Meth Injection

METH Injection - Whats needed

AEM Part Numbers

AEM 1.2 gallon Meth Kit - $500 (Part # 30-3300)

- wiring harness with controller and 35 psi onboard (Manifold Pressure) MAP sensor

- 250 cc, 500 cc and 1,000 cc nozzles

- 200 psi pump

- 1.15-gallon tank with integrated fluid level sensor

- all required lines

AEM 5-gallon Meth Kit - $600 (Part # 30-3301)

- wiring harness with controller and 40 psi onboard (Manifold Pressure) MAP sensor

- 250 cc, 500 cc and 1,000 cc nozzles

- 200 psi pump

- 5-gallon tank with integrated fluid level sensor

- all required lines

AEM Meth Solenoid - $65 (Part# 30-3326) ** REQUIRED **

- Prevents water/meth flow into the engine when the kit is not activated.

- If you park on a hill w/o the solenoid, nothing will stop meth from draining into the engine

- Should be installed as close to the nozzle as possible

- high flow capability (3,600cc/min)

- low current draw of only 0.75A that does not require the use of an additional relay

AEM Inline Filter - $32 (Part# 30-3003) ** REQUIRED **

- protects the pump, solenoid, nozzle and engine from debris in the water/meth mixture

- helps prevent pump, solenoid & nozzle from getting clogged & preventing meth flow

- can filter particulates as small as 40 microns

- should be installed in-line BEFORE the water/methanol pump

AEM v3 Nozzle Kit - $75 (Part # 30-3315)

- includes 250cc, 500cc and 1,000cc nozzles

- this does NOT need to be purchased, the kits come with these 3 nozzles

- I simply listed listed it here for reference if anyone ever needs to replace a nozzle

In 2020, AEM discontinued production of their version 2 nozzles. The v2 nozzles were compatible with 100% and even VPm5 which contains nitromethane. After having multiple customers have issues with v3 nozzles, sending data and failed nozzles to AEM, they added a note on their website stating the kits ere NOT compatible with 100% methanol.
AEM's new stance as of July 2021: "...using 100% methanol will damage the system's flow sensor and void the warranty on this component." - AEM
AEM v2 Nozzles (100% Meth Compatible - ** Discontinued **
AEM Meth Failsafe Gauge (30-3020) ** Discontinued **

Meth INJECTION

Once you reach the full bolt on mod level and beyond and start pushing things these cars are on the verge of running out of fuel at high rpm. When they run out of fuel they get very angry very fast. When an STi or old EJ WRX run out of fuel they will start gradually leaning out eventually knock whenever the EGT's get too hot. However, the FA's have an immediate adverse reaction when the fuel limitation is reached. This can result in misfires and or knock which can ultimately lead to engine failure in a single pull. This is also the main reason I don't tune catless cars because it is exactly what happens when cars boost creep at high rpm, the boost rises and the cars run out of fuel.

If ethanol is not available in your area, then methanol injection is the next best solution to making power on these cars. Methanol injection has the added benefits of increasing the octane, decreasing the intake manifold temperatures, and cleaning the valves. Increasing the octane and decreasing the intake manifold temperatures will both move you further away from the knock threshold and thus make the car safer while allowing you to make more power. So, if you're going to eventually spend $400 on a walnut blast to clean the valves, you might as well spend $500 on an AEM Meth kit and receive the added benefits.

Adding a meth injection kit requires a re-tune. I recommend the AEM meth kit spraying a 50/50 mix of water and VP M1 with the medium nozzle (500cc). Set the controller to start spraying at 10 psi and full at 14 psi. For a TMIC the nozzle is installed in the intercooler outlet tank (reference the Grimmspeed TMIC, it comes with a fitting already welded into the intercooler outlet). For a FMIC, the nozzle should be installed in the intercooler pipe 6-8 inches before the throttle body.

NOTES:

* I do not like the Snow Performance kits. The throttle body spacer nozzle holder does not work well. The nozzle needs to be before the throttle, not after.

* AEM v3 nozzles are NOT compatible with 100% methanol. A 50/50 water/meth mix must be used.

* As of July 2021, AEM will no longer warranty their kits if a mix over 50/50 is used.

* I do NOT recommend using Snow Performance Boost Juice, Devils Own Brew, or windshield wiper fluid. None of these options provide consistent methanol percentages. You can go on YouTube and watch multiple videos of customers testing these products for methanol content and getting values as low as 10% methanol when it's supposed to be 50%. I would highly suggest sourcing pure methanol from VP and making your own 50/50 water/meth mixture. This will ensure you truly have 50% methanol.

How to wire up a failsafe relay https://youtu.be/G6ywmIzRexE

Running pure meth is more dangerous than a 50/50 blend. Pure methanol has a boiling point of 148 degrees, so it can boil off if you live somewhere extremely hot like Phoenix. Due to safety concerns and AEM no longer making the v2 nozzles, I will be recommending a 50/50 mix from now on.

* AEM v2 nozzles are compatible with pure vpm5. However, they are no longer in production.

ProMeth Nozzles - https://prometh.com/collections/nozzles/products/8-0-gph-63-cc-per-minute-water-methanol-injection-nozzle?variant=18900548911173

Meth Injection Intake MAnifold Temperature Data

Meth w/ Stock Intercooler

Yes, meth injection can be run with the stock intercooler.

Stock Intercooler w/ Meth

Meth w/ Stock Intercooler

Intake Manifold Temps dropping below intake temps every pull.

Stock Intercooler w/ Meth

Meth w/ Stock Intercooler

Stock Intercooler w/ Meth

Another 3rd Gear Pull w/ an AEM Meth Kit spraying 100% VP M1 Methanol

VP M1 vs VP M5

Stock Intercooler w/ Meth

M1 = 100% Pure Methanol

M5 = 95% Meth + 5% Nitro Methane

You can clearly see M5 destroys M1

JDM Yo!

VP M1 vs VP M5

Phat Bass

This is a JDM STi 12L Water Tank I converted to work with my Aquamist Meth Kit on my 2006 STi

Phat Bass

VP M1 vs VP M5

Phat Bass

If you're worried about forgetting to fill up your meth.....there's always bigger tanks

TEST the METH SYSTEM BEFORE DRIVNG

Before doing the logs start the car and put AF Correction1 and AF Learning1 on the AP gauge screen. Press and hold the test button on the AEM controller for 5 seconds then let off, watch the Correction and Learning....if the meth is spraying one or both should go to -20 to -30%. If this doesn't happen, stop here and don't do the logs. It means the meth is spraying and you need to troubleshoot. If the meth sprayed, then continue. Set the start spray to 10 psi, full spray to 14 psi. I don't recommend using boost juice. It can have extremely low methanol content and basically be water. You can search it YouTube and watch customers test it themselves and get like 10% methanol reading. I recommend buying a 5-gallon jug of VP M1 methanol and mixing it yourself.

OVERALL FA FUELING ISSUES

These are the 3 main options to add fuel to the car:

1 - Motec + port injection: basically $13,000 - $15,000 and is the only proper solution to the fueling issues. The Motec can control the direct and port injectors correctly. Even though this is very expensive and out of most people's budget, it is the only proper way to add extra fuel to the car. Anything else is a lesser solution and has multiple downfalls.

2 - Port injection + Split Second Controller: $6000 this option is also very expensive and has multiple downfalls. The split second controller is an auxilliary device and does not talk to the ECU. One of the main issues with this solution is that you are paying a premium to install expensive fuel injectors on the car to atomize the fuel. But the split second controller only batch fires the injectors. This means that all 4 injectors are spraying all the time in a "batch". So even when cylinders are on the wrong stroke those injectors are still spraying on top of the closed intake valve. So all that money you just paid to atomize the fuel is going to waste puddling fuel on top of the valve. Another downside to the split second controller is that it requires it's own software and logging cable, which means for e-tuning the customer would need to have a laptop to be able log the port injection data. The split second software also does not allow you to modify the data for a car unless you are hooked to the car, which would require lots of time and coordination to log into each customers computer to make changes for each pull. And overall it's simply better to have large setups like this done in person due to all the money involved. Due to all of these issues I will not e-tune port injection cars.

3 - Meth injection (pre-throttle): $500 - $1500 this is the cheapest solution. There are many different brands and variations of methanol injection kits with all different levels of failsafes and bells and whistles. I will not be going into those here. Meth injection has multiple downfalls. It is an auxilliary system just like the port injection and it doesn't talk to the ECU. While failsafes can be added, they are still not as good as everything being in a factory ECU or one unit like the Motec. Another issue is the meth distribution to each cylinder. We have no way of knowing how much meth is making it to each cylinder. At first the boxer design may seem like it's really bad for meth injection, but if you look at if compared to an inline 6 cylinder where the meth would be siphoned off to 5 cylinders before getting to the 6th, our center entrance throttle body and split manifold is actually no where near as bad in comparison. I do not recommend port meth as it can cause issues running extremely rich after throttle lift because port meth is batch fired just like the port injectors.