Dual-Fuel Turbo set-up...

[SuperMag]

Suppose we have a draw-through carbureted turbo charged engine that ran on gasoline. OK, no ground shaking ideas there, but suppose in an effort to control detonation we add a metered stream of propane to the incoming mixture instead relying on timing retardation and further gasoline enrichment?

My thought is that introducing propane upstream of the carb would displace some incoming air, thus effectively enriching the mixture. And with propane having a 110 octane rating, it would raise the octane of the incoming mix as well.

Would it work?

 

[Anonymous]

for what the efforts worth, and for venturing into the pure unknown

i'd say dont bother, run it on straight gas if your chasing intercooling properties, or a water injection,

mixing petrol and gas dosnt sound healthy,

then again, i am not a chemistist (is that a word??) other's may say it would work.

cheers.joe.

 

[Anonymous]

I've been told

That adding propane to your fuel will not act like blending gasoline. The gasoline will still detonate at it's original octane level.

At least that is what I've been told.

John

 

[Anonymous]

What you'll end up doing is making little pockets of air/fuel that take longer to burn (the propane) and other ones that detonate. You might decrease the chance a bit if you inject it as a liquid to take advantage of the latent heat of vaporization.


-=Whittey=-

 

[SuperMag]

So you guys don't think the turbo impeller will "homogenize" the air/gas/propane mixture?

You might decrease the chance a bit if you inject it as a liquid to take advantage of the latent heat of vaporization.

I thought about that, but the amount of propane added up stream would be relatively small (5-10% of total airflow); probably wouldn't make that much of a difference.

 

[Anonymous]

a while ago A7M said it was very dangerous to mix LPG and fuel into the same area. He didnt go into the why, just that it was.

 

[Anonymous]

Last I heard propane setups end up costing as much or more than a N2O setup. The propane has to run at high pressure, which requires high pressure lines, fittings, regulators, special nozzles, etc. Add the weight of the bottle and all that regulation equipment, plus the fact that it won't add nearly as much power as N2O, and it probably won't be worth the effort.

 

[Fingers]

There are some quick turbo-propane 250 Falcons over here, the higher octane of the propane being a big benefit with forced induction...
check out this one if you havent seen it before.
http://www.fullboost.com.au/cars/featur ... intro.html

 

[Anonymous]

a while ago A7M said it was very dangerous to mix LPG and fuel into the same area. He didnt go into the why, just that it was.

With all due respect to A7M, adding propane to turbocharged engines is one of the favorite techniques of those crazy Turbo Buick guys. Read all about it on their Alcohol, Nitrous and Propane Tech page at:
http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/index. ... 66bc0f061a

Their favorite store-bought system is at http://www.onlygoodstuff.com/

Or you can make your own.

 

[SuperMag]

Stan, you rock. Thank you thank you thank you. I knew I was on the right track...

Looking over the info, it would seem that the way to go would be Razor's PAC setup. Seems to me that injecting alky (a liquid) would avoid the air displacement problem that would occur with propane. And the added cooling effect of vaporization... Wouldn't have to run as much boost for a specific power output, an important consideration when running a draw through system (no intercooler). The "engineering" continues...

PS. Don't get shot down over there. We need you here.

 

[Anonymous]

Glad to help, Supermag!

I too am intrigued by Razor's PAC system. It's progressive, which is key to maintaining an optimum f/a ratio. And yes, alky injection has lots of benefits - first and foremost of which is the ability to delay detonation, a critical factor for our old timey engines. Propane is for adding power, not cooling the charge. Therefore, it stands to reason that using both may be the key to making the maximum power.

Sounds fun, doesn't it?