Date:         Tue, 18 Jul 1995 10:49:25 -0700
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         eugp@uclink3.berkeley.edu (Eugene C. Palmer)
Subject:      Re: water injection

>On Tue, 18 Jul 1995, Dan Houg wrote:
>
>> about 20 years ago, the hot set-up for curing all engine ails was 
>> water injection...
>> 
>> Spearco made (and maybe still does, i'm out of the loop) a water 
>> injection kit that would inject a mist into the carb throat on 
>> demand, usually triggered by vacuum.  the water injection quantity 
>> and 'turn on' point were adjustable.  the claims by proponents of 
>> this were
>> 
>> 1. higher mpg
>> 2. carbon removal
>> 3. cooler running, smoother running
>> 4. reduced detonation
>> 
>> maybe this would help you air-cooleds, it seems like a perfect 
>> application.  yes, its dated technology but so are some VW engines.  
>> 
>> does anyone have experience with these set-ups?  are they still being 
>> marketed in speed shops??  i never did buy one of these setup but i 
>> think i kept the literature, i could post it if interested.
>> 

I have 'heard' that water injection is ill-advised for the air-cooled
volkswagen because of the aluminum heads and the possibility of corrosion
within the engine.

Eug,
'71