It was used in wartime to boost the engines in aircraft and later became a big hit in drag racing in the Pro Mod class. Not a flammable gas in itself it is injected into the intake manifold where it mixes with air & fuel. The main benefit of Nitrous comes as it burns and becomes an oxidiser releasing more oxygen into the engine. An interesting side benefit of using Nitrous is the cooling effect it has. It rapidly changes from a liquid to a gas and produces a cooling effect (when you get out of the bath the water starts to evaporate or turn into a gas vapour and takes the heat from your body) this cooling effect reduces the temperature of the air taken in by 60 degrees F. Colder air carries more oxygen which is flammable.
WET (The fuel and Nitrous are mixed and introduced together to the primary part of the intake. This system produces slightly more power than dry but cannot be applied to an engine with a dry intake typically most fuel injected engines.)
DRY (The extra fuel required to maintain the burn balance from Lean to Rich is delivered by the injectors of the car. The primary part of the intake is kept dry of fuel.)
FOGGER (Named after the Fogger Nozzle mixes the fuel and Nitrous mixture and sprays it directly into the cylinder. Each cylinder can be set up separately and additional foggers can be added creating a dual stage kit. Foggers generally produce the most significant power gains.)
A bottle warmer can assist with maintaining bottle pressure and delivering smooth power. To get an idea how much Nitrous remains in your bottle you need to weigh it – as the pressure gauge just indicates the pressure in the bottle and this can vary depending on temperature.
It is fairly easy to fit Nitrous to a vehicle within 4 to 6 hours although most insurance companies will not provide cover for road use. (As with all modifications your insurers must be notified.) A 10 lb bottle of Nitrous is good for about 3 minutes of boost (7-10 ¼ miles runs) but shouldn’t really be operated for more than 10-15 seconds at a time if you don’t want to blow up your engine.
Nitrous can also be applied to diesel engines a 130ps Golf TDI got almost double the power - but boy racers don’t buy diesels – well not until recently. Medical grade NoS does not have a smell added like automotive grade Nitrous (incidentally the smell added to car grade Nitrous is Hydrogen Sulfide, a very nasty additive that will cause permanent damage to lung tissues and nerve endings if deliberately inhaled for recreation!) So you can use medical grade Nitrous in a car but not vice versa!!!
When to press the Nitrous boost button –
At or over 2500 RPM with the throttle fully depressed – you can buy a progressive boost system which matches the Nitrous shot to the throttle position and regulates the flow. You will receive an enormous increase of torque and this can result in a loss of traction – so be careful at speed as a loss of traction usually equals an impressive spin and crash.
Pressing the Nitrous button and then starting the engine can cause catestrophic engine damage. If the buttin is accidentally pressed - disengage the coil and turn the engine over a few times to clear the cylinders.
