Nitrous Oxide, How nitrous works Options

[darksecret]

Nitrous Oxide is sort of a black art of power adders, most people know nothing more than the horror stories of it. This is a breakdown of how nitrous works and for those of us that can't afford a swap or boost a list of the best nitrous companies out there.

Nitrous works by causing a chemical reaction due to combustion, it consist of 2 parts nitrougen 1 part oxygen. The way nitrous benefits performance is unlike regular air which is only 24%-26% oxygen based on the temperature where nitrous is around 36% oxygen also based on the temperature (i.e. one reason for using a bottle blanket). I will start with the problem behind nitrous oxide and state some of the myths.

First off nitrous is not permanent, an engine uses much more oxygen than gasoline so you only get enough in a 10lbs. bottle for a few minutes.

Second if not used correctly nitrous will destroy your engine almost beyond or beyond repair, it only needs about 570 degrees F or 300 C to cause the reaction.

Third since nitrous has more oxygen per molecule it is a lot easier to go lean.

Some of the myths are:

Nitrous is not flamable, but when around an open flame the reaction will occur and can make the flame more intense. If you stick a lighter or match to an open nitrous bottle, it will blow the flame out before reacting.

Nitrous oxide is not illegal anywhere, as long as it's certified and not some kit you built out of an old pesticide bottle and valve stem core.

Also don't base what you know of nitrous from "The Road Warrior", "The Fast and the Furious", and "Knight Rider"

You can't inhale this stuff to get high (you know who you are). This isn't medical grade N2O it's for burning and can easily kill you.

Nitorus is not cheating, most people consider it cheating since it's easy to install and cheap compared to other power adders, but to run nitrous corectly it takes a tuner to set a system up correctly, anyone can run a 150 shot on a Geo Metro, but it wont last very long.

Alright to some better stuff, there are different types of kits avilable most are universal some aren't. The most basic nitrous kit is a dry system, it basically inserts nitrous oxide into the intake system. The only real advantage of a dry system is cost, they usually run about $400-$500, they are also the most dangerous since it is harder to meter the amount truely entering the combustion chamber and they are normally not electronic so the only way to control the nitrous is by throttle or a button.

The second is a wet kit, this works like the dry except it has a second nozzle to spray additional fuel with the nitrous to make sure detonation wont be as much of a worry. It is still possible that a wet kit might not get a good mixture and cause detonation, but it's unlikely.

Now there is direct port systems which tend to be application specific, but since the Celica is MPFI it's easier to find a universal kit and custom kits are availible. Direct port as the name says sprays nitrous into the intake at the same location as the fuel injectors giving you a more consistent mixture since there is less travel and less of a chance to accumulate in the intake manifold.

The main purpose behind running a good nitrous system is just like tuning any good engine, set up your air to fuel ratio, run good clean parts, and don't abuse it, you'll gain good consistancy and long life from a decent system.

Here are some of the systems availible for the Celica:


NOS

This is the Holley/NOS Sportsman Fogger system, it is a direct port system that is manually regulated through a throttle position sensor or switch. This kit requires your manifold to be sent in for plumbing. This is for 75hp minimum.
Part # 05030-xxFINOS xx=bottle size


This is the NOSzle system, it is a universal direct port kit that doesn't require modification, gains are from 50-125hp.
Part # 08004NOS


There are NOS Wet/Dry systems availible, they are from 40hp to 60hp.
Part # 05123NOS...Celica GT
Part # 05122NOS...Celica ST

Venom

The VCN-2000 is one of the best direct port systems on the market, it allows complete control of your nitrous since it's completely computerized. The VCN-2000 gets 10-175hp levels depending on your current fuel system.
Part # VCN40-147...94 Celica GT
Part # VCN40-137...95-98 Celica GT
Part # VCN40-145...94 Celica ST
Part # VCN40-138...95-97 Celica ST

Nitrous Express

This is the NX Hitman system, it's a wet system that is good for 50-75hp.
Part # 20001...universal


This is the Custom EFI it's a wet system that is good for 35-50-75hp.
Part # 20915...universal

These are the top three manufacturers, there is also Zex, Nitrous Works, Compucar, Edelbrock, etc. Feel free to ask any questions or make suggestions, if you want to flame nitrous make another thread for it, this is to be informative, not to say nitrous is better than a turbo or supercharger.

Alright now that i've had my lunch break in time for chapter 2, lol.

Now that some of you have an idea of how nitrous works and some of the kits availible, here comes the down side, reinforcing that extra power. It is alright to run nitrous on a stock engine, if it's tuned right and you don't over do it on the shot size. (shot=horsepower) A standeard 7AFE should only be able to handle between 50-75 shot on fresh internals, a 5SFE should be able to handle a little more, closer to a 100 shot on fresh internals. (Those of you with nitrous might run more or less, i'm basing this of the stock fuel system and new internals) A very good idea if you plan on running N2O as your primary power adder is to rebuild the motor, and add new forged piston and rods plus get the metal head gasket. One of the best parts about nitrous is that if you go all out and get a direct port system a cold air intake or fuel upgrades really aren't required since nitrous is sprayed directly through the fuel injection port and most systems already come with the ability to add extra fuel plus no need to worry about extra oiling, but every little bit counts.
I would definitly recommend using forged parts for nitrous use, and I would shy away from aluminum. Now before someone flames me on aluminum, yes it works and since it lowers rotating mass it would seem to work fine, but also consider that nitrous generates a lot of heat compared to boosting and aluminum has a better chance of melting. Another good choice especially if you decide to use aluminum is a heat coating, it's cheap insurance and has been proven to work over and over again.
If you want to cut back on the amount of nitrous you use to reach a desired horsepower you could also increase the compression of the combustion chamber, of course the higher the compression the higher the octane fuel, that is where tuning comes in. The better you tune an engine the more power you can extract from the smallest amount of fuel and air/nitrous and that means you can keep your compression low and keep fuel consumption low. A good source to go to for a really good bottom end is

Crower Part # 96205 page 165-180 of their online catalog at www.crower.com,

they will make a complete custom forged bottom end with bearings based on the specs of the motor and your suggestions, it is expensive, but this is for big power options.
My favorite part about nitrous is that you do not have to lower the compression of the engine since it technically falls under the N/A catagory, you are simply adding more air and fuel the same way you would by enlarging the throttle body and intake manifold, unlike boost where you force extra air into a combustion chamber. Another benefit from nitrous is that you can reuse it if it's a universal kit, so if you decide to go for a motor swap and you have that extra kit sitting there, there is no need to sell it. On my next "chapter" I will explain some tips to run nitrous and not blow your motor up, it's actually not worth more than a paragraph, but i'll give some horror stories also.

Chapter 3, lol Successfully using nitrous

Let's say you went out and got a nice little kit, based mostly on which you get each type of kit works differently. Let's start with a dry kit since it's the most dangerous to a motor. Dry kits are simple in nature, you bolt in the bottle hook up a solenoid and hook up the line to a spot in the intake, couple of hours later bam you have instant 100hp. Unfortunatly you're not exactly finished, remeber most of us have Camry or Corolla motors, when it comes to a dry kit since there is no source for extra fuel you must rely on your good old stock fuel system. First off for that new nitrous kit you should have gotten a set of instructions for tuning your kit, second common sense would tell you that those motors would have a hard time with that much extra power hitting at one time. Ok the first danger is jetting wrong, if you jet too high you'll over work an engine in a heartbeat and if your stock fuel system can't keep up you'll go lean. Check the duty cycle of your stock fuel system, most factory systems are set around 75% duty cycle. The stock injectors of a 5S wont have as much of a hard time than the 7A since the flow is greater, but when running a dry kit I would recommend upgrading the injectors on both. A good tip is learn to plug tune, don't look at one plug check them all, one cylinder might be getting more nitrous than another, a tip for plug tuning is if your running to lean the ground strap might be a bluish color. When getting a dry kit tuned I would highly recommend professionals, though. Also remember when you're tuning nitrous it's a good idea to tune it just like a Stand Alone ECU, after adding a new part get it re-tuned, some factors you should cosider is what fuel will you run, what mods do you currently have, how much power do you want. Dry kits are set up for stock vehicles so follow the instructions if your car is still stock and you wont have problems. Now of course you wont have the fuel problems with a wet kit since it injects extra fuel into the intake, but do consider that needs to mix and if you have a dirty or damaged intake path you'll stand a chance of fuel puddle or nitrous collecting on heavy carbon deposits. I would recommend at least cleaning your intake system, including your head, just for some free or cheap insurance. Now a direct port comes in two flavors, programmable and non programmable. Spark plug tuning is still a good idea but with direct port you stand a better chance of getting the same results per cylinder. A non programmable system still requires hands on tuning and probably a pro, the programmable system (VCN-2000) is done via a PDA that comes with the kit, so you enter all your requirements there and bam (I like Emeril) nitrous, I would still follow the other precautions, but the kit comes with fail safes to shut the nitrous off if it senses a lean condition.

Now on to some horror stories, I have one of my own and if you do to feel free to share it. I was at Pageland drag strip and at that time my uncle had a '68 Chevelle in which we had went from a 350 to 383 and at the time it had a 400 small block, well Pageland is pretty much the only drag strip that's less than an hour away and the only rule they have is you must have a helmet, well my uncle got into to anarguement with a guy that had a Ford Falcon, and what I hadn't realized at the time he was drunk. Well he registered to race and decided he was going to up the shot, we ran a NOS Pro Fogger system at 200hp (for those of you that don't know 400 small blocks had thin water jackets so they weren't the best choice for high horsepower, but they were torque monsters), well he was determined to beat this guy so he went to the car and rejtted the system to 400hp (the Pro Fogger tops at around 550hp) well needless to say he got on the track and made it to the 60' mark before the motor took a dump on the track, I think the 400 is still sitting behind the garage, blown motors make good birds nest, lol.

This post has been edited by darksecret: May 12, 2005 - 8:33 AM

[FAQdaWorld]

Someone's shooting for a sticky . Nice that may help out some n00b's

[94ST2]

How much hp does the Venom VCN-2000 allow? Also do you have the contact or website for getting Crower to build the bottom end? Even though you can use a higher compression piston I thought you can get more hp out of lower compression when using nitrous.

[CheesyLobster]

1 vote for sticky here

[CheesyLobster]

double post, sry.

This post has been edited by CheesyLobster: May 11, 2005 - 1:47 AM

[playr158]

"Nitrous oxide is not illegal anywhere, as long as it's certified and not some kit you built out of an old pesticide bottle and valve stem core."

that is untrue....try getting away with that in VA

if you get caught in VA with a hooked up N2O system in your car
you will 1) get a ticket or 2) go to jail

take your pick but it is illegal in sum states

[Drocay]

yup i've yet to see car around here that has the n2o hooked up, i've seen a couple with them hooked up to purge valves but thats it.

[darksecret]

As far as the legality of nitrous oxide, it is only considered illegal to sale it in some states due to inhalant use, under federal law it is not illegal. Oregon state law chapter 229 section1 states that nitrous oxide is illegal if kept for inhalation. Some states do require certification of it, explaining why you need a certified kit from a major manufacturer. Also that Oregon went out of date in 1997. Australian law as of July 1, 2004 makes it illegal if you're under 18. There are no current Canadian laws against it. The safest way is to check with a lawyer, but these statements I would have faith in, you guys know I don't BS when it comes to facts.

This post has been edited by darksecret: May 11, 2005 - 11:04 AM

[nightrider]

I have upgraded my air filter and exhaust system, de cat and re mapped the chip. Extra HP is about 25 giving me about 200bhp. I have upgraded my rotors to Black Diamond grooved and drilled and my brakes are operating at 91%. I still can barley stop at high speed with this set up!! Adding NOS will render my brakes useless without bigger rotors? I have not found any big brake kits that fit on the car?

[darksecret]

I've heard the GT-Four and the 7th Gen big brakes work, I haven't researched it enough though. As far as nitrous making your brakes, useless, it sounds like they already are now at high speed. Nitrous of course like any power adder will get you up there quick, but it really helps at those times when you need the acceleration (i.e. Mr. E when he messes up a take off).

This post has been edited by darksecret: May 11, 2005 - 9:07 AM

[playr158]

As far as the legaliting of nitrous oxide, it is only considered illegal to sale it in some states due to inhalant use, under federal law it is not illegal. Oregon state law chapter 229 section1 states that nitrous oxide is illegal if kept for inhalation. Some states do require certification of it, explaining why you need a certified kit from a major manufacturer. Also that Oregon went out of date in 1997. Australian law as of July 1, 2004 makes it illegal if you're under 18. There are no current Canadian laws against it. The safest way is to check with a lawyer, but these statements I would have faith in, you guys know I don't BS when it comes to facts.
[right][snapback]285487[/snapback][/right]

yes but that is not VIRGINIA LAW
its not other states

Nitrous is also a STATE by STATE law
you can't just go around and say that its legal
you'll just get sum poor kid introuble
"this might not be legal in your state check local laws prior to purchase/installation/use"
is what you should be saying

[prpnum1]

agreed

[darksecret]

I can't find a law anywhere against it in the US for automotive use, other than that out of date Oregon law (state or federal). There are regulations in Virginia that are for medical grade nitrous though. Pull the statute that states nitrous is illegal for automotive use or get a written statement from your local judicial center to show the officer if he doesn't believe you, there are some cops here that swear that nitrous is illegal in any state but that's not true. If you can go to a grocery store and find a can of whipped cream there is one law broken, point is it's too hard to regulate automotive nitrous, if they claim it's functional unhook the switch now it is a legitimate non working nitrous system, there are to many loop holes and red tape to make it illegal. Now a non certified system is illegal in most states due to safety reasons.

This post has been edited by darksecret: May 11, 2005 - 11:15 AM

[easternpiro1]

yup i've yet to see car around here that has the n2o hooked up, i've seen a couple with them hooked up to purge valves but thats it.
[right][snapback]285478[/snapback][/right]

As far as the legaliting of nitrous oxide, it is only considered illegal to sale it in some states due to inhalant use, under federal law it is not illegal. Oregon state law chapter 229 section1 states that nitrous oxide is illegal if kept for inhalation. Some states do require certification of it, explaining why you need a certified kit from a major manufacturer. Also that Oregon went out of date in 1997. Australian law as of July 1, 2004 makes it illegal if you're under 18. There are no current Canadian laws against it. The safest way is to check with a lawyer, but these statements I would have faith in, you guys know I don't BS when it comes to facts.
[right][snapback]285487[/snapback][/right]

yes but that is not VIRGINIA LAW
its not other states

Nitrous is also a STATE by STATE law
you can't just go around and say that its legal
you'll just get sum poor kid introuble
"this might not be legal in your state check local laws prior to purchase/installation/use"
is what you should be saying
[right][snapback]285510[/snapback][/right]

EVERY DAMN THING IS ILLEGAL IN VA!! its a commonweath and that means they can make whatever law whenever they want. boy im glad i dont live there...with their gay arse prince william baby blue patrol cars...damn cops...
its all good though!!
hey secret was "mr. E referring to me?

[playr158]

hahahahaha gotta love those gay po po cars!

but we got away

[darksecret]

No Mr. E with the GT-Four that says it takes him forever to get up to speed when he messes up a launch.

[94ST2]

Hey do you have the information for the crower bottom end?

[darksecret]

Just call crower, and go to the crower website, download the PDF catalog 165-180. I put the part number up, the phone number is on the website. Also if you go for this expect about a 4-6 month wait. I edited it in, i'll use a pic when I find a non PDF one.

[94ST2]

Alright thanks.

[soltrain]

I've heard the GT-Four and the 7th Gen big brakes work, I haven't researched it enough though.

I'm almost sure the 7th gen brakes and 7th gen big brakes ($$$) will work, saw a couple threads here about it.
I'm also almost sure the GT-four brakes won't work. Doesn't fit correctly if I remember right.