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Nitrous Oxide is an accelerant. It produces horsepower through accelerating the combustion process and allows more fuel to be efficiently burned in the cylinders during its introduction. To better explain how this works is through example. If a ring of lighter fluid was poured onto the ground and lit, it would burn with a cool flame of about 450 degrees. Imagine taking a bottle of liquid oxygen, which in itself is not flammable, and sprayed the flame with this oxygen. The flame would explode in a flame with temperatures approaching 1800 degrees Fahrenheit as long as the fuel lasts.
Another example is an oxygen acetylene torch. When the gas is turned on and the torch is lit, the flame is much the same as a kerosene lamp. Once the oxygen is turned on and introduced to the flame it turns violent. The kerosene lamp just turned into a steel melting 2200-degree flame. -
Nitrous oxide is the most popular method of increasing horsepower because of the instant boost in power and its low cost versus expensive engine modifications to gain the same result. As long as the installer and operator are fully counseled on the use of nitrous oxide it can be used until the cows come home without any effect on the engine.
The improper use of nitrous however can melt pistons, at the very least, faster than a blink of an eye where they turn to liquid and go right out the exhaust valve. It can also send the engine into orbit when the desire to increase the nitrous to higher levels exceeds the structural integrity of the engine. A taste of nitrous power unfortunately becomes an obsession for those handicapped by lack of mechanical aptitude. -
Nitrous comes in increment from 25 horsepower to 800 plus. This is professional advice learned through the school of hard knocks from a pro mod racer for 45 years. If the longevity of the car is a primary concern where it would be desirable to use nitrous with no adverse effect at all on the engine, this is the way its done and the only way. A 75 horsepower shot of nitrous is safe for any car from a Volkswagen to an Audi.
When higher shots of nitrous are preferred, the engine must have forged aluminum pistons to handle the increase in temperatures and pressures. As the power level increases the pressure increases dramatically in the cylinders. A pro mod race car running 300 plus horsepower of nitrous has 5 to 7,000 dollars in stronger parts to withstand these pressures and these parts do nothing to increase horsepower without the nitrous. -
The secret to getting 200,000 miles plus out of a nitrous-fed engine is to understand the fundamentals. First, an understanding of a proper fuel mixture and the results of the wrong mixture is important. In a normal car, a rich mixture is one that has too much fuel and not enough air. This typically causes no real harm to the engine. It will cause a lack of power, fouling of the plugs by turning them black and causing a misfire if left to long, and bad fuel economy. A lean mixture however, is a different situation. A lean mixture is too much air and not enough fuel. This can destroy an engine very quickly, depending on how lean the mixture is. A lean mixture does not burn well. It explodes and creates very high temperatures within the cylinders, can melt pistons, valves, bend connecting rods and the list goes on. With a too-lean mixture, the cylinder head get so hot that the fuel will explode as it enters the cylinder through the intake valve without the use of the spark plug. This is called detonation. So this means that we have learned the most important lesson; a lean mixture is the one that most be avoided at all costs.
Nitrous can never be introduced into the engine dry without additional fuel because it will automatically produce a super lean condition. Most nitrous systems come with a plate or other apparatus that introduces fuel into the system at the same time. It mixes the nitrous and fuel to deliver a good mixture approaching 14.5 parts air to 1 part fuel. Stay with 75 horsepower unless the dealer is called and it is confirmed that the engine does indeed have forged aluminum pistons. If it does, 125 horsepower is the highest safe horsepower shot without engine modification. Seventy-five horsepower is a major increase of a car with 200 horsepower. It would feel like hitting the afterburner when the button is pushed.
