KB58 wrote:
Regardless of its cooling abilities, you're going to find the system a pain. I had a water/methanol injection setup and it's another thing that takes up space, including controller, pump, and where's the 2-5 gallon reservoir going? Then there's dealing with the jet(s) plugging up, which can lead to to engine failure if the engine tune counts on it functioning. Lastly, there's always being aware of how much coolant remains and whether you have enough to get home. Real systems have all sorts of safety features to ensure that coolant flows when needed, but they cost $$$. Yes they work but for me it just wasn't worth it and I ended up going with a big air/air intercooler.
Thanks for the warning. Yes I don't expect this water system to be a cake walk.
In my case the water reservoir was planned from the beginning, that is from designing the tube chassis. On my build the space under the front hood is roomy enough to receive the fuel tank, the water tank and a full size spare wheel.
To me a water cooling system is a must. The corvair engine is an air cooled engine and in 1965 my model was designed to run a 9.25 to 1 CR without forced induction. On the turbocharged models GM reduced the CR to about 8 to 1. Since I am not doing this I need something to protect the heads from overheating. I have consulted Corvair owners on the Corvair forum and was advised that water had been used successfully by racers for years. My engine will be equipped with a small supercharger run from the crank pulley and a waste gate set at 6 psi max. I plan to set my system so that on demand the boost will be disabled. When the boost is disabled the engine will operate under its stock design conditions and will not need water injection. If I run out of water a sensor will automatically turn off the boost. I already made my water tank out of 1/8" alu. It features a level gauge and I will add a low level red light as well as a sensor that will automatically turn off the boost. As I have indicated I am at the learning stage and I welcome advices and opinions. I have thought of intercoolers, yes a big intercooler would help, but on my car it may not be enough. Maybe I should have both.
To me the water injection system seems a good deal simpler than ECU ignition/injection.
You are right to say that these systems when bought as kits are not cheap. I do not plan to buy one of these on ebay or anywhere else but make my own . I understand that a workable water injection system (and in my case it is only water) needs to be designed for a specific car. I take that these off the shelf kits can be overpriced and in some case not be up to the task. Some sites are advocating do it yourself strategies as a means to keep the cost down and to make something that could work on a specific car
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Turbomirage is one. I tried to link this to it and it did not work.
I have also read Autospeed- Water injection issue 419. Section: technical features. An eye opener.