How addictive is N2O?

[BruceH]

Just wondering. It seems like those who use it really love it. I have no experience with it but the idea just popped into my head when I was reading a thread with a picture of a red buttoned shifter.

Mostly it blows motors from what I read. True?

 

[07 Boss]

I've blown motors with nitrous. But I've also blown N/A and SCed motors as well. Anybody can blow up a motor, being a moron makes it easier, but it's not the nitrous itself that blows the motor but the power it produces. And that is not entirely true either, a bad system or leak can cause explosions in your manifold but that won't bust a rod or put a hole in your block.

I love nitrous. I blew up my last nitrous car but that has not ruined the relationship. My next car is going to be a big block carbed monster with nitrous. Maybe even two stages if I get ambitious.

 

[skwerl]

^ Spoken like a true addict.
"I have it under control, and I can put it down any time I want!"

 

[JUSTA3V]

It's 110% addictive

 

[NUTCASE]

yes and no. Its a great Dr Jeckel and Mr. Hyde street to track option. That combined with the low entry cost is what got me into it. There is also this thing where if you tell people you spray they assume you are not fast. So it helps for sleeper factor if you are into that.

I did not find it addictive because its on/off attitude is dangerous on the street where traction is low and there are many dangers. My car spends most of its time on the street.

also, just like boost, you can blow a motor. If you are the kind of person who does research and stays within reasonable limits you will be fine.

Also, if you are going to spray alot, you should get a hookup for tanks. Refills at a shop can get expensive and often the employees at the shop don't even want to do it. They have to take time away from good paying work to fill a bottle that does not make the shop much money.

Nitrous can be a very inexpensive way to push a few extra HP, or the dominant figure on your build. The rabbit hole goes very deep. A lot of people don't understand nitrous. Nitrous is harder to understand than boost once you start getting into the thermo aspects of it. For instance understanding how the nitrous transitioning from liquid to vapor to gas can draw large amounts of heat out of the ambient intake air giving you more than just the oxygen that the nitrous chemically supplies. It sounds like a lot, if you are running under 200 you don't need to understand that much really. But for bigger setups, and classes where you are limited by jet size, it pays to know the science.

 

[85GT 7.0]

N2O

Its all in the tune. A friend of mine is running ultra street and spraying between 350-400 HP on 1 plate with no foggers allowed. You have to stay on top of the fuel pressure, timing and bottle pressure because at tha level you dont get a second chance. He has to pull plugs after each run and read them. And yes it is addictive.
I was spraying 100 HP on my flat top 351 and it would pick up 8 tenths in the 1/8, I didn't have any problems and just made sure the fuel pressure was consistent.

 

[702GT]

Addiction will depend on self control and how gucci the system is. The better your setup and more readily useable, the more addicting it will be. As for popping motors, considering you run mostly e85, you already have a good safety buffer for spray. I see it more common among the import crowd and inexperienced as far as motor loss goes. Import guys fry their pistons/rings or put holes in them underestimating shot size and/or crap, if any, tune adjustments. 100 shot is huge in a 2.0L 4 banger that comes factory high compression.

Quality parts is important too. Generic or inefficient design solenoids. Lack of safety equipment like a window switch or a good controller, proper activation switches in the cabin, and even a fire extinguisher in the event of a failure or leak.

There are many ways to set up a safe and reliable nitrous system. Design it for the application.

Also... spraying from a shifter button activation switch is not the greatest method... but it does have dramatic flare, if you're the "Gone in 60 Seconds" type lol.

 

[NUTCASE]

100 shot is huge in a 2.0L 4 banger that comes factory high compression.

This is very true. Its not impossible to push a lot of spray through a small motor, however you have to be careful with the tuning. When a nitrous mix goes off the flame front is faster than that of regular air. In a bigger motor there is more space for this rapid expansion to go.

This is why for big shots its a good to start entertaining the idea of using alcohol fuel (e85, e90, meth, etc.) which burns slower.

when I get back into it I am going to run a separate fuel system with meth so I can keep the pump gas which I can get at any gas station in the tank. I am pretty far from heads up racing right now so I won't be breaking any rules.

as far as being readily usable, at the track you have all day. I am starting to think I am the only one who has hit a 150 shot on the street and said "OoooOoHh shit not doing that again"

 

[NUTCASE]

Also remember when companies reference shot size its a general figure. Your combo may react quite differently and it is common for mod motors to make extra power from a shot.

a few years ago when my car just had a few bolt ons (still stock headers and H) I had a 75 shot on it. Got 302 on the dyno, and 406 with the "75" shot. Oh, and here is the kicker.....

get ready for this....

460tq


when a NA or boosted motor makes power it does so based on how much air it can mechanically ingest, which generally speaking increases as RPM increases. The power added from a nitrous shot is constant relative to RPM. If you know how HP and TQ are calculated, just ponder that for a minute LOL.

 

[TheKurgan]

Like said it's all in the tune. I ran a 125 shot on mine for a couple years before I got a built engine and SC. I never had any issues at all. I still have the kit on my car but it's not plumbed in.

 

[UltraKla$$ic]

It works great for getting your wisdom teeth pulled! LOL

 

[Wes06]

iunno about nitrous, but boost is pretty addicting

 

[07 Boss]

Also... spraying from a shifter button activation switch is not the greatest method... but it does have dramatic flare, if you're the "Gone in 60 Seconds" type lol.

That was the only way to do it back when I used to race nitrous cars. Press the button and go. Instead of peddling the car to regain traction we used to go off and on with the button. We didn't have 2 steps and window switches like you do now. Heat the bottle with a torch and go.

 

[BruceH]

I have some random thoughts at times. Not sure why. I do know that this group also has some of the same thoughts and has experience with the thoughts in question.

I was thinking nitrous might be kinda cool, just turn it on and have some extra hp with a minimal investment. Then I started to think of my own past experiences and could see myself driving with it armed and ready to go at all times. Kinda like how turning the tcs off became such a habit that I turned it off in the tune. I'm probably better off without it.

 

[NUTCASE]

armed and ready to go at all times is not such a good idea.

Sometimes, even new noids can seep nitrous. If the engine is running, even at idle, the motor will ingest the slow leak and it will really be unnoticeable. However if you leave the car turned off for to long and the bottle open your intake mani becomes a bomb on startup. Its rare, but this has actually happened to people. When I first got into it I met guys at two different shops who were nazis about closing the bottle as soon as the motor is turned off.

Don't let this scare you away from the laughing gas, its all a matter of knowing what you are doing.

 

[Mr. Q]

^what he said.

I learned the hard way when I left my bottle on in san Antonio texas to go watch a movie, in the summer. that startup was ridiculous.
heat is not a factor here, but in texas, I was unhooking my bottle and taking it inside wherever I went LOL

 

[05stroker]

Missing the boost huh.... Lol

Can't ever just leave it alone, I know the feeling! Haha

I had a very nice setup on my car and never sprayed it after watching a few of those videos with the intakes blowing off and the big fires. Still won't let JR have it either. I told him to wait for boost.

 

[MGT2009]

^what he said.

I learned the hard way when I left my bottle on in san Antonio texas to go watch a movie, in the summer. that startup was ridiculous.
heat is not a factor here, but in texas, I was unhooking my bottle and taking it inside wherever I went LOL

Yep. We've all seen the pic of the hatchback fox that blew apart just sitting in the driveway.



On that note, if buying used, always make sure the bottle is in spec and the safety valve isnt messed up. Its essentially and giant pipe bomb if it ever decides to blow and that valve isnt functioning.

 

[NUTCASE]

The safety valve is a sheet metal fuse. you can buy replacements. The specs have changed over the years but most bottles floating around the new and used market are just fine. If the bottle is old it will likely look old. People will paint a bottle but won't take care of the bottle nut for some reason. You will be able to tell by looking at it.

You can buy old noids also. noids are rebuild-able. You just need to get this pin spanner wrench thing to pull it apart. However also note that if you get an old noid it might not be able to operate accurately with modern progressive systems. We would of had progressive systems a long time ago if we had noids that could keep up with the pulse width required to make it happen.

Another thing I love about nitrous is how you can build a kit from scratch off of craigslist and only have to buy one or two new things to finish the install. Further lowering the cost of entry if you know what you are doing.

 

[XJCasper]

The safety valve is a sheet metal fuse. you can buy replacements. The specs have changed over the years but most bottles floating around the new and used market are just fine. If the bottle is old it will likely look old. People will paint a bottle but won't take care of the bottle nut for some reason. You will be able to tell by looking at it.

You can buy old noids also. noids are rebuild-able. You just need to get this pin spanner wrench thing to pull it apart. However also note that if you get an old noid it might not be able to operate accurately with modern progressive systems. We would of had progressive systems a long time ago if we had noids that could keep up with the pulse width required to make it happen.

Another thing I love about nitrous is how you can build a kit from scratch off of craigslist and only have to buy one or two new things to finish the install. Further lowering the cost of entry if you know what you are doing.

But what is this cost of entry vs. a new system? Is it 'really' worth saving a few bucks here?