Meth irony...
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,872
Likes: 7
From: Richmond VA
Meth irony...
I posted the question in a previous thread if anyone had heard of a meth kit failing. Well, I went to the dyno yesterday to get a little more aggressive with my tune. On the first pull, the meth never sprayed. No harm cause my prevous tune was done w/o meth. I spent 30 min trying to track it down. It is getting power; no blockage. Must be a siezed pump. It worked fine last time at the track - about two weeks ago. So.... lesson learned w/o harm. Whew!
I still believe that this is the best kit out there and I am sure this is a fluke. Hopefully, I will catch Julio this week and figure out what happened.
I still believe that this is the best kit out there and I am sure this is a fluke. Hopefully, I will catch Julio this week and figure out what happened.
Last edited by clemsondave; Jul 1, 2007 at 05:21 PM.
Drifting
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 1,551
Likes: 0
From: salt lake city UT
my kit just stopped working one day and I was told it was due to the altitude I live at. I had to reset the dial and it was fine......but had no probs for 6 months and then one day....no go.....not a good feeling!
thankfully my motor survived!
thankfully my motor survived!
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 3,064
Likes: 95
From: MI
Btw, I experienced the same problem at the track...only my problem was operator error..I mistakenly adjusted the turn-on point vs. gain (doh!!!!)
Premium Supporting Vendor
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 5,241
Likes: 21
From: Knoxville Tennessee
I posted the question in a previous thread if anyone had heard of a meth kit failing. Well, I went to the dyno yesterday to get a little more aggressive with my tune. On the first pull, the meth never sprayed. No harm cause my prevous tune was done w/o meth. I spent 30 min trying to track it down. It is getting power; no blockage. Must be a siezed pump. It worked fine last time at the track - about two weeks ago. So.... lesson learned w/o harm. Whew!
I still believe that this is the best kit out there and I am sure this is a fluke. Hopefully, I will catch Julio this week and figure out what happened.
I still believe that this is the best kit out there and I am sure this is a fluke. Hopefully, I will catch Julio this week and figure out what happened.
Just for the record, I have used about 6-7 of these now and I have never had one fail that I got new from ECS.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,872
Likes: 7
From: Richmond VA
My kit is less than a year old. It has the light, but being color blind, it is hard to tell when the light turns from red to green.
Dont get me wrong, I think the kit is great. I was just posting this as a warning not to rely on it for tuning. If you do, make sure you test or purge it before getting on the throttle.
Dont get me wrong, I think the kit is great. I was just posting this as a warning not to rely on it for tuning. If you do, make sure you test or purge it before getting on the throttle.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,872
Likes: 7
From: Richmond VA
Update...
I still say Julio has the best customer service out there. It is nice to be able to pick up the phone and actually speak with someone! He reviewed the things to check, which I did the other day. The only thing that I didnt check was debris in the pump itself. I pulled the pump out and sure enough, there was some debris in the pump. I cleaned it out and it now works like a charm.
I have no idea what the debris is, which is a little scary. I filter the meth as I pour it in the tank. This debris is a yellowish gell substance. Julio has found a screen that will hopefully eliminate this type of issue.
Thanks Julio!
I still say Julio has the best customer service out there. It is nice to be able to pick up the phone and actually speak with someone! He reviewed the things to check, which I did the other day. The only thing that I didnt check was debris in the pump itself. I pulled the pump out and sure enough, there was some debris in the pump. I cleaned it out and it now works like a charm.
I have no idea what the debris is, which is a little scary. I filter the meth as I pour it in the tank. This debris is a yellowish gell substance. Julio has found a screen that will hopefully eliminate this type of issue.
Thanks Julio!
Twin Turbo Coupe
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 768
Likes: 0
From: Frederick MD
Could you be using methanol with lubricant added to it? This will build up over time a create a yellowish gell that will acumulate in the pump. I used to use lubicated menthanol some time ago, but after discovering the yellow buildup, I switch to non-lubricated and have not had any issues since
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,872
Likes: 7
From: Richmond VA
Could you be using methanol with lubricant added to it? This will build up over time a create a yellowish gell that will acumulate in the pump. I used to use lubicated menthanol some time ago, but after discovering the yellow buildup, I switch to non-lubricated and have not had any issues since
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Racer
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 482
Likes: 1
From: Waveland MS
I'm glad you brought this issue to the table. Even if the kit were a year or two, or even 5 years old, it worries me that you would have issues at all. To me, the potential for catastrophic failure is just too high to trust the kit. Even if you know the root cause of the failure is a pump seal, etc., since the fix is just to get a new pump, that doesn't really resolve the root cause of failure.
I actually looked into this hard a month or two again, but I was talked out of it by my tuner. They said they just have little luck with them, and they have seen customer's engines fail because of them. I literally was trying to get them to take my money to install and tune one, and although they would have done it, they really didn't want to touch it. BTW, my tuner is Thunder Racing, and they have worked a bunch on my car in the past. They would be glad to do anything I want to it, and they simply didn't want to do that. As a reliability engineer for years, these kits are even beginning to scare the bejesus out me.
In theory, it is a great concept. I just think the reliability and fail-safes are just not there. However, I keep coming full-circle on my decision because a lot of posters here have not nuked their cars yet.
I actually looked into this hard a month or two again, but I was talked out of it by my tuner. They said they just have little luck with them, and they have seen customer's engines fail because of them. I literally was trying to get them to take my money to install and tune one, and although they would have done it, they really didn't want to touch it. BTW, my tuner is Thunder Racing, and they have worked a bunch on my car in the past. They would be glad to do anything I want to it, and they simply didn't want to do that. As a reliability engineer for years, these kits are even beginning to scare the bejesus out me.
In theory, it is a great concept. I just think the reliability and fail-safes are just not there. However, I keep coming full-circle on my decision because a lot of posters here have not nuked their cars yet.