It’s a process as old as the automobile. In the never-ending quest for more power, we upgrade and modify an engine and the need arises to upgrade other parts to withstand and support the increased power. One area in particular is vital for any high-horsepower combination, and that is the fuel system. Luckily, Deatschwerks (DW) has the fuel system components to handle the demands of anything from stock engines to force-induction combinations making 2,000-plus horsepower.
Recently, our friends at KPE Racing needed an upgrade for the fuel system that supplies their engine dyno when testing EFI engines. Due to the variety of engine combinations that KPE Racing builds, the new fuel system needed to accommodate the relatively small fuel needs of 500 horsepower naturally aspirated engines up to the much larger needs of 2,000-horsepower forced-induction EFI engines. Additionally, with the ever-increasing popularity of fuels other than gasoline, the new fuel system would need to be compatible with E85 and Methanol.
You can use the fuel pump calculator from Deatschwerks to find out the volume of fuel your pump(s) will need to flow to support your horsepower goals.
When sizing fuel pumps, you will need to know what fuel will be used because each fuel has a different stoichiometric value. The stoichiometric value is the ideal air-to-fuel ratio to support complete combustion. For example, gasoline’s stoichiometric value is 14.7:1, while E85 has a value of 9.8:1. This means it takes more E85 to achieve the same air-to-fuel ratio as gasoline. When using Methanol, a fuel system must be capable of supplying even more fuel than is required with E85 as Methanol’s stoichiometric value is approximately 6.5:1. Knowing that the engines tested on KPE Racing’s dyno can vary from mostly-stock naturally aspirated combinations on gasoline to high horsepower forced-induction combinations running on Methanol, building a single fuel system to serve anything that may be attached to the dyno was going to require some forethought and the expertise of the team at Deatschwerks.
Because the engine dyno at KPE Racing sees a variety of engine combinations, they chose to use three DW810 fuel pumps that can be run individually or in combination to supply fuel as needed.
To fulfill the needs of KPE Racing, Deatschwerks’ newest brushless fuel pump was chosen for its controllability and large volume capabilities. The DW810 is a compact brushless design that flows up to 810 liters-per-hour (LPH) at 40psi fuel pressure and 680LPH at 80psi (at 13.5 volts). This fuel pump is also compatible with Methanol and E100. The brushless motor makes the DW810 more reliable, quiet, and efficient. Brushless technology does away with the brushes and commutator found in other fuel pumps. This reduces friction and heat within the pump, improving durability.
Installing the triple DW810 fuel pump setup required minor modification to the fuel cell.
The Deatschwerks Brushless Controller allows dual-speed control of any DW brushless fuel pump. For KPE Racing’s engine dyno application, three DW810 brushless fuel pumps were installed along with three DW Brushless Controllers. The pumps are wired to switches that allow the dyno operator to command one, two, or three pumps to run at either half-speed or full-speed. This setup can supply a stock engine with plenty of gasoline utilizing one DW810 running at half-speed, or it can feed enough Methanol to a boosted engine combination to make 2,000 crank-horsepower with all three DW810s running at full speed.
The three DW Brushless Controllers allow the dyno operator to command as much or as little fuel as needed based on the engine combination.
With the new fuel system installed the team at KPE Racing wasted no time in putting it to work with a Magnuson TVS2650 supercharged LS engine. This fuel system will see plenty of action and shouldn’t skip a beat regardless of the powerplant it’s supplying. If you are in need of a fuel system upgrade or replacement, visit Deatschwerks’ site to use their fuel pump and fuel injector calculators to size your system for your application, or contact them and get expert recommendations to build a fuel system capable of your horsepower goals.
