Whats up guys, this may come as a little strange to you but this topic isn't about the LSx series of engines. The motors in my car are still being pioneered and explored and I was hoping that I can learn from you guys at LS1tech. So I have a J35a3 from an Acura MDX stroked to a 3.6l hooked up to an acura cl type s 6 speed transmission in a 1998 honda accord coupe. I'm in the 310hp and 320+lbs at the wheels range. I planned on boosting the engine to about 20lbs on a precision 7675 and I was expecting around 900whp with that, on factory internals. Yes, these motors are that strong. The whole turbo build fell through since I'm an engineering student and didn't have the time/funds to finish my build. A friend of mine has a J32a2 motor (3.2l) that he is spraying for about the last year on a 150 wet shot with 0 signs of detonation (tuned of course) on a factory ecu with a stock motor. About a month or two ago he bumped it up to a 200 shot in a direct port kit and made 420whp and 480 or so lbs on a completely stock motor. He's been through a lot of bottles since then and has 0 signs of detonation and this car is his daily driver. So i plan on picking up the same direct port kit he has and running at least the same size shot. Now, can meth benefit me in any way. I know the properties of methanol and the properties of nitrous. They both drop the temps considerably, the only thing is if I am running a 250-300 direct port shot I'm worried about detonation. So i thought about throwing in meth to the mix to help keep the temps down along with its octane boosting properties. Having around 500whp and 600lbs of tq is the goal. You guys if anyone would be able to help me solve this dilemma because 1. our motors are not set up at all like other hondas, 2. our displacement is more like you guys then the 1.6l rice burners. 3. spraying is nothing new to the lsx motors.

These are the difference between my friends mods and mine. First lets start with the motor differences.

My friend:
J32a2 (3.2l)
10:5:1 compression
full bolt ons
tune on a stock ecu

Me:
J36 Stroker (3.6l)
9:5:1 compression
fully bolted
AEM EMS v2 full standalone

Everything he has, I have and some. So hopefully you guys are able to help me out with my meth/large enough shot goal. Thanks, James

 

any nitrous guys?

 

I will take a stab at this but i know absolutely nothing about your type of motors but the principle of tuning should remain the same. What we have realized is that lean a/f (12.8ish-13.0ish) on the bottle with as little timing as possible to make the power needed with the coldest plug we can run and still remain clean is what has kept our motors alive. If you apply these principles to your setup your goals should work. You want to keep a non-projected tip plug in that thing as well which I have no clue what that part number would be for your motor. The meth will certainly help keep things at bay so it can certainly be beneficial.

 

Won't you need to tune for a slightly different AFR with meth?

 

i have never used meth, but my guess is you would still target the same a/f. Nitrous motors like to be lean with little timing

 

Its funny because I had a customer ask about this yesterday. It going to add a lot more complexity to a system plus is a lot harder to tune. The main reason that people look to run methanol is to run more timing to make more power. Timing is a main killer of a motor. It can be done but it will add more headache to tuning and making the system overly complex. Dave will not tune a car with both.

I think that you would be better off just running a dedicate with race fuel for more power.

On a side note thats a cool setup you got going in the accord. I had a CL type S back in the day. 2001. Pretty spunky car. It ran 14.6 with a filter and middle section repiped larger with stock mufflers.

 

U did spray it eventually right

 

Start off safe and build from there. There is not going to be any perfect AFR or anything like that. Cant even read plugs.

You say you have a standalone EMS so you should be able to tweak it to get it dialed in. But its going to be a lot of trial and errror on your part. Nice looking cars.

 

no i didnt. it was back when i was in highschool. It was an awesome and quick car none the less.

 

We are playing with a e85 setup now on spray. not the easiest to read the fuel on the plug.Timing is still the same as far as the heat on the plug. Does seem to take more timing and makes more power but for a newb probably not the easiest to dial in that extra hp. start around 11.0(on a gas O2) and id guess end up @ 11.5 and probably 2 more degrees timing than c16.

 

with nitrous and Methanol, its a little trickier to read teh plugs...and honestly, you dont give a rats *** about the actual AFR...
you test at the track....and you start low and work your way up SLOWLY

start with a known good NA tune, and pull extra timing for nitrous to begin with...
pull what you would pull without meth first....
add your meth, and lean out your AFR until its stops going any faster (MPH)
then start adding back in timing....SLOWLY.. until you stop going faster(MPH)...watching your plugs the entire time, basically keeping an eye on the heat on the strap and keep going with a colder plug until you get the heat range you want to see...
a step or two too cold wont hurt anything...a couple of 5-10 HP is not going to make or break you...you may have to change the plugs a little more often.,...but lets face it, you are going to be pulling them a lot more often to check them anyways.


remember, nitrous does not like to be Rich.....it goes faster lean, and lean is not what hurts your motor...too much timing is what hurts your motor
I'm at 13.2:1 on a 350 shot with no motor issues

 

very well said