Sadly my car's throttle response is my only joy in life :disappoin ...That said, earlier I was thinking about wrapping the rubber fuel line from my pump to carburetor in reflective aluminum tape to repel heat (I've heard to people doing that). But then I thought why not take that a step further? I could easily bend up some brake line into a grill shape, I could even put hose fittings on the ends. And I could hang that thing in the nose of the car with my fuel running through it. Sound like a good idea at all? It makes sense to me.
how about a decent sized fan to a heater core or two.
Use a tranny cooler.
Just make sure whatever kind of cooler you decide to use is rated for high PSI and it's not going to leak and create a waffle-o-flames.
Huh?
Cooling the fuel is not going to gain you anything except for cold fuel. And you're not even going to get that using ambient air.
If cold fuel isn't worth anything then what's a cold can for? I know the heat of the fuel has an effect because I can observe it when I move the line around the engine compartment.
Good ideas guys.
Here we go. A dedicated fuel cooler.
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=FLX%2D4136&N=700+115&autoview=sku
There's probably a list of 20 things you should do before even futzing with that. Hell taking a healthy dump would probably do the same for your acceleration at this point as cooling your gas down a few degrees. :hick:
By all means start a thread with those 20 things in it. I'd read it ;) Temperature is the factor that keeps messing with my car. If the temp is just right, the humidity is in check, the Moon is in Aquarius, and there's a Leprechaun lodged in the exhaust then the car's performance is snappy and really satisfying so I know that the potential is there. It's just a matter of keeping the condition of the fuel and air as constant as possible, so say I :tg: A cold air kit would no doubt be a better notion but I couldn't afford one right now even if they made one for my car.
The fact that it's carbed is the problem with the car and its inability for adjust for environmental changes. The fact that it's been 1000* with 500% humidity everywhere lately doesn't help matters either. If it's the middle of summer .... the performance will suffer.
If you aren't still using the original air cleaner assembly that draws from the fender...put it back on, or hunt down a dual snorkel one from a Mustang and stop allowing the carb to suck on hot underhood air.
Long story short...unless you are getting vapor lock...cooling the fuel isn't going to add any power.
The density for gasoline (and most liquids) is relatively constant over temperature.
well they do say 100 pounds is a 10th of your e.t.:D
I'm aware of the limitations of my carburetor. The stock air cleaner is still in place so the air is about as cold as it's going to get without a considerable aftermarket investment.
Factory air cleaners, as Chuck said, draw from the fenderwell just like a cold air intake would.
Yes but half the benefit of a cold air intake (atleast so they say) is that they reflect heat away and are smoother inside than factory acordian style plastic tubes.
This is true, but there's also the constant argument as to whether turbulence is a good or bad thing for the incoming air. Personally I don't think turbulence matters worth a dick until after it mixes with fuel.
Lol. No point in debating it here, I'm no expert. In either case I can't afford to make that mod right now because I'd need a new air cleaner. As for the fuel I offer this quote from here http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=20&article_id=3051
"The fuel cannot be at less than 10 degrees Celsius (i.e., around 18 degrees Fahrenheit) less than ambient; nor can any cooling be applied. A cooler fuel, of course, would be more dense and hence contain more energy per unit volume."
That's one of the guidelines for a race.
The car is going to feel like durring the summer because of the heat. My car with SEFI does the same thing just not as bad. I notice a difference in performance on a humid 90* day vs. a cool 60* night. The car runs much better on the 60* night. The only thing that'll make it run better in 90* heat is to, uh, move to northern Canada ;)
I live in Canada, just not far north enough I guess ;) But to my way of thinking cold is cold no matter where you are. It may not be a mainstream topic but it seems to be established that colder fuel is beneficial. And even if my planned cooler won't take the fuel below zero it would certainly keep it from heating up too much. If all of you guys think I'm looking to make grand power increases with this mod you're mistaken I'm just trying to maintain a baseline for my air/fuel mixture so I don't have to adjust it as often for optimal efficiency.
Beneficial? Yes.
Will you be able to tell any difference if you run a fuel cooler? NO
Is a fuel cooler useless in your case? Yes
I noticed a difference just from re-routing the fuel line away from hot surfaces. I still think this is worth experimenting with. I'll probably rig up a small tranny cooler with a dedicated fan. Bear in mind I'm only trying to keep the fuel/air temp more consistant for more effective tuning.
Fuel injectionFuel injectionFuel injectionFuel injectionFuel injectionFuel injectionFuel injectionFuel injectionFuel injection
:D
Fuel injection? What's that? :D Lol. I'm half tempted to go that way but I'm under the impression converting carbed to injected isn't as easy as going vice-versa. Unless the computer would be alright with a bunch of missing sensors :tg:
Well unless the car was completely hacked up going from FI to carb..... oh wait....was the car originally carbed? (remembering you're a Canuck)
The engine-side of the swap would be easy, and if you're feeling froggy a MegaSquirt ECU will be more than sufficent to control it. The fuel system would require a bit more work though.
Anyway, all the trouble for cooling the fuel really isn't worth it IMO.
The car came to me with a Motorcraft 2150 fed by mechanical pump. I tend to think it came from the factory that way. But then again the last owner removed a bunch of stuff and there's certainly a few orphaned wires and plugs around. Any certain way to know? The VIN maybe?
Setting up the fuel cooler wouldn't take much effort at all for my car, I'd probably be done in half an hour. Perhaps it won't accomplish anything but I've seen enough references to it on the net for me to think it's worth a shot. I'll let everyone know how it goes.
What does the "Certification Label" on the driver's door pillar say?
If it says MFD in USA and it was sold in Canada, the "Type" would be: U.S. Cert. Void--Export.
The door jam label is gone :flip: Why someone would remove it I have no idea.
Back in the day (late '40's) people felt there cars ran better on rainy days. So putting water injectors on carbs. was a popular fad for a few years.
I'm doing alot of research on this and opinions on whether it's worth it vary. Some spout the presumed fact that liquid doesn't change density the same way air will. Perhaps not. But the idea I've chosen to follow is that if the fuel is colder then the air it mixes with will likewise be cooler. I mean consider it like this, the cooler sends chilled fuel to the carburetor where it pools in the bowl. That would cool the carburetor and any air entering it. Sound plausible?
Hey while we're on the subject of cooler air...some time ago I got rid of the vacuum PCV valve in the oil cap and replaced it with an old fashioned breather cap. But the other half of the system consists of a tube running from the back of the valve cover to the air cleaner. That has to be routing hot interior engine air and gases into the air supply. I should do away with that.
I run an 83 'Bird using a 89 5.0L H.O., with a 4bbl manifold and a 600 Holley Vacuum Secondary carb. Back to back runs at a drag strip (trap tickets) show a delta of .150 seconds between 85 degree vrs 100 degree weather conditions. The launch and tire spin have more effect on performance, than cold fuel. Can't hurt but no big speed secret. The density altitude we run at is like 6000' elevation, but low humidity. You would gain more performance from distributor mods than a cool can. I won't go into a gear change due to the fact I don't drive on the street, let it be said, a cam and gear change would be something you could feel in the seat of the pants. Remember there is a fine line between streetability and raw horsepower, step over and it isn't fun anymore. If your still running a 2150 carb, go to a Holley #4412 2bbl. You would be amazed how hard it will pull. Gas milage will suffer, but it's a poor mans 4bbl substitute. Good luck, Fred
Fill the tank into the filler neck with cool under ground gas. Park the car in the hot sun. You have gas running out onto the ground. Cool gas takes up less space. Does this mean it's denser?
The intake fuel/air mixture is cooled by the evaporating gas.
Thanks for the tip on the carburetor. But I know how I can get more power if I spend the money. I was just looking at fuel cooling as a cheap day thing. In any case I don't have the cash for another tranny cooler this weekend so I may just settle for insulating the fuel line.
Here's a question though, I have a can of high temperature paint that I was going to use on some headers. If I put a few coats on my air cleaner would it lower the intake air temp at all?
NO.
There's a guy on 4-eyed Pride with a dual snorkel air cleaner set-up for sale....of course be leaves no email, but here's his POST (http://www.foureyedpride.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=31744)
PM him or something....
Maybe insulate your hose from the fender to the air cleaner if you must....but seriously....
first off, if you wanted to cool the fuel lines to any degree, get rid of the rubber. Rubber is an insilator, so it will keep hot or cold air from getting in. If the fuel is hot, and the hose is cool, it will make the rubber crack faster.
You would need to get at least metal gas lines before you could even really make it cold to any degree. That cost alot. So save up some money and throw on a new carb, cam, or what ever.
Unless you want to throw in alot money to do new fuel lines at least.
I'll have to agree that cooling the fuel will do very little for you and will be a lot of work. After filling up my motorcycle (it's carbed) the gas is very cool right out of the pump. I notice a slight improvement in performance for a couple miles after the filling station. Now with a much better power/weight ratio than most cars, you would think that the colder fuel would make a bigger difference on the smaller scale. This is not the case. Although there is an improvement, it is so slight that it probably will not be worth the time you will invest. Make sure that your butt-dyno is calibrated beforehand lol. If you want the power to be there, your mind will tell you that it is.
:raspberry What's so expensive about metal fuel lines? All you have to do is buy a length and bend it up, flare the ends and put on the proper fittings. Could probably do the whole car for 20 bucks...
Sure, but what's your time worth to you?
The rest of the engine would have cooled down too, unless you keep the engine running while filling. That would simulate the old "ice bag on the intake manifold" racers used between runs.
Meh. It's not even worth arguing about no more. We should be friends united by love of engine grease :D I'm probably going to leave experimenting with this for a while and do my shocks instead. And an opportunity for possible fast cash just came up so I may just be able to get the new manifold and carb I've been wanting. I'm thinking a 570 CFM Holley Street Avenger ;)
The engine cool down isn't that significant. It's off for maybe two minutes, as long as it takes to pump a couple of gallons. I always pay at the pump and rarely get off the bike while filling...