i have a 2000 7.3 and i am looking foe anyone who could tell me if propane, nitrous, or methanol would be the best.
has anyone here tried these or do you know someone who has had good luck or bad luck?
thanks

 

When you start adding other fuels to your engine, it becomes a very sensitive matter. Too much propane or too much timing on chip and BOOM. Methanol is VERY bad at taking headgaskets out most people use less than 50% mix with water. Nitrous is basically turbo in a bottle, if you have lots of black smoke then n20 will gain you a few ponies. Honestly upgrading turbo or injectors is about the safest thing to do.

 

In the last week I installed a nitrous system on my 96 stroke. I'm running a 100 shot on top of a Jody Tipton chip. I love the power increase for "chasing bad guys" at the stop lights and down the highway. I opted for this because I already had the system sitting on the shelf. All I had to do was buy a dry nozzle and a braided feed line because mine was junk. I didn't want to go with propane because I didn't want the big tank. But there are lots of guys running it with great success. I saw lots of guys running the meth set up this weekend at a dyno day, and they all loved the methanol. So it's really a personal preference. Nitrous and Methanol are kinda used in short bursts and propane can be used all the time. So you have to ask yourself what you want it for. I've only had the nitrous on for a week and I've already filled the bottle twice. And as it stands right now, I'm still kinda leary of it. Hope that helps.

 

Like luke said, a turbo or injectors would be the safest way to go. But, of the three, the water/meth would be my choice. I know it at least offers some EGT reduction.

 

are they costly and do you guys think that propane or water/meth is still a bad idea

 

New injectors are expensive, not much of a way around that. A turbo upgrade will probably be cheaper than injectors. I've heard quite a few horror stories about the water/meth being the cause of blown headgaskets and shattered rods. But, there are plenty of cases where it's been run very successfully with no problems either. That's a choice you'll have to make as to whether you want to run the risk or not.

All of this being said, I'm assuming you have the supporting modifications before you go throwing injectors or a turbo. Gauges, intake, exhaust, etc...???? Fill in your signature so we know what you have and what you've done to it.

 

I don't know anything about meth but i have heard that nitrous is pretty good if you don't over do it. I went with propane for the reason that it is a very good gain for the money (100+hp), is reletively safe depending on the kit you buy and it lasts quite a while if used moderately. I have two pankake BBQ tanks in my toolbox that will last a month if used moderately. I chose to use the propane continuosly on a trip from abilene tx to san antonio tx and i got all the way down there drove around a couple days and made it halfway back before the two small tanks were empty. I have had no problems with the propane, but of course, I do not abuse my truck either. I only use it in the trannies final gear and if i'm in the pedal i turn it off when i've passed the dodge that I aimed for. Be aware of what programmer you may use with the propane. If the chip/tuner you use has an agressive timing advance you may have to have a custom tune made for use with the propane so that it doen't begin premature ignition. My diablo predator works pretty well with the propane at 85hp setting or below. The 100 setting on the tuner is too much. If you go with the propane, just make sure you get a kit with the safeguards for flow, meaning you don't want a full burst of propane when you have only 3-4 lbs of boost. My kit is regulated from the MAP line to increase the flow of propane in proportion to the amount of boost being produced. More boost = more propane for a smooth but powerful acceleration. Do your homework and have fun with whatever you choose. Pics are in my gallery if you want to see how mine is done.

 

some use propane continuously to run their engine, but start it up and shut it down on diesel. they say it is cheaper, gets better mileage. factor in the cost of the pane and the bottle, and the $650 some for the install kit, and you have to run ALOT of propane to equal the initial cost.

nitrous is only for hot rodding. adding oxygen, it adds power, but does nothing to EGT reduction. it may infact raise EGT. a safer and better way to add o2 and less smoke, is a bigger intercooler. or a nitrous spray on the intercooler. cold air is more dense= more o2= more power.

water/methanol is used mostly for EGt reduction, as the mixture is a steam by the time it enters the cylinders. it can lower EGT's 200-300*F, which is useful on those long pulls up a steep pass with a trailer. most people with water/meth use windshield washer fluid, which is about 80% h2o and 20% methanol.

if you don't have high EGT problems, i would go with an upgraded turbo and/or stage 1/2 injectors.

 

wait a minute: propane has 7 to 10 PERCENT less energy than GASolene, and GAS has about 2/3 the energy of diesel #2 (BTU per gallon), so how can people be getting better mileage on propane????? there are only 2 known reasons to run propane ( 3 in CA) 1: cost 2: really high octane values 3: (in CA) no real pollutants because there aint any sulfur in it.

 

sorry, i might have mislead you with the wording. the propane isn't used instead of diesel, it is just added with the diesel to aid in complete combustion. it adds BTUs to the mixture, creating a hotter, more efficient burn.

 

They're not running strictly on propane. It's propane injection that's a suppliment to the diesel fuel, not the primary source of fuel.

 

the best way to explain it is that your engine burns approximately 80-85% of the fuel that is supplied to the engine, even less if you are using a chip/tuner under load. The propane acts as a catalyst to cause what could be called a secondary combustion which consumes itself and the majority of the unburned diesel.... ultimately utilizing a higher percentage of the fuel you have already supplied to the cylinder and of course the propane itself has a btu value. The power increase you get is nothing more than burning more fuel than you normally would have without the propane. The propane itself doens'nt yeild much power.. I believe methenol works based on the same principle with a cooling effect being a bonus. Personally I have had no EGT issues with just propane and a tuner...

 

I think that everyone is missing something here, or maybe I am. We have a new user here with no mention of mods to the truck. If you just want to add power to your Stroke, then exhaust, gauges, 6277 filter and a Jody tipton chip is the way to go.

The chip will add the extra fuel instead of propane.
The gagues keeps an eye on vitals.
The exhaust and the filter lower EGT's and increase power.

From what everyone here says the 80hp econo tune is a sweet tune from Jody (dptuners.com).

For what it is worth, that is my advice. I thought propane was the coolest thing on the market, but the more I learned, the less I liked it.

 

Looking at his profile...he has all the needs, chip, exhaust, etc. He is looking for more power and despite what you have heard ...the truth is that propane is still the safest of all three. Ask anyone who actually uses it. for real information and you will be hard pressed to find one who doesn't think it's the coolest thing around.

 

i agree with the above statement, I have the powershot kit and love it. Hllon4whls, i think you kinda are missing something because propane as a fuel is not the power adder..... it simply helps to completely burn the remaining fuel otherwise not burned during combustion, resulting in more power. It can be used in conjunction with a chip/tuner. i kinda explained it in detail in my previous post..