A lot of what we consider “leading edge” engine technology has been around for a long time – turbochargers, superchargers, direct injection, and even adding a water/methanol mix to intake air to improve performance have been employed in one way or another for more than half a century. What’s really new and remarkable is how advanced electronics have made these technologies greater than the sum of their parts, and one company taking full advantage of that synergy is Snow Performance, a leading name in water/methanol injection systems.

Ford’s new EcoBoost platform is a perfect example. When coupled with Snow’s new Boost Cooler system, intake temperatures drop, which causes the highly-adaptive engine management system to add more timing, increasing power and fuel efficiency without harming engine durability. Because the system is introducing water/methanol ahead of the intake temperature sensor, no tuning is necessary – the engine is always operating within the parameters set by the factory programming, and even if the system runs out of fluid or is deactivated, no harm is done because the engine is never “off the map” for timing or air/fuel ratio.

Snow offers accessories like the newly-introduced Boost Juice concentrate, which can be added to plain water, and their molded high capacity reservoirs for extended use of a water/methanol system without refilling.

Of course, Snow is about more than just factory turbos. When we visited with founder Matt Snow at this year’s SEMA show, he pointed out just a few of the many application-specific Boost Cooler kits that are available for cars like late model Mustangs, Camaros, and Challengers, and mentioned that for 2013, the company was going to improve these kits even further with factory style “plug and play” harnesses to make the already easy installation process even quicker.

Diesel owners will also benefit from Snow’s MPG-Max systems for both trucks and recreational vehicles. It may sound like something for nothing, but using just plain water (even taken from the domestic water supply tank in an RV for truly endless duration) the system can reduce exhaust gas temperatures, improve power and torque, reduce fuel consumption, and won’t leave telltale traces behind in the ECU, should warranty work be necessary.