TOPIC: MPG Remedy

TracyG wrote: Anyone have any input on various alcohol's?? Would simple denatured alcohol sold in hardware stores be OK for this, should we stick to the Everclear, or??

Tracy G

It needs to dissolve the aspirin and also mix with gasoline. I don't know anything about denatured alcohol but I would look into how its made and what its made with, if it produces toxic byproducts during combustion and if its corrosive.

Hey Tracy G if u are burning oil, and started to "use" coolant. your head gaskets are on the way out very common with subaru .

Tracy,
As far as the dual plug mod, I did it but didnt notice a difference.
Just have the Torquemasters but didnt think they had a choice between resistors.
My idle keeps running between 900-1100 about but sometimes it really revs and jumps up and down when I go to nuetral to coast. Seems like the IAC channel that cuts off proper flow is the culprit since it has been doing this since I started messing with the IAC hole over a year ago.
Can see the RPMs jumping up and down in neutral for a year now.
They should be steady but consistently jumping back and forth in a 100 pt range every 3 seconds.
That is why I am thinking its one big thing like a leak or chip that negates all the mods.
Should have doubled my MPGs by now with all the mods.

Hi Tracy
I have been using what we in canada call methyl hydrate I think it is a wood alcohl we use it or call it gas line antfreeze. I mix the asprens with just enuf hydrogen peroxide to cover the aspern let them desolve and then add the alcohel.
orrist

Yeah hi Bill! yes- I Know!! I had the engine re-sealed 6 yrs ago the shop is ex-dealer Subaru mechanics, they used all factory gaskets/seals. Worked well for almost 6 years.
Looking at the cost to have them repeat this vs. the car's value...Then the guys at Independent (the shop) told me that often subaru short-block rebuilds w/ new pistons/rings- often dont last so long. Something about most machine shops can't or don't do enough detailed setup work before machining, an'd are unaware of these things. I of course knew nothing of this 9 yrs ago when I had machine work done and built it myself. The guys at Independent Auto were kinda freaked when I told them I had had the case apart! I just took my time and followed spec's /sequence religously.

On top of all this- the EA82 engine isn't that well supported, esp. compared to newer 90's up subie engines. Some guys have converted to EJ22 engines, but I'm not up for that big a conversion. Independent told me they just use new Subaru short-blocks when needed, evidently Subaru has a program for that w/ the newer engines, but not my old EA82, it's an ugly duckling I guess!

Right now the subie engine seems to have settled down, it hasn't smoked or "used" any coolant or at least hardly any recently. And- the rich exhaust smell that was gagging me out months ago w/ the weber conversion, it diminished w/ jet changes, and now seems to have stopped. And NOW w/ the MPG Remedy it seems quite happy. BUT- this car has punished me before when I've bragged about it, so I'm not Bragging!! BTW- I need to speak w/ ya, I have some surplus Subaru parts (carb's, intake manifold, an aircleaner w/ K&N filter and an open top and extra closed top for aircleaner, and misc. small parts. I just want to get rid of 'em, no $$ other than postage. Maybe you or somebody in your Subaru sphere of influence could use em?? MY # is 775-544-7692 I'm off next 2 days.

Tracy G

Karl- thought ya said that when you switched the plug wires, you noticed some gain above 50 MPH. And Danny at Extreme Spark can do 'em w/ or W/O resistors, I inquired for the Plasma build.

Idle RPM's "hunting"- hook up a vacuum guage watch it at idle. Steady or not? I'd see if there are any pending codes in ECU, esp relating to TPS or MAP or MAF sensors. I saw I dont remember where online, an easy test to test TPS sensor using a multimeter and a few pins to stick in the sensor wires. TPS is just a voltage-dividing potentiometer working at 5 volts I believe. IF all this turns up nothing- and IF the RPM's were steady after you removed the IAC restrictor before, then pull the TB, and open up the IAC air channel in the IAC "dam" a bit. Did you use the base gasket advice I gave? A thicker base gasket with some give to it might be in order due to the "dam" bottom surface. Also while it's off, might feather lightly around both Grooves w/ fine sandpaper or crocus cloth, didnt see any burrs and did feather there, but maybe...

Does idle RPM only hunt after fully warmed up? How is cold start fast idle, enough higher RPM's? Tell what RPM's are like at cold start. Answer to this may give further clues. Oh and one other thing- not too likely, but- check the throttle cable for slack at engine off closed throttle. Does throttle return to fully closed every time, no binds, you might even check the idle stop screw and adjust a bit, it is a different TB after all!

Tracy G

Tracy,
Did have a smoother ride above 50mph but then again it fluctuated. I would get a smoother ride, the SG would read my MPG going up nicely(less gas into the injectors) and then it would go back down after 5-10 seconds. Dan thinks this is the ECU yo-yoing and fighting the mod improvement. The mods kick in and the ECU sees the gains and shoots more gas into the engine or should I say the CAT! That is why I see no other way to beat the ECU but with an EFIE to knock down the fuel going into the system. This is my guess where my smoother ride comes from, less wasted gas being shot in from the injectors. Read on one site that when an engine runs on regular gas injection, you can set a glass of water on the engine and notice the vibrations clearly. But when it runs on vapors, the same glass of water settles down. Guess this shows the turbulence of all the wasted gas in the pistons we are made to consume by design.
Yes I made my own gasket and took some pics so others can see the process I used if they wanted to venture doing the same. Its made out of a fabric because I didn't get my hands on the roofing paper and didn't want to wait. The roofing paper would have been much easier to use and cut to form instead of a fabric with a leather face.
The idle usually jumps when I go to neutral and then settles down but even at idle before moving it will jump 50-75 rpms back and forth with about 3 seconds each on the lower and upper range.

Karl

(Tracy picks up yet another handful of mud and winds up for the throw at the wall)

Ok next guess from left field- perhaps the Injectors themselves are an issue. dirty, worn, leaking...even try spraying some carb. cleaner carefully at the injector seals. Hey these ARE mechanical parts, dont go on forever at least not as new...I agree it's like the A/F ratio is moving up/down. Could be the ECU fighting the mods, OR constantly re-adjusting to an unstable condition. ECU itself could be going "fritz" I wonder what the real-time data like FT's and O2 voltages look like. But mucked-up injectors, they are "under your nose" and can't watch 'em working. A question to pose to a really good mechanic. You might even go to or call around to smog testing stations. Get several opinions. Here in Nevada they have 2 ratings for these guys. A 1-G does the smog tests and some repairs. A 2-G is the one licensed and trained to higher levels to do repairs and diagnosis on vehicles that fail the smog test. I know one 2-G guy and he has given me excellent advice before. It might even be money well spent to go to a competent shop and have some diagnosis done. Most Mechanics today are pretty competent, you have to be. I would seek out someone who does this type of thing all the time. Everyone has their limits, sometimes you need a good Rocket Surgeon!

I think I'd want a confident diagnosis before I threw any more seasonings in the soup.

Tracy G

Hi Orrist, I just did a quick online info search of the various alcohols. Now methyl hydrate sounds like methanol w/ water. From what I just read, denatured alcohol is ethanol like Everclear, to which additives like methanol are added to to render toxic and unfit for drinking. IT means ethanol, altered from its natural state. Various things can be used to denature ethanol, but most definitions I found mentioned methanol most often as the denaturant.

Apart from effectiveness in this application, I would also be concerned of corrosion issues. Far as I know now the US gubmint mandated that fuel systems in cars sold in US had to be alcohol-tolerant as of the early 1980's. Even Everclear has some water in it you divide an alcohol Proof number inhalf to get percentage of alcohol putity. So my 151 proof Everclear is just over 75% ethanol, the rest water. I'm using both Everclear and HEET yellow bottle gas dryer, which is methanol based.
So it's like Ive been making a sort of denatured alcohol myself. We are going to just have to individually try this, see how it goes, then hopefully report our findings here. I don't know just which part of my version of the Remedy is doing the trick, just that it IS working. I put 3 of the uncoated aspirin partly crushed in a small jar, and added 2 OZ of hardware store denatured alcohol. I noticed the larger fragments of aspirin seemed to dissolve better in this than w/ Everclear or Everclear/HEET mix. Just like w/ Everclear/ HEET the fine aspirin "dust" settles out to the bottom of the jar. So any way you do this I think filtration when adding to tank is smart. I just don't know exactly what the chemical makeup of the denatured is. The various online sites I read to research mentioned methanol most commonly as the denaturant.

Tracy G

for the alcohol proof number my EverClear is 190 proof grain if I understand this right only way to get proof number higher is with a chemical to remove water then it is not stable so will need to be sealed. This EverClear is for drinking.

Everclear- I drank it twice as a kid. Once when I was 16 a buddy and I were riding our bikes and this dude motions us over to his place. So we stop to see and this cat offers us some spiked cool-aid. It was a hot summer day, so we accepted. Got a pretty good buzz- he then showed us kids what his concoction was. I think he used us as guniea pigs- I think I remember him saying how he wanted to find and get some teen girls drunk on this! Then after hi school when I was around 21 another buddy and I decided to consume a quart of cuervo Especial tequila. When we were past the halfway point in this we got the Great Idea to chase each tequila sunrise w/ a shot of Everclear... well there is no smiley here of a mushroom cloud! Gawd- we got so drunk- I was stiil drunk next day when I came to, after awhile the HANGOVER started. About like a B-52 Arc-Lite strike mixed w/a 9.0 richter earthquake. No good. I didn't drink tequila again for years and have avoided Everclear ever since! I don't know how anyone can drink Moonshine...

In Alcohol Can Be a Gas David Blume talked of using Zeolite to get the remaining water out of hi-proof Ethanol. Pretty hard to get all the way to 200 Proof, and keep it that way.


Today I prefer my alcohol as a fuel or fuel enhancement, thank you very much!

Tracy G

grandpa and uncle always told me " if shine is drinkable then good for truck " so shine from corn or other grains is best for truck
geraldc