because they aren't actually introducing the nitrous into the intake track.
They are just using it to cool your intake charge as it passes through the
intercooler. Unfortunately, this would hardly be practical on a street car.
Well, this if probably far more than you wanted to know.
At any rate, what is your goal with your water injection? Are you after
cooler temperatures? Are you looking for more power? I'd like to hear more
about what you are doing. By the way, if you want a really high pressure
water pump, try a headlight washer pump from an Audi. They put our some
pressure.
Keep us up to date.
Cheers,
Bruce
motorbruce
motorbruce@hotmail.com
>From: Jim Kennedy <JK@PROJECTDESIGN.COM>
>Reply-To: Jim Kennedy <JK@PROJECTDESIGN.COM>
>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>Subject: Experiment
>Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2004 10:59:29 -0700
>
>Vanagonians,
>
>I want to experiment (just for fun) with doing water injection, such as a
>mister into the intake manifold. Can any harm be done in trying this? I
>can't think of any.
>
>Jim
>'87 GL
>