Where To Locate Your Water Methanol Injection Nozzle
1. MAF Sensor
Make sure you do not place the nozzle in front of the mass air-flow sensor (MAF). Injecting water or methanol through the MAF sensor will likely cause it to short out.
2. Pre-Turbo
Locating the nozzle in front of the turbo chemically alters the turbo compressor map, causing a change in the engine’s air/fuel ratios. Injecting water methanol directly into the turbo can also damage the compressor blade.
3. Pre-Intercooler
Installing the nozzle before the intercooler might seem like the perfect location to aid in pre-cooling, but it does have its drawbacks. If the nozzle doesn’t emit a fine enough mist, both water and methanol can condense and collect in the bottom of an intercooler core. In colder climates, the overcooling effect can cause the water to freeze inside an intercooler, causing a blockage of airflow. On the flipside, hot air from the turbo can prematurely vaporize the water by the time it reaches the intake, rendering the system ineffective.
4. Post-Intercooler
Most methanol installers prefer placing the nozzle before the intake air temperature (IAT) sensor typically found on newer vehicles. IAT sensors monitor the temperature of air going into an engine, and can automatically advance ignition timing and lean out air/fuel ratios due to cooler intake temps of water methanol injection. This cause-and-effect scenario can create more power, but may also damage an engine. Another problem we found was placing the nozzle before the blow-off valve, which causes an unwanted release of methanol water vapours at throttle let-off.
5. Charge Pipe
Placing the injection nozzle as far from the cylinders as possible on the intake charge pipe allows for the water/methanol mixture to be better absorbed into the intake air charge. This allows for greater distribution into to each cylinder, creating the coolest possible air charge.
6. Throttle Body
The most common location to place a nozzle is three to six inches from the throttle body. The nozzle should spray directly into the throttle body and should never be placed right before a tight-radius bend. Positioning a nozzle directly in front of an angled pipe can cause the liquid to adhere to the walls of the pipe before dribbling ineffectively into the intake manifold.
7. Intake manifold
Installing separate nozzles into each intake runner will deliver equal amounts of water/methanol to each cylinder. The only downside to installing the nozzles into the manifold is the additional labour and parts costs.