By: Daron

I am using it. I had to address many issues as I got it working. I found that the SMC kit needs a capacitor on its power lead to prevent electrical noise from causing havoc. Without the cap, your RPM gauge will rise with pump duty cycle, and you can trigger knock retard by turning the pump on. After fixing that, and making sure my grounds were uptight, I began to get knock retard, at first just with the Alky, and then eventually even without. Now it looks as though my old Walbro is not pushing the fuel at high pressures. The most fuel pressure I can get now is 65 pounds at full song; it used to provide 75 easy. So, looks like a new High Pressure Walbro is getting ordered today.... Anyway, I like the alky thing. The MATs drop like you wouldn't believe. The deal with it is that it takes some dedication to get things tuned right. You are throwing 2 more variables into your tuning equation, and these variables completely throw off previous tuning norms (in my case). You must decide when to kick the alky on, and how much alky you want shot in there. Lots of trial and error. Nozzle placement can have a big effect on how things work. I tried it first in the conventional location, at the output of the IC, but the truck would bog bad with very little alky. I recalled a discussion I had with Bruce, who was an advocate of injecting alky at the output of the turbo, (better atomization). The thought process here is that the hot turbo output would cause the alky to "flash" into a gas and thus be better distributed in the air. Well that is cool theory stuff, but in our application this alky has to hit the inter cooler prior to making its way into the manifold, which would cool it, and strip some of the alky from the air and deposit it on the inter cooler fins, thus negating any real benefit, one would assume.... With that said, I wanted to try it anyway. So I did and now I can run a bunch more alky before the truck begins to complain. In my case, it seems to work a lot better, before the inter cooler However, I want to try installing the nozzle in the manifold somewhere, to see how that works. I am unsure of where I could do that, without causing a distribution issue though. So, to answer your question, I have been using mine, but am alternately testing various theories and chasing problems with my truck. Not the most productive way to go about it, I have discovered

Some SMC alky kit hints:

The add on Capacitor is almost garaunteed to be needed. I tried several different values and settled on 220uF, as it seemed to clean up the power feed the best. After talking with Steve, it would seem that the way his system pulses the ground to the pump may be the reason for the minor electrical gremlins we see when using it in our trucks. PN: 220uF - 25volt capacitor

Powering the SMC with a separate relay, where the feed to the relay is aquired from the power point on the firewall (as opposed to the fuse block), seems to work the best for my truck. I have fought transient electrical noise, which seems to have caused some serious false knock, was mostly eliminated when I used a relay system to get power from the leads on the firewall.

Also, remember that too much alky will cause the truck to begin to bog, or misfire. This misfiring WILL cause you to see knock counts, and the ecm will start ratcheting up with the knock retard. This is a very important point, because you can confuse the results of this (knock retard) as eletrical noise causing the retard instead of its true cause. As I was learning how to tune my alky, I noticed that more fuel would reduce this mis-firing, but plug checks showed it was way rich. That made sense, because generally a rich afr is easier to fire. With my MSD ignition, I noticed that a rich AFR, and wide gaps, I could use more alky. However, the performance wasnt up to par. So, after getting rid of the false knock with the relay and capacitors, I could clearly see where the misfires were. So, I tuned the trucks fuel with no alky, got the plugs looking good. Then began the addition of alky. It would break up at 18 psi with anything over half on the pump speed knob. Instead of adding fuel this time, I closed the plug gaps up to .030 and all is well. Not being fooled by false knock helps tremendously here. Now its time to try to lean it out some more and toss a bit more alky at it....

So, don't be discouraged if the kit isnt a plug and play affair, we can likely get it working well for your application.
Daron

Alcohol Injection Recipe

(from GN site)

Introduction The system that I have came up with utilizes some used parts that I had laying around and a few new ones too. I don't guarantee as good results as I have seen, but on the other hand some of you might experience better. You may have to do some looking around junk yards, but when a guy is on a budget you do what you can do-:) Let me apologize for the lack of part numbers and such. I didn't plan on writing a recipe for this. I hope that some of you will benefit from it, although it may require a little investigative work. Here's the basic run down... Materials Electronic fuel pump:
I bought mine for $40 used. I found a Bosch (# 9580 810 021 ) unit off a Ford truck with EFI. It's used but seems to be working well. Puts out over 60 psi at the injector. a Bosch rep told me that most of there pumps have stainless insides (which resist alky corrosion. This is the main "iffy" part to the recipe. You gotta find a good EFI pump. I would not suggest the little skinnies that come in our cars. I have not heard any thing _good_ about them and alky/water. You may want to periodically check the out put of the pump. It is possible that it can corrode and need replacement after time. ~$40
Relay :Just a simple 4 prong 30 amp relay like we use to "hot wire" the fuel pump.~$3
Some kind of MAP switch.
I used a switch that the digital dashed cars use to turn on the red and orange dash lights under boost. This switch is very adjustable via two screws on the back. When a certain boost is reached this switch completes a ground. I adjusted mine to 10 psi so that I was sure the alky would be there before detonation. I used compressed air and my boost gauge to tune it in to 10 psi. It has been w/ in one psi of ten every time. ~$10 used
Nozzle (injector) and jets.
I use NOS here, but it is entirely up to you. This is an area where your own line of reasoning comes to play. I used a NOS 90 degree nitrous nozzle. I did this so that I could aim the injector INTO the air stream for better atomization. It's far enough from the TB that I don't think turbulence is a problem. Atomization is key, that's the reason for the high psi pump. NOS has straight on nozzles too if you disagree with my reasoning. You'll also need a nut to mount the nozzle. I think a metric fine thread nut at the hardware store is what I used.. Sorry, not sure what size but that's a starting point. The nozzle won't thread all the way in but it only needs to be flush with the nut seat. Jets: By a few of them, for you will be tuning. Try anything between .025 and .035 flare type jets. I have mine dialed in pretty well with a .030 jet. It will be different for everyone I'm sure. If you are curious as to whether you're to rich with alky, just look for clouds of steam behind you-:) ~$20
14 gauge wire. Several feet~$5
Plumbing to fit the NOS nozzle. It will be different for everyone as to location of pump and nozzle. Less than $15.
A Washer fluid tank that will fit in your engine compartment.
Mine is out of an old Chevy truck and rests where the charcoal canister used to be. It is good to mount the pump lower than the tank so that it will keep its prime. A washer fluid tank is nice due to the strainer in the pick up tube. Less than $5.
Installation Decide where you want to mount the nozzle. Somewhere in your up pipe from the IC or the turbo for you 85 and older guys. I would suggest a place in the bend of the up pipe so that the alky can atomize a bit more during the bend. Remove the pipe and drill a 3/16" hole. I used JB's weld to bond the metric nut to the outside of the tube. If you take your time it will look nice. If you have a 90* nozzle, mark the spray side for ease of aim later on.
Next get your wiring figured out. I mounted my pump under the air filter.....
NOTE: Do NOT let your pump touch any grounded metal.
The plastic wheel well is a great place for mounting. If you must mount it on metal you will have to reverse the wiring I describe later).... It was real close the alt. that way. I mounted the pressure switch on the pass side fender, behind the puke tank, under the little guard. There should already be holes for it to mount. Find a place to splice in the boost system for your switch. I placed the relay right next to it for ease of wiring and protection. The relay will be completing the ground for the pump.
Wiring:
1. Wire from NEG. post of PUMP to terminal 30
2. Wire from a GOOD GROUND to terminal 87
3. Wire from MAP switch to 86
4. Wire from battery or other (+) to terminal 85
5. Wire from alternator BAT post to POS pump terminal.
Wire routing is a thing of personal preference. I mounted my one wire that goes to the pump from the relay under the radiator support. If you have to take things apart for installation, be sure to reassemble frequently to check for clearance...This is very important-:)
Now (24 hrs later) the JB weld should be plenty hard to take stress from the nozzle and complimentary plumbing. Place the nozzle in the hole and thread it in until it is snug. Then back it off till it points in the desired direction, via the mark you put on it earlier. Like I said, mine points into the air stream. You should probably use Teflon tape to help seal it, since it won't be real tight. It doesn't have to be that tight though. Now you have the nozzle mounted, the up pipe on, the pump installed and wired...right <GRIN>.
Next is plumbing the pump to the nozzle. First you need to place one of your jets in your nozzle. It only fits one way....You can't screw it up.... The fittings then hold the jet into the nozzle. Your on your own from here. I have a front mount which leaves me a lot of room for plumbing. Keep tube routing in mind while your mounting your pump and nozzle. You'll need to either order the parts you need from NOS (or another nitrous supplier) or do what I did, and find a local hydraulic specialist. The can generally make any kind of hose and fitting you need. It's probably cheaper to go to NOS though. A worm drive clamp works great for holding the hose on to the pump. Keep in mind you'll be using high pressure. No vacuum lines-:)
That is about everything. If you have any specific questions let me know. I have had quite some fun with this setup. I run 9.5:1 and have experienced a 6 psi increase in boost with no knock. I have found that the thrasher chip did not work as well as a good conventional after market chip. I use a 50/50 rubbing alky and water mix. Its cheap and I think that is the best mixture. That's my experience anyway. I hope that a good start anyway. It's really pretty simple. Good luck. Like I said let me know of any questions or clarification you may need..