KymcoForum.com

When I got a bad batch of fuel from Costco (had tiny particles in it that were smaller than 12 microns, thus they got through my 12 micron fuel filter and coated the intake and partially plugged the fuel injector), I stripped the bike from the air cleaner to the intake valve, from the fuel tank to the fuel injector, and cleaned everything.

To drain the tank, I'd previously created a suction device for single-person brake fluid changeout. It's a reversible aquarium air pump. I use it to create a suction in a glass container, which then sucks the fluid out of whatever I'm working on (brake system, fuel tank, etc.).

That's what I used to suck the fuel out of the tank. Then I cleaned the tank, and reversed the aquarium pump to blow air into the glass container, which pushed the fuel out. I strained it through a doubled-over coffee filter and back into the tank.

An aside... you shouldn't need to drain the fuel tank... there are a couple things you can do. Put about 2 ounces of acetone per gallon of gasoline. That'll re-liquify any varnish in the tank that's settled out and clean out the tank. Put a 12 micron fuel filter in the fuel line before running the bike, to filter out any chunks. I use Wix 33031 / Napa 3031 filters, they're metal bodied and can withstand 60 psi pressure.

Then get a Fitch Fuel Catalyst and put it in the tank (don't put it in through the fuel filler hose, it'll get stuck. Take the floor of the scooter off, take the fuel pump cover off, and drop the Fitch Fuel Catalyst directly into the tank). That'll help to keep the fuel fresh for long periods of storage, and will help to improve your fuel mileage when you do ride it.

Scootershop.com IS KymcoPartsOnline.com. Check the headers of the emails I posted above, you'll see the KymcoPartsOnline.com guy is emailing from a ScooterShop.com server.

No oil leak. This dust is dry dry dry. It accumulates mainly on the rear wheel and the oil filler neck and dip stick unit. This has being going on since the day I rode off the dealers lot (July 28, 2012).

I'm in South San Francisco. Same thing here. Dry black dust that accumulates in the niches of the rims and on the rear exterior of the engine block.

I don't see what the big deal is, its not hard getting parts from Kymco at all, just be glad you don't own a SYM. I deal with Kymco on a daily basis and they really do an awesome job of keeping up on orders. It's all about communication, if we have a customer with a back ordered part we call them and see if they want it or not, it's that simple.

B&L, if you don't mind me asking, which Kymco dealer do you work for?

My experience with KymcoPartsOnline.com (Part 1)

I ordered two fan motors and a throttle position sensor for the 2010 Kymco Yager GT 200i scooter on 01 Oct 2013. The parts are to be used to build a custom electric coolant pump and fan controller.

I've snipped unnecessary headers from the emails posted below.

Here's the initial introduction email sent from KymcoPartsOnline.com to my email address upon them receiving my order:
================================================================
From KYMCOPARTSONLINE Tue Oct  1 13:30:45 2013
X-Apparently-To: XXXXXXXXXXXX@yahoo.com via 72.30.238.163; Tue, 01 Oct 2013 20:30:47 +0000
Return-Path: <kymco@sco.scootershop.com>
X-Originating-IP: [192.232.244.164]
Authentication-Results: mta1498.mail.bf1.yahoo.com  from=kymcopartsonline.com;
  domainkeys=neutral (no sig); from=kymcopartsonline.com; dkim=neutral (no sig)
Received: from 127.0.0.1  (EHLO sco.scootershop.com) (192.232.244.164)
  by mta1498.mail.bf1.yahoo.com with SMTP; Tue, 01 Oct 2013 20:30:46 +0000
Received: from kymco by sco.scootershop.com with local (Exim 4.80.1)
  (envelope-from <kymco@sco.scootershop.com>)
  id 1VR6aj-00017K-EU
  for XXXXXXXXXXXX@yahoo.com; Tue, 01 Oct 2013 15:30:45 -0500
To: "XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" <XXXXXXXXXXXX@yahoo.com>
Subject: Welcome to KymcoPartsOnline
From: "KYMCOPARTSONLINE" <info@kymcopartsonline.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
X-Mailer: osCommerce Mailer
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
   boundary="=_df7440c54cd80ea098d8f88751e33e6c"
Message-Id: <E1VR6aj-00017K-EU@sco.scootershop.com>
Date: Tue, 01 Oct 2013 15:30:45 -0500

Welcome to KymcoPartsOnline !

You can now take part in the various services we added to our website. These services include:

Address Book - We can now deliver your products to addresses other than yours! This is perfect to send birthday gifts directly to the birthday-person themselves.

Permanent Cart - Any products added to your online cart remain there until you remove them, or check them out.

Order History - View your history of purchases that you have made with us.

Products Reviews - Share your opinions on products with our other customers.


For help with any of our online services, please contact us at: info@kymcopartsonline.com.

Note: This email address was given to us by one of our customers. If you did not signup to be a member, please send an email to info@kymcopartsonline.com.

Thank You,

Team at ScooterShop
================================================================



And here's the order confirmation email sent from KymcoPartsOnline.com:
================================================================
From KYMCOPARTSONLINE Tue Oct  1 13:34:22 2013
X-Apparently-To: XXXXXXXXXXXX@yahoo.com via 72.30.238.163; Tue, 01 Oct 2013 20:34:24 +0000
Return-Path: <kymco@sco.scootershop.com>
X-Originating-IP: [192.232.244.164]
Authentication-Results: mta1074.mail.ne1.yahoo.com  from=kymcopartsonline.com;
  domainkeys=neutral (no sig); from=kymcopartsonline.com; dkim=neutral (no sig)
Received: from 127.0.0.1  (EHLO sco.scootershop.com) (192.232.244.164)
  by mta1074.mail.ne1.yahoo.com with SMTP; Tue, 01 Oct 2013 20:34:23 +0000
Received: from kymco by sco.scootershop.com with local (Exim 4.80.1)
   (envelope-from <kymco@sco.scootershop.com>)
   id 1VR6eE-0001DN-8R
   for XXXXXXXXXXXX@yahoo.com; Tue, 01 Oct 2013 15:34:22 -0500
To: "XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" <XXXXXXXXXXXX@yahoo.com>
Subject: Order Process
From: "KYMCOPARTSONLINE" <info@kymcopartsonline.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
X-Mailer: osCommerce Mailer
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
   boundary="=_a2e615be282e54d227cc1dfedcc9df16"
Message-Id: <E1VR6eE-0001DN-8R@sco.scootershop.com>
Date: Tue, 01 Oct 2013 15:34:22 -0500

KymcoPartsOnline
------------------------------------------------------
Order Number: 7829
Detailed Invoice: https://kymcopartsonline.com/catalog/account_history_info.php?order_id=7829
Date Ordered: Tuesday 01 October, 2013

Products: Some parts may take 5-8 days for shipment if they not in stock at this time. It may
take a little longer but please be assured that you will receive your parts. We appreciate your
patience.
------------------------------------------------------
2 x Yager GT 200i - MOTOR ASSY FAN - 19030-KHD8-9000 (19030-KHD8-9000) = $157.50
1 x Yager GT 200i - THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR - 34300-KKE3-900 (34300-KKE3-900) = $38.75
------------------------------------------------------
Sub-Total: $196.25
United States Postal Service 6 lbs, 0 oz (Priority Mail 2-Day^â„¢): $12.90
CA TAX 7.75%: $15.21
Total: $224.36
================================================================



On 15 Oct 2013, I sent the following:
================================================================
Hi, Michael.

I still haven't received the throttle position sensor and fan motors
that I ordered. Is there anything wrong with the order?
================================================================



On 17 Oct 2013, Michael Koslov of KymcoPartsOnline.com and ScooterShop.com
replied:
================================================================
From info@kymcopartsonline.com Thu Oct 17 13:59:28 2013
X-Apparently-To: XXXXXXXXXXXX@yahoo.com via 72.30.238.160; Thu, 17 Oct 2013 20:59:31 +0000
Return-Path: <info@kymcopartsonline.com>
X-Originating-IP: [192.232.244.164]
Authentication-Results: mta1556.mail.ne1.yahoo.com  from=kymcopartsonline.com;
  domainkeys=neutral (no sig); from=kymcopartsonline.com; dkim=pass (ok)
Received: from 127.0.0.1  (EHLO sco.scootershop.com) (192.232.244.164)
  by mta1556.mail.ne1.yahoo.com with SMTP; Thu, 17 Oct 2013 20:59:30 +0000
Received: from localhost.localdomain ([127.0.0.1]:55830 helo=scootershop.com)
   by sco.scootershop.com with esmtpa (Exim 4.80.1)
   (envelope-from <info@kymcopartsonline.com>)
   id 1VWufJ-0003i9-1h
   for XXXXXXXXXXXX@yahoo.com; Thu, 17 Oct 2013 15:59:29 -0500
Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2013 15:59:28 -0500
From: info@kymcopartsonline.com
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX <XXXXXXXXXXXX@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: KYMCOPARTSONLINE.COM Customer Receipt/Purchase Confirmation
In-Reply-To: <1381894686.4972.YahooMailNeo@web140103.mail.bf1.yahoo.com>
References: <F6C73801D4D4472D8504225B4FC11BF5@anet.ad>
 <1381894686.4972.YahooMailNeo@web140103.mail.bf1.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <cba3389d1012a06a65a382cfd22b04a9@kymcopartsonline.com>
X-Sender: info@kymcopartsonline.com

hey xxxxxx i didnt have this in stock but i already order it from kymco
direct.

The order is ok. I will ship the parts as soon i get in stock which will
be in the next few days.
================================================================



Note shipping prediction #1: 20 Oct 2013



On 25 Nov 2013, I sent another email:
================================================================
Hi, Michael.

I was wondering if you had any information on when the below order
would be delivered? Has the factory given you any update on when
they'll ship the Kymco Yager GT200i cooling fan motors and the
Throttle Position Sensor I ordered? It was ordered on 01 Oct 2013. so
it's been a while.
================================================================



On 25 Nov 2013, Michael Koslov replied:
================================================================
From info@kymcopartsonline.com Mon Nov 25 13:32:55 2013
X-Apparently-To: XXXXXXXXXXXX@yahoo.com via 72.30.238.160; Mon, 25 Nov 2013 21:32:58 +0000
Return-Path: <info@kymcopartsonline.com>
X-Originating-IP: [192.232.244.164]
Authentication-Results: mta1622.mail.gq1.yahoo.com  from=kymcopartsonline.com;
  domainkeys=neutral (no sig); from=kymcopartsonline.com; dkim=pass (ok)
Received: from 127.0.0.1  (EHLO sco.scootershop.com) (192.232.244.164)
  by mta1622.mail.gq1.yahoo.com with SMTP; Mon, 25 Nov 2013 21:32:57 +0000
Received: from localhost.localdomain ([127.0.0.1]:38663 helo=scootershop.com)
   by sco.scootershop.com with esmtpa (Exim 4.80.1)
   (envelope-from <info@kymcopartsonline.com>)
   id 1Vl3m3-0003TJ-Vg
   for XXXXXXXXXXXX@yahoo.com; Mon, 25 Nov 2013 15:32:56 -0600
Date: Mon, 25 Nov 2013 15:32:55 -0600
From: info@kymcopartsonline.com
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX <XXXXXXXXXXXX@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: KYMCOPARTSONLINE.COM Customer Receipt/Purchase Confirmation
In-Reply-To: <1385413967.13608.YahooMailNeo@web140102.mail.bf1.yahoo.com>
References: <F6C73801D4D4472D8504225B4FC11BF5@anet.ad>
 <1385413967.13608.YahooMailNeo@web140102.mail.bf1.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <c8a500e3ec19906c140111ca7903ebf3@kymcopartsonline.com>
X-Sender: info@kymcopartsonline.com

I apologize for the delay i have ordered them from kymco but they have
not arrived to my warehouse.

i will keep you update on monday on the upcoming week.
================================================================



Note that this is promise #1 to keep me updated on 02 Dec 2013



Of course, he didn't keep me updated on 02 Dec 2013. I gave him 20 days,
then sent him another email on 22 Dec 2013:
================================================================
Hi, Michael.

Just wondering if there's any update on the parts I ordered? It's been
nearly 3 months since they were ordered. We have to arrive at some
conclusion to this.
================================================================



Receiving no reply, and starting to get frustrated with how long the
order was taking, I offered a concession that would allow him an
easier method of delivering what I'd ordered, or at least a close
facsimile of what I'd ordered.


I sent the following email on 04 Jan 2014:
================================================================
Hi, Michael.

I've been conversing with my electronics guy, the one who's building the
circuitry for me. He says it doesn't have to be Kymco Yager GT 200i
cooling fan motors and Throttle Position Sensor (TPS)... a fan is a fan,
and the circuitry will have the ability to adjust to the different
resistance ranges of the TPS on different bikes.

So if you've got 2 cooling fan motors and a TPS from another bike in stock,
or can quickly order it, you could do that. If it costs more, I'll make up
the difference, if it costs less, you can keep the overage I paid already.

Let me know what you decide to do.
================================================================



To which Michael Koslov replied on 06 Jan 2014 (2 days later):
================================================================
From info@kymcopartsonline.com Mon Jan  6 11:53:35 2014
X-Apparently-To: XXXXXXXXXXXX@yahoo.com via 72.30.238.163; Mon, 06 Jan 2014 19:53:37 +0000
Return-Path: <info@kymcopartsonline.com>
X-Originating-IP: [192.232.244.164]
Authentication-Results: mta1535.mail.gq1.yahoo.com  from=kymcopartsonline.com;
  domainkeys=neutral (no sig); from=kymcopartsonline.com; dkim=pass (ok)
Received: from 127.0.0.1  (EHLO sco.scootershop.com) (192.232.244.164)
  by mta1535.mail.gq1.yahoo.com with SMTP; Mon, 06 Jan 2014 19:53:37 +0000
Received: from localhost.localdomain ([127.0.0.1]:44202 helo=scootershop.com)
   by sco.scootershop.com with esmtpa (Exim 4.80.1)
   (envelope-from <info@kymcopartsonline.com>)
   id 1W0GEx-0007NG-Kc
   for XXXXXXXXXXXX@yahoo.com; Mon, 06 Jan 2014 13:53:36 -0600
Date: Mon, 06 Jan 2014 13:53:35 -0600
From: info@kymcopartsonline.com
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX <XXXXXXXXXXXX@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: KYMCOPARTSONLINE.COM Customer Receipt/Purchase Confirmation
In-Reply-To: <1387739463.74485.YahooMailNeo@web140105.mail.bf1.yahoo.com>
References: <F6C73801D4D4472D8504225B4FC11BF5@anet.ad>
 <1385413967.13608.YahooMailNeo@web140102.mail.bf1.yahoo.com>
 <c8a500e3ec19906c140111ca7903ebf3@kymcopartsonline.com>
 <1387739463.74485.YahooMailNeo@web140105.mail.bf1.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <bb26900583465107899138fc0006e067@kymcopartsonline.com>

Hello xxxxxxx what is your order number so i can check on your order.
================================================================



Really?! I find it especially hard to believe that he didn't know my order
number, given that I'd replied in-thread, which contained the full details
of my order!


I immediately sent back the order number details on 06 Jan 2014. It
wasn't hard to do, given that it was still in the quoted text of the
emails we were exchanging:
================================================================
------------------------------------------------------
Order Number: 7829
Detailed Invoice:
https://kymcopartsonline.com/catalog/account_history_info.php?order_id=7829
Date Ordered: Tuesday 01 October, 2013

Products: Some parts may take 5-8 days for shipment if they not in
stock at this time. It may take a little longer but please be assured
that you will receive your parts. We appreciate your patience.
------------------------------------------------------
2 x Yager GT 200i - MOTOR ASSY FAN - 19030-KHD8-9000 (19030-KHD8-9000) = $157.50
1 x Yager GT 200i - THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR - 34300-KKE3-900 (34300-KKE3-900) = $38.75
------------------------------------------------------
Sub-Total: $196.25
United States Postal Service 6 lbs, 0 oz (Priority Mail 2-Dayâ„¢): $12.90
CA TAX 7.75%: $15.21
Total: $224.36
================================================================



To which Michael Koslov replied on 06 Jan 2014:
================================================================
From info@kymcopartsonline.com Mon Jan  6 14:36:22 2014
X-Apparently-To: XXXXXXXXXXXX@yahoo.com via 72.30.238.162; Mon, 06 Jan 2014 22:36:25 +0000
Return-Path: <info@kymcopartsonline.com>
X-Originating-IP: [192.232.244.164]
Authentication-Results: mta1309.mail.gq1.yahoo.com  from=kymcopartsonline.com;
  domainkeys=neutral (no sig); from=kymcopartsonline.com; dkim=pass (ok)
Received: from localhost.localdomain ([127.0.0.1]:53234 helo=scootershop.com)
   by sco.scootershop.com with esmtpa (Exim 4.80.1)
   (envelope-from <info@kymcopartsonline.com>)
   id 1W0ImU-0000H5-RG
   for XXXXXXXXXXXX@yahoo.com; Mon, 06 Jan 2014 16:36:23 -0600
Date: Mon, 06 Jan 2014 16:36:22 -0600
From: info@kymcopartsonline.com
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX <XXXXXXXXXXXX@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: KYMCOPARTSONLINE.COM Customer Receipt/Purchase Confirmation
In-Reply-To: <1389047262.39402.YahooMailNeo@web140103.mail.bf1.yahoo.com>
References: <F6C73801D4D4472D8504225B4FC11BF5@anet.ad>
 <1385413967.13608.YahooMailNeo@web140102.mail.bf1.yahoo.com>
 <c8a500e3ec19906c140111ca7903ebf3@kymcopartsonline.com>
 <1387739463.74485.YahooMailNeo@web140105.mail.bf1.yahoo.com>
 <bb26900583465107899138fc0006e067@kymcopartsonline.com>
 <1389047262.39402.YahooMailNeo@web140103.mail.bf1.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <ebe7612259ce76c638d1a2a722575c0c@kymcopartsonline.com>

hello xxxxxxx you order has been order and its on its way.
================================================================

I replaced the rear gears with 15% taller gears in my 2010 Kymco Yager GT 200i (174.5 cc), and the bike hits 86 MPH now. There's no reason the Like 200i can't do the same (or close to it). I wanted to be able to cruise at 65 MPH at 6500 RPM, but it's actually 62 MPH at 6500 RPM... likely because the Gates Boost+ belt is a bit narrower than an OEM belt. I can cruise around town (speed limits up to 40 MPH) and the engine never gets over 5000 RPM.

Here's what I did:
1) Do a hard break-in. Don't baby the engine. You've got to get those rings to seal extremely well to get good compression. If you did baby the engine when breaking it in, take it out and thrash it... it won't be as good as it would have been if you'd done a hard break-in, but it'll improve ring seal. The best way (in our case) is to put heavy weights in your variator so the engine has to pull really hard at lower than normal RPMs, then take it out on the highway (preferably one with gentle but long hills) and blast up the hills with the engine pulling hard, top the hill and take the engine up close to the rev limiter, then vary the engine speed on the way back down the hill, including slapping the throttle completely shut and letting engine braking go on for a time from top speed. Do it in the early morning hours so there's no traffic, so you can vary your speed up and down, stop and accelerate, etc. After 50 or so miles of this, you should see better ring seal.

2) Pulstar HE1HT9 spark plug. I tried iridium, copper core, etc., but had a rough idle and not as much "oomph" as I get out of the Pulstar. I'm really impressed with the Pulstar. Expensive, but worth it, in my opinion.

3) LiquiMoly Ceratec. This coats the hot sliding-friction parts of the engine with a low-friction ceramic coating... meaning the ring / cylinder interface. This makes for extremely low blow-by and better compression. Only use this after your engine is broken in... 1500 miles or so should do it (once you no longer see tiny metal flakes in the drained engine oil). Use it for 1800 miles (3 oil changes for me), 60 ml per oil change.

4) Tungsten Disulfide. This coats the entire interior of the engine with one of the most lubricious materials known to man. Only do this after you've used the Ceratec. I put in 8.5 grams of 0.6 micron WS2 in each engine oil change, and after my new rear gears are fully worn in, I'll use 1.75 grams in the gear oil.

5) Valve lash. Adjust it 0.01 mm tighter than factory specs. In my case, I adjusted it to 0.09 mm instead of 0.1 mm. Not a lot of difference, but it very slightly advances valve timing, and gives a tiny bit more valve lift.

6) 20 gram Dr. Pulley sliders. The 17.5 gram OEM rollers and 18 gram Dr. Pulley sliders I'd tried were too light and the engine would hit the rev limiter even when the throttle wasn't fully open. Even the 20 gram sliders are a bit too light. I'll go to 21 grams when these wear out, but I think 20.5 grams would be just about perfect, so I might end up buying the 21 gram sliders and Dremeling a bit.

7) Gates Boost+ kevlar belt

8) I extended the torque cam grooves in the clutch a bit, and shaved ~1/2 mm off each sheave face on the clutch and variator for a slightly wider gear ratio. I also corrected a manufacturing defect in the clutch whereby the clutch swing-arms would swing inward and stick in their anti-rattle dot channels. I widened the channels just enough that the clutch swing arms could fully seat, but can swing out easily without sticking. That makes the speed at which the clutch engages much more consistent. I also polished and greased all the pivot points in the clutch so there's no friction to make things stick.

9) Hybrid ceramic bearings. I put micro-polished and WS2-coated hybrid ceramic bearings in the rear gears, clutch and wheels... the thing rolls insanely easily now.

10) I use synthetic engine oil, gear oil and grease.

I've got an order in for a Dr. Pulley HiT clutch. I'm going to adjust it for a very low engagement speed (2800 RPM engine, 1000 RPM clutch), with little slip. That'll reduce the wasted energy converted to heat of clutch engagement, make the clutch last longer, and make low-speed riding more controllable.

How is that a bad thing?

Water boils at 100C. Ethanol boils at 78.4C. But the azeotropic mixture of 95.63% ethanol and 4.37% water boils at 78.2C. We make it easier to get expansion in-cylinder.

Quote from: zombie on June 24, 2015, 04:59:09 AM

It is actually a good thing BUT the energy rating is far less than gasoline so to create the same power you need more fuel. MPG, HP, and Torque all go down.

E10-RD1 (E10 gasoline with the 10% ethanol tranformed into RD1) has:
102,391.38 BTU Gasoline + 7448 BTU ethanol + 858.753239 BTU acetone + 0 BTU water
~110,698.133 BTU / gallon

From my example above,
E10 gasoline has ~104481 BTU gasoline + 7600 BTU ethanol = 112081 BTU/gallon.
Straight gasoline has ~116,090 Btu/gal.

So going to E10-RD1 represents a 1.234% lower energy content than E10 gasoline.

Wrong. The azeotropic mixture of 95.63% ethanol and 4.37% water always contains water, but ethanol doesn't necessarily contain much water from the fuel pump... if it did, when temperatures dropped a bit, you'd get phase separation and your engine would run rough (or not at all) as that water/ethanol mixture settled to the bottom of your tank and got sucked up by the fuel pump.

Quote from: zombie on June 24, 2015, 04:59:09 AM

Well that is actually the main issue w/ ethanol blended fuels. Phase separation. There are additives besides the Ethanol to counter act this but set a cup of EtOH fuel in your freezer, and you will see it happen.

"Phase Separation describes what happens to gasoline containing Ethanol when water is present. When gasoline containing even small amounts of Ethanol comes in contact with water, either liquid or in the form of humidity; the Ethanol will pick-up and absorb some or all of that water. When it reaches a saturation point the Ethanol and water will Phase Separate, actually coming out of solution and forming two or three distinct layers in the tank.

Phase Separation is also temperature dependent. For example, E-10 can hold approximately .05% water at 60°F. To better understand the amount of water that we are talking about, picture 1 gallon of E-10 at 60°F. This gallon will hold approximately 3.8 teaspoons of water. However if the temperature drops to 20°F it can only hold about 2.8 teaspoons of water."
http://www.lcbamarketing.com/phase_separation_in_ethanol_blen.htm

Yeah. But the acetone acts as a buffer to hold much more water in solution with the hydrocarbon. I'll be doing experiments to determine the stability of that solution at various temperatures soon.

Huh? Ethanol has an octane rating of 113. It raises the octane rating of gasoline. It does, however, lower the energy content.

E10 gasoline has ~104481 BTU gasoline + 7600 BTU ethanol = 112081 BTU/gallon.
Straight gasoline has ~116,090 Btu/gal.

This represents a loss of ~3.45% energy content.

Quote from: zombie on June 24, 2015, 04:59:09 AM

Exactly. Water plus EtOH reduce the power output of every engine designed to run on gasoline.

But again, if we crank a billion BTUs per intake cycle worth of fuel into the cylinder, it wouldn't matter one iota if our expansion medium didn't expand efficiently.

Conversely, if we can utilize an expansion medium that expands more than air while using the same or less energy input as air, we come out ahead. Water is that expansion medium. We throw a lot of the heat of combustion away via temperature peaks because air doesn't expand linearly. It's not an Ideal Gas. We can get the same expansion (and thus cylinder pressure) from ~500 F peak combustion temperature with water flashing to steam as would require 1300 F for air alone.

The water's there (and eventually, the hydroxide will be there) for the express purpose of facilitating in-cylinder combustion and expansion. The water will be preheated to just below its latent heat of vaporization, so it doesn't have to absorb much heat in-cylinder to flash to steam.

Hemiacetals are notoriously unstable compounds. They stand in for the hydroxide radicals that will be used at a later date. Having hemiacetals in-cylinder isn't a bad thing.

There's a reason Racing Discol 1 became popular amongst racers (purportedly it gave power and fuel efficiency gains over straight gasoline). I intend to re-discover exactly what that reason was, and if it's still applicable to modern-day fuel.

Quote from: zombie on June 24, 2015, 04:59:09 AM

I don't get where you think these hydroxides will come from or the preheating of the water before injection.

The liquid to be injected will be preheated from coolant heat exiting the engine. By getting the water as near its latent heat of vaporization as possible prior to it reaching the cylinder, the amount of in-cylinder heat it must absorb to flash to steam is minimized. Thus it flashes faster and contributes more to cylinder pressure.

But it's not just water, since the water is in the fuel... and evaporating the fuel will also have benefits as regards quicker combustion.

http://www.chevron.com/documents/pdf/MotorGasTechReview.pdf
On page 39, it shows the carbon number percentages for regular and premium gasolines, as well as the evaporation percentages versus temperature.

For regular gasoline, at 210F (temperature of coolant exiting the engine), we'd evaporate the gasoline up to carbon number 7, which would account for ~63% of regular gasoline.

Here's a chart showing the vapor pressures of the various carbon number hydrocarbons:

http://petrowiki.org/images/6/6a/Vol1_Page_243_Image_0001.png

The hydroxides are easy enough to make. H₂O's constituent basic and acidic components during electrolysis are OH^- (hydroxide) and H₃O⁺ (hydronium). A voltage applied to water separates out the hydroxide and hydronium. Draw from your water tank at the hydroxide end to inject hydroxide-rich water. No large electrolysis current needed, just voltage to keep the basic and acidic components of water separated. It doesn't take a lot of hydroxide to greatly assist combustion.

Like I said earlier it is FAR easier to advance the Ign. timing, and inject (separately) pure water. Get the amount of advance, and water correct, and you will see an increase in both power, and MPG. This has nothing to do with Unicorn pee theory. It is simply as you expressed... The expansion of gasses in the cylinder. The advanced ignition allows for more power to be extracted from the gasoline, and the steam expansion of the water adds the "bonus" power.
Only problem is that in the long term use of water injectors the oil suffers, as do the cylinder walls, and piston rings. The cylinder is essentially steam cleaned on every cycle, and more frequent oil changes are needed as to correct steam passing the rings.

The cylinder will be WPC treated to maximize its oil holding capability and thus ring seal. It'll be WS2 coated to minimize friction. The piston will have a Total Seal gapless top ring to minimize blowby. The engine will be run hotter, so any water in the oil should boil off.

There is a current thread on peroxides as fuel here... http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=62803

That's nice, but I didn't say anything about peroxides. I said hydroxide.
Peroxide is H₂O₂. Hydroxide is OH^-.
Peroxide is one step up the chain in facilitating combustion. I'm going for that last step in the chain. Less delay.

It did not get too in depth because the topic has been beaten to death as has Ethanol in gasoline.

It's a fun idea to play with, and some small gains may be realized but the side issues far outweigh the tiny advantage. I did far better with methanol, and benzine blends, and almost stock jetting 30 years ago.

EtOH is one of two future fuels (bio-diesel, and EtOH) if we INSIST on keeping IC engines as the norm. As an additive it sucks, Literately sucks power, absorbs water, and creates mechanical problems in vehicles not designed to use it.
It (EtOH) is cheap, and readily available. Benzine, and methanol are not. Pure gasoline is the best, and least expensive option.

I wanted to add this thought...
It may be a better experiment to see if you can properly gauge your injection system to run on diesel fuel(s).
Perhaps some combo of diethelether, and diesel...

Then you're getting into changing out not only your connecting rod and piston, but your bearings as well, to handle the shock load of diesel deflagration. If I were to do that, I'd make a really beefy direct-injection engine that was designed to detonate.