I emailed J.C. about his alky injection kit, to see where I could purchase one at. He said that they have discontinued the kit and are coming out with a propane injection kit that "far outshines the alcohol system". it is supposed to be easier to tune and the tank lasts longer than alky would. Have any of our list members experimented with this idea? I am just curious and seeking more info on this topic. It sounds like a great idea, especially since propane burns extremely clean. What do you guys/gals think about this?
Bill Ritter,19
I am currently running Jay's Propane Kit. My car was the first to receive the prototype system. Kenny Brown has the other prototype system. So far I've been able to run 22 psi with pump gas(93) with 0 knock. The bottle does last a very long time and is cheap to fill. I'm using a .083 jet while Kenny is using the largest jet offered by NOS (.1?). The cars can't seem to get enough. Jay will be coming out with a price probably next week if they are able to receive the last of the kit parts from the manufacturers. Keep an eye on the thread started by me on www.turbobuick.com for more information. My screen name is 1QuikV6.
As Robert mentioned, I have Jay's second prototype kit and have been running it for about 6 months. I have about 60 test runs and lots of around town driving miles on the original bottle.
I have run 24 lbs of boost on pump gas and a 93 octane street chip. TurboLink showed "0" knock and my EGT's are in the 1580's. I picked up 2 MPH at the track with this same street chip.
Installation should take about an hour and the system is very tunable using tank pressure, jet size and boost level to actuate the propane. I have never run alcohol, so I cannot compare the two, but I have been very pleased with the performance increase of Jay's kit and the fact that the bottle has lasted so long.
Kenny Brown
Downtown Motorsports
How big of a bottle are you guys running and where is it located?
How safe is it?
I know that alcohol is flamable and not the most safest thing, but it is not under compression like the propane is...
I have a 5 lb bottle in my car (vs. a 20 lb bottle for your grill). It is mounted in the trunk on the upper "shelf" behind the back seat.
Kenny Brown
Downtown Motorsports
As far as safety goes, look under any RV and you will see a bigger tank in a more exposed area. It is a little weird at first having it in your trunk, but mainly because it's something different. The tanks are all DOT approved so I believe they would fall under the ASME Section VIII Pressure Vessel Specifications and therefore have a 4 to 1 safety factor built into them.
Kenny Brown
Downtown Motorsports
Still gives me the heebie-jeebies. My dad has been working for the gas company for almost 30 years and I know how dangerous the stuff is.
The tank on the motor home is outside, while the tank in your trunk is on the inside.
Maybe an idea would be to fit it inside of a fuel cell with some kind of anti-flamable material (ala Halon). Worth an extra $100 IMHO.
On an up note, some people have been complaining about the price of Jay's kits. They need to think about how much they will save in Alcohol. I spend $10/month in alcohol, and I am a mild user. My buddy spends $20 a month. That is $240 a year. Worth the price of upgrading from alchy to propane in the first year.
How much does it cost to fill up a 5lb tank? And how long does it last?
I am still thinking about the 24lbs of boost on pump gas and a 93 chip with 0 knock. When you say pump gas, you do mean 93, and not 104 right?
How much boost could you run and stil get 0 knock under the same scenario (93 gas, 93 chip,) with the propane off?
Shawn asked:"When you say pump gas, you do mean 93, and not 104 right?"
Right. 93
I was able to run 12lbs of boost before the propane with pump gas, 93 chip and 0 knock.
Being able to run 22lbs is one heck of an improvement. That seems to be when my TE-60 shines.
The only thing keeping me from going any higher is the fact that that is all the boost I can muster up with my stock I/C.
Jay (I know you are reading this), I can be a beta tester for you! What a great way to compare Alchy vs. Propane! I can even help engineer that safety tank I was talking about...
;-)
Just kidding. If I didn't have twins coming, I would jump on it.
Before we put the propane on, I tuned my car to 17 lbs of boost on 93 octane pump gas, with a 93 octane street ship (non Variable Timing) with zero knock. As things progressed, I had to change to a HD actuator to get the higher boost I could run with propane. I tried running a 110 octane strip chip, but I got some major knock counts. I have not tried race gas and propane and when I tried a Variable Timing chip, it did not seem to perform any better (or worse). Tank pressure is pretty critical to get consistant results.
All my testing was done with a combination I have had for while. I didn't want to make any changes to the basic setup while I was progressing with the propane so I could focus on how it made the car perform.
Kenny Brown
Downtown Motorsports
I need to know where to get a propane system and some more information.
Thanks,
Allen Bell (allenbell3@comcast.net)
http://www.onlygoodstuff.com/
and
www.turbobuick.com and www.turbobuicks.com