Using water injection on N/A car

[Checkered-Member]

With all the recent buzz about water injection I have a question....

I want to use a water injection system on my car, which is currently NA

To first cool things down since temperatures are getting higher be the day in south cali

Also I recent compression test revealed 185psi across all cylinders with 179psi being the maximum, I have the combustion chambers coated "evenly" with carbon, I want to steam clean it, and keep it clean.

So the question is so - can I use water injection on an NA car without destroying the engine? Even if it hurts performance abit (since I won’t be using it ALL the time)

[ultimatuc]

it will go nicely with your boost gauge.

[Checkered-Member]

it will go nicely with your boost gauge.

all i need is a fake intercooler and I’m set...lol ...do you have any idea when does the AEM EMS comes out for my year alima, on their site its says "coming soon" but how soon is soon

congratulations on your times by the way, I bet that car is a thrill to drive

[Checkered-Member]

Back on topic, I have found the answer

And the answer is yes. Water Injection on NA vehicle is used when towing on a hot day, when the computer keeps retarding the timing at slight knock which causes a power loss. (not a good thing when towing a large load uphill)

I also researched and found what to use:

I'll be using a 45 psi RV water pump Shurflo 2.8 gpm (could be run dry) I think this is the same one Brian aka WDRacing was going to use for his oil drain

Washer fluid as a water source.

A high pressure mist nozzle (with a built in filter) from mcmaster.com not sure about the flow rate yet, I guess I’ll have to buy 2-3 different once and test them out

Lines and fitting that would normally be used for air tools

And now for safety precautions:

-The nozzle will be mounted upright and above the washer fluid & the pump, so that when the pump is turned off water will back into the line and not into the intake.

-Some sort of valve right before the nozzle that will open at 30-40psi , for several reasons. Since the nozzle is rated at 40+psi anything below that and the mist wont be perfect. Every time I would turn on the pump the water in the line between the pump and the nozzle isn't pressurized, and it will come out as plain water, and the pump might need a little time to build up pressure, also since there is vacuum in the tube I don't want it to suck water from the nozzle (this will have to be figured out after everything is working)

-A fuse for the pump

-And the pump is run dry, in case I forget to fill up the tank so that the pump won't blow up.

I think I thought about everything ...comments? Suggestions?

[WDRacing]

With the water injection on you can advance your timing also...give you a few more WHP.

[Checkered-Member]

With the water injection on you can advance your timing also...give you a few more WHP.

Would the ECU do that automatically? Or would I have to manually advance the timing?

[TheOne]

you would probably have to advance it yourself, i don't think the ecu would do much to up the performance of the car just like that.

[WDRacing]

A manual advance is needed. But I'd start with two degree's and see if you get any detonation. Although you shouldn't get any at all. How are you triggering the injection, vacuum or RPM?

WD

[Checkered-Member]

A manual advance is needed. But I'd start with two degree's and see if you get any detonation. Although you shouldn't get any at all. How are you triggering the injection, vacuum or RPM?

WD

For now, I'm not even sure how well the system will work or benefit for that matter.

But for now a manual switch, later on a pressure switch that will activate the pump when manifold pressure = atmospheric pressure

[DRIFTEADOR]

water injection isn't constant so I wouldnt advance base timing anymore than a non injected setup. if you have electronic timing control then yeah, advance it where it'll be activated.

i'd use a higher pressure pump. the more pressure the better atomization you'll get.

washer fluid leaves deposits that'll eventually clog the system; use distilled water or water/alky in the winter to keep it from freezing.

if you have a solenoid inline you dont need to mount the tank lower than the nozzle, although that wouldnt have been a problem as i dont think you could mount it anywhere lower than where the stock washer reservoir is.

if you forget to fill the reservoir your pump wont blow up but your motor might

[Nismo_Freak]

Advancing the timing by more degrees on an N/a low compression engine can actually lose power.

You aren't adding back timing you otherwise would reduce because of combustion pressure.

Long story short, why bother, you won't gain anything by it.

I tried different timing setups on my KA back in the day, I found about 2-3 degrees on 93 octane worked well. Any further advance and I could get low end knock, and it really didn't run any faster.

The reason you have carbon built up like that is you have a stock KA map. They run rich up top.

[Checkered-Member]

water injection isn't constant so I wouldnt advance base timing anymore than a non injected setup. if you have electronic timing control then yeah, advance it where it'll be activated.

I'm not looking for gains, so I wont advance it, the gain would be preventing my ECU from retarding it.

i'd use a higher pressure pump. the more pressure the better atomization you'll get.

Those pumps are uber expensive like 200+, while the RV pumps are like 70-80I'm compensating for lower pressure by getting a smaller nozzle (compare to one used in FI water injection kits)

washer fluid leaves deposits that'll eventually clog the system; use distilled water or water/alky in the winter to keep it from freezing.

I have distilled water in there right nowI'm in south cali, in never drops below freezing

if you forget to fill the reservoir your pump wont blow up but your motor might

LOL, that would be the day

Advancing the timing by more degrees on an N/a low compression engine can actually lose power.

You aren't adding back timing you otherwise would reduce because of combustion pressure.

Long story short, why bother, you won't gain anything by it.

I tried different timing setups on my KA back in the day, I found about 2-3 degrees on 93 octane worked well. Any further advance and I could get low end knock, and it really didn't run any faster.

The reason you have carbon built up like that is you have a stock KA map. They run rich up top.

Well less work for me then, I’ll just leave the stock timing.Seeing how the compression is at 101% right now at 88K miles, that's pretty good, better higher then lower, I hope the water injection will clean things quickly

[Checkered-Member]

I’m thinking of maybe using 50/50 water and alcoholI don’t think it’s a good idea, because alcohol burns slower then gasoline so I would loose hp since I have a low compression engine.

Thoughts?

[Nismo_Freak]

I’m thinking of maybe using 50/50 water and alcoholI don’t think it’s a good idea, because alcohol burns slower then gasoline so I would loose hp since I have a low compression engine.

Thoughts?

My honest thought is you should construct the system, test it without putting it on the car, and go buy a turbo.

You will gain absolutely NOTHING by running that setup on the car.

I believe you should buy the turbocharger, and get the turbo setup up and running on low boost before you concern yourself with matters down the road.

[Checkered-Member]

My honest thought is you should construct the system, test it without putting it on the car, and go buy a turbo.

You will gain absolutely NOTHING by running that setup on the car.

I believe you should buy the turbocharger, and get the turbo setup up and running on low boost before you concern yourself with matters down the road.

I'm not looking for gains, I'm looking for cleaning the inside of my eninge, I went threw 3 bottles of sea foam with only minimal success