I want to run Nitrous Oxide (N2O) in my car. What do I need to know?

blkthndr

former sccoa webmaster
Nitrous is VERY effective on any car, and especially so on the SC/XR7.
Forced induction cars benefit from N2O injection especially since it also cools
down the superheated air resulting in increased boost pressure. It is first useful
to understand how Nitrous Oxide works though.

The Nitrous Oxide is composed of two nitrogen molecules and one oxygen
molecule. When N2O is injected in the intake manifold it changes from a liquid
state to a gas state thus reducing the temperature by –127 F. This makes the
air in the manifold much denser. During the compression stroke, when the
temperature reaches 595 F, the N2O breaks up into nitrogen and oxygen. The
nitrogen cushions the combustion so it won't be too violent and the oxygen does
what it's supposed to do which is burn more fuel. If you were to inject pure
oxygen into your motor your head would be sitting where MIR was? The key
is to feed the motor enough fuel to keep from going into a lean condition, which
is where problems occur.
There are two types of systems available. One is called a “Dry” system. This
works by injecting pure N20 into the combustion chambers. You are required
to use an adjustable fuel pressure regulator to increase fuel pressure before
hitting the button. Since your car is already running rich, once you inject the
N20 you will have enough added fuel to compensate for the added oxygen.
The other type of system is called a “Wet” system. This type does not require
an upgraded fuel system or any messing with the fuel pressure. It works by
injecting a mixture of N20 and fuel simultaneously into the combustion
chamber.

Both systems allow you to increase the amounts of gained HP by changing jet
sizes. Typically smaller 50-75 HP jets are recommended considering the high
amount of stress the motor is already under though. Both systems have
advantages and disadvantages, but have both been used on the supercharged
3.8 liter motor with success. For more details, we would like to defer to a very
comprehensive article written in the <a href = "http://www.sccoa.com/charginthunder/march2000.php">March 2000 Chargin’ Thunder.</a>
This article answers in-depth the “How”, “Why”, “What”, and “Where”
questions regarding NOS usage.
 
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