Water Meth Kit Install

There has been a lot of discussion around Water Methanol kits of late. Do they work? How much extra power can i get? What does it do exactly? Do i need to re-tune the car after i install it?

All valid questions which we will try to answer here.

Justin our in house technophile has been considering a Water Meth kit for some time. So not long ago he decided to jump in and buy it. After a fair amount of research he decided to go with the AEM. There are other kits out there for example Snow Performance, Cooling Mist, HPSI Deathstalker to mention a few. So why go with the AEM? Well it all comes down to the pump, this is the most critical part of the whole system. A quality pump that has a constant, steady flow is of utmost importance. Other great things about the AEM is that is has an adjustable start button depending on the boost level you want to start the water methanol injection and an adjustable full flow boost level. It also has an LED light that can be mounted on the dash or where ever is suitable to alert you of any issues or if your fluid is running low.

So what does a water methanol injection kit do exactly?

The first answer to this question is that it cools down intake temps. From this kit you can see massive drops in intake temps, this of course leads to a happier, healthier engine. When intake temps get too hot the modern ECU's generally will limit boost levels and run the Fuelling rich to ensure a safe engine that protects itself.

The next answer is that it boosts octane levels. This in itself won't boost power, but it will allow you to run stronger timing advance, thus increasing torque. Higher octane fuels have anti knock qualities that help to resolve issues of pre detonation or engine knock. Of course knock is a bad reciepe for your engine as it can lead to cracked pistons.

How much extra power can i get?

Will i need a re-tune after installation?

Like any mod, getting extra power means fitting your parts then going for a live custom tune. This is an essential part to get the most out of any vehicle. For the Water Meth kit it is not compulsory as you will have lower engine intake temps and higher octane fuel going in, which is a good thing, however, to get an extra 10% to 15% at the top end means you will need a tune. This is done by advancing the timing. As the fuel will be running at a higher octane it retards pre ignition of the fuel and gets a cleaner burn.

So onto the install. After sorting through all the parts and carefully reading the instructions we decided to install the tank and pump in the boot. A few self tapping steel screws saw the job completed. We placed the tank so it was easily accessabile to top up and fitted the pump and inline filter (an optional ad on) underneath the styrofoam boot liner.

The next step was to run all the wires for the pump and tank through to the back. We did this using some electricians yellow hard plastic tape to feed the wires through behind the internal panels. We traced the wires underneath the lower door sill. We actually had to remove this for ease of access, then clip it back on after.

We removed the glove box compartment, again to allow ease of access. Here we drilled two holes through the fire wall into the engine bay. One for the wiring and the other for the boost and water / meth tubing.

We decided to mount the controller in the stealth glove box compartment hidden from view and to prevent it from being knocked. Quite a neat solution as once you have your settings right you basically never touch it. A great part of this kit is that they provide you with a small LED light which we mounted on the other side near the driver. This light communicates any warnings or errors with the system. It also alerts you when the system is pumping too.

We also decided to mount a kill switch for the whole system for when you want to turn it off. See the picture below for the LED and kill switch mounting. You can mount these anywhere you want. Please note the kill switch is an add on we installed and is not included in the kit. Note the green LED light which gives you warnings when the system is running, and any issues that might be occuring, like low tank fluid levels.

The next and most difficult part of the install was to tap the injector nossle into the intake. The hard plastic tubing after the two intercooler pipes joined was the perfect spot, around 300mm before the throttle body. Before we connected the water pipe we plugged all the electricals in and tested it to make sure the pump and tubing was working.

So after a massive effort we were ready to test the kit on the road!

Success!!!

Now to schedule in for the live tune!