meyer@waltz.UUCP (02/20/85)
I was noticing a guy across the street from where I live that is building up
a pickup that is going to be quite hot. He's putting a re-worked 454 with
pop-up pistons, hot cam, high rise manifold, with dual quads, etc, etc.
He also mentioned that he has modified the carburetion to accept nitrous
oxide. Apparently, he will have a dash mounted switch that kicks this stuff
in -- he claims that it gives something like a 70% to 80% boost! He showed me
the bottle of nitrous and the connections for it. He also said that you can
only have this stuff kicked on for about 10 seconds -- else you fry your 454.
Also, since a bottle of the stuff costs $400, it's not very cost effective
to use it.
Is this the same "nitro" that the big boys are burning on the blown machines?
I thought that the nitro for the blown engines was in liquid form just mixed
with gas (80% nitro - 20% gas or so). I just haven't heard of injecting
compressed nitrous oxide into a carbureted system? Have any of you heard of
such a set up. I'd sure appreciate any info that you might be able to
provide. Thanks.
==============================================================================
Dane Meyer (Texas Instruments, Dallas site)
ARPA: ==> Meyer%waltz%TI-CSL@CSNET-Relay
CSNET: ==> Meyer@TI-CSL
USENET: ==> {convex!smu, ut-sally, texsun, rice}!waltz!meyer blt@cbscc.UUCP (Brian L. Tymchak) (02/21/85)
Nitrous oxide is not new. However, it does just seem to
have hit the street machines rather heavily. First, this
is not the same "nitro" that the top fuelers and funny cars
are running. They're running some mixtures of nitromethanol
and some other rather exotic fuels.
Second, this stuff doesn't cost $400 a bottle. If your
neighbor paid that much for it, he should be drummed out of
hot rodding. NOS (Nitrous Oxide Systems) sell complete
plumbing kits for most motors in the $200 - $300 range. The
nitrous itself can be refilled for probably $50. This is a
guess since I have yet to experiment with the stuff.
Third, horsepower increases, while very substantial,
do not approach the 80% mark that your neighbor claimed. Most
increases fall in the 15% - 40% range.
Fourth, it is rather easy to destroy a motor if the user is
careless. However, there is no magical time limit on usage.
It's intended usage is while under severe acceleration (drag strip).
Nitrous oxide is injected into the runners of the intake manifold
either by electrical switch or by a vacuum activated switch.
This shot of nitrous is very cold, I believe somewhere in the -120F
range. This cooling condenses the normal fuel charge to a fraction
of its original volume. Thus, the combustion chamber can be "packed"
with more fuel vapor than in a normal state. More fuel burned in the
same amount of time equals more force to push the piston back down the
cylinder -> -> faster vehicle.
For more technical info on nitrous, look at recent issues of the
hot rodding magazines. Under no circumstances apply nitrous to a
motor that is old and worn or built in some way such that it
can't handle very high rpm. A shot of the stuff could send connecting
rods and piston rings through the hood.
BTW, if your neighbor is buying nitrous at $400 a bottle, I have
some ocean front property in the Rockys that he may be interested
in.... cheap.
Brian Tymchak
AT&T NS, Columbushkr4627@acf4.UUCP (Hedley K. J. Rainnie) (02/22/85)
The nitrous that your friend was using is nitrous oxide. Compressed in the bottle, it is in liquid form but when injected into the engine becomes a gas. It is the oxygen in NO2 that does the work, allowing more gasoline to be burned and still maintain the correct oxygen/fuel ratio. Nitrous kits always come with some way of injecting extra fuel with the nitrous. The other nitrous is nitro-methane and is a fuel in and of itself. Rei Shinozuka ihnp4!cmcl2!acf4!hkr4627
awd@byucsc.UUCP (A. W. Dunstan) (02/26/85)
> Is this the same "nitro" that the big boys are burning on the blown machines? > I thought that the nitro for the blown engines was in liquid form just mixed > with gas (80% nitro - 20% gas or so). I just haven't heard of injecting > compressed nitrous oxide into a carbureted system? Have any of you heard of > such a set up. I'd sure appreciate any info that you might be able to > provide. Thanks. > ============================================================================== Nope. There's nitrous oxide (which is what your friend using) and then there's nitromethane. Nitrous oxide (alias laughing gas but don't go breathing it as it isn't medical grade) can be injected in either gaseous or liquid form. Exactly what it does is still somewhat a matter of conjectubut it does cool the airstream (allowing a higher fuel density), and add a lot of oxygen (on combustion of the fuel air mixture). It may also have a 'cushioning' effect on the flamefront. There are lots of companies that offer various nitrous oxide setups for all kinds of cars - some of them very hard to see, if you like hiding the setup from would-be competitors. Nitromethane is something entirely different. This is essentially a *very* high octane substance, and will raise the operating temperature of your engine substantially within a very short time. (Which is why rails and such only run for a few minutes, among other reasons.) Nitromethane is usually mixed with racing fuel in some proportion, but I wouldn't recommend using it in the family car - I can shorted the expected engine life rather a lot.
wookie@alice.UUCP (03/05/85)
The "nitro" you refer to the big boys using is nitro-methane made essentially by mixing TNT and methanol. This is wonderful stuff for a drag race and not something you want to burn everyday. Nitrous oxide on the otherhand is a nitrogen compound which is injected into the air stream in place of air. Since it has more oxygen per unit volume than does air it will tend to oxydize the fuel better and thus give more power. This is a common method for giving that little burst of power needed to pass someone. The original installation is about $400 but refilling the tank is much much much cheaper than that!! You simply refill the tank as you would acetylene and oxygen for your welding torch. This gas by the way is also known as laughing gas at your local dentist or as sweet gas used for whipping cream. Such systems are available at any decent performance shop and may be easily added to any engine. The thing I don't understand is that the units are sold to add some number of horsepower to an engine.......any engine. What this means is the same unit applied to a 300HP V8 and adding say 100HP will add that same amount to your 50HP Volkswagen making it 150HP. I'll have to think about that one for a bit. Anyway they are commonly used and available. Keith Bauer White Tiger Racing
faunt@hplabs.UUCP (Doug Faunt) (03/26/85)
> Nope. There's nitrous oxide (which is what your friend using) and then > there's nitromethane. Nitrous oxide (alias laughing gas but don't go > breathing it as it isn't medical grade) can be injected in either gaseous I always figured nitrous injection was just a scam to be able to buy nitrous to breath. -- ....!hplabs!faunt faunt%hplabs@csnet-relay.ARPA HP is not responsible for anything I say here. In fact, what I say here may have been generated by a noisy telephone line.