There has been a certain stigma about water meth injections and towing. People have said that it is harmful to the motor and can cause problems. We sat down with Matt Snow from Snow Performance to debunk the myth.

Matt told us that the injection is far from harmful. He said, “High exhaust gas temps (EGT’s) are bad. Prolonged high EGT’s are known to cause a myriad of problems ranging from cracked exhaust manifolds and turbo failures, all the way to cracked piston ring lands and dropped exhaust valve seats.”

The chart shows the temperature difference with the tune only (green), water injection (blue), and water methanol injection (red) over the course of so many miles.

Snow Performance recently did some test on EGT temperatures with a water methanol injection while towing. Matt explained the test results to us, “Test results demonstrated the effectiveness of water and water-methanol injection in controlling combustion temperatures when towing a heavy load along with over-fueling. Peak EGT’s were reduced by 285 degrees F (1537 degrees F to 1252 degrees F) injecting 50/50 percent water-methanol. Peak EGT’s were reduced by 160 degrees F (1537 degrees F to1377 degrees F) injecting water only.”

Matt finished up by telling us, “Water methanol injections reduced EGT temperatures better then just water. Test results show that even with an “extreme” 190 hp tune, safe EGT’s can be maintained by using water or water-methanol injection.”

The numbers are all great, but when should a diesel owner look at this type of modification. Matt said, “Even if the truck is stock and sees towing duty with a heavy trailer a water methanol injection should be looked at. Prolonged EGT’s over 1250 degrees F can have a significantly negative effect on the life a diesel. Of course, with the addition of a tuner or larger injectors, this effect is magnified. Water-methanol injection has proven to be the best ‘bang for the buck’ in lowering EGT’s to safe levels while towing.”

When making a decision about any modification that is going on your truck it is apparent that you look at all the facts, and are educated to make the best decision. Are you running a water methanol injection on your truck? Tell us in the comments below!