So i have been doing a lot of research on fuel and i found something that relates to a similar conversation here recently. So several articles online i found state that ethanol (and methanol), since they are alcohols, will vaporize when injected and end up cooling intake temps. I have heard people here i think discuss it helps cool the cylinder temps and that makes sense as it's injected there and turns to vapor. But how does what goes on in the engine block affect my air intake, which ultimately makes its way to the turbo?
Two separate articles mention not even needing an IC due to the cooling effect of ethanol. Now they may be talking about full on e85 but the question is still the same. Is it a matter of a cooler engine bay means there's less heat to affect the intake pipeline? If you want to read a couple of the articles they are HERE and HERE. Im not really questioning things one way or another, im just curious if it's true, how it works.
For reference, the first link i posted says the following about inlet temps and ethanol/methanol causing cooling.
"Evaporative Cooling: Gasoline atomizes when sprayed into an engine while ethanol vaporizes. Liquids absorb tremendous amount of heat when they vaporize. For ethanol, it’s 387 BTU/lb. This latent heat of vaporization from one pound of ethanol is therefore equal to the energy required to cool a gallon of water by 46.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Brrr!
Because gasoline does not vaporize, intercoolers are used in most boosted applications as a means of reducing air inlet temperature following its compression. These intercoolers can be air to air, or liquid to air. In either case, they take up space, add weight, complexity and cost while typically reducing the effectiveness of the engine cooling system. E85 does such a good job knocking down inlet air temps that no intercooler is needed."
So again, how does the cooling effect within the cylinders affect the intake of a car when they are not directly connected?
Two separate articles mention not even needing an IC due to the cooling effect of ethanol. Now they may be talking about full on e85 but the question is still the same. Is it a matter of a cooler engine bay means there's less heat to affect the intake pipeline? If you want to read a couple of the articles they are HERE and HERE. Im not really questioning things one way or another, im just curious if it's true, how it works.
For reference, the first link i posted says the following about inlet temps and ethanol/methanol causing cooling.
"Evaporative Cooling: Gasoline atomizes when sprayed into an engine while ethanol vaporizes. Liquids absorb tremendous amount of heat when they vaporize. For ethanol, it’s 387 BTU/lb. This latent heat of vaporization from one pound of ethanol is therefore equal to the energy required to cool a gallon of water by 46.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Brrr!
Because gasoline does not vaporize, intercoolers are used in most boosted applications as a means of reducing air inlet temperature following its compression. These intercoolers can be air to air, or liquid to air. In either case, they take up space, add weight, complexity and cost while typically reducing the effectiveness of the engine cooling system. E85 does such a good job knocking down inlet air temps that no intercooler is needed."
So again, how does the cooling effect within the cylinders affect the intake of a car when they are not directly connected?