It seems here on yourcobalt.com there is an interest in running nitrous so upon request I have decided to make a little write up nitrous to help anyone out who might want to spray their car.
Kit Types:
The first thing we need to get out of the way is the different kinds of kits you can run and the options you have. The two main types of nitrous kits are dry and wet.
The first kind of kit I want to talk about is a dry kit feeds nitrous only into the engine.
Here is what a dry kit nozzle will look like.
These kits are not recommended for the average person wanting to mod their car because of their advanced nature. Still with that said I’ll try and cover the basics of the kit. As I mentioned this kit will only deliver nitrous to the engine, this means that in order to safely run a dry kit you will have to compensate elsewhere to get extra fuel into the engine. This is done by tuning and often extensive fuel system upgrades need to be done to run a dry kit. Now this can be as simple as using larger fuel injectors or as extensive as converting the system to a return type, upgrading the pump, lines, rail, and injectors. This can all be complicated and it’s important to match the right fuel system components and nitrous nozzles to make it all work correctly and safely. This is why a dry kit is not recommended for the average person wanting to spray a car.
The other and more common type of kit is a wet kit. It is called a wet kit because not only is nitrous sprayed into the engine but fuel is also added into the mixture.
Here is a wet kit nozzle. Notice the separate shaft for nitrous and fuel.
This kit is what is most recommended for the average user. This kit will be more complex simply because it will have lines for fuel, nitrous, an extra solenoid and switches, however the extra effort in set up is well worth the pay off in safety.
Nitrous Delivary:
There are three ways to get the nitrous into the engine: a fogger, a plate, and direct port.
A fogger system simply puts the nozzle into intake before the throttle body. The nitrous is then sprayed directly into the intake with the fogger opening facing the throttle body. This is usually the cheapest system because there is no car specific engineering required to build it. It is also the most common.
Fogger system installed
A nitrous plate is bolted to the throttle body and nitrous and/or fuel is delivered through jets in the plate.
A direct port system sprays nitrous directly into the cylinders through nozzles that are directly installed on the engine or on the intake runners of the intake manifold. This is the most complex system to set up but is also the easiest to control in that flow can be set up for individual cylinders.
Switches:
MOMENTARY SWITCH:
The most basic nitrous kits come with a momentary switch. This is a switch placed on the steering wheel that is pushed when you want to spray the nitrous. With a switch like this all safeguards are put on the driver. These switches should atleast be teamed with an arming switch to prevent accidental spraying.
WIDE OPEN THROTTLE SWITCH (WOT):
Most of your better quality kits come with a WOT switch these days. This is a switch that is activated once the car has achieved wide open throttle. This atleast ensures maximum air flow through the intake which will help prevent pooling of nitrous in the manifold which is potentially fatal for a motor as it can cause a nitrous backfire which is extremely dangerous. Many a car has been lost due to a nitrous backfire.
WINDOW SWITCH:
A window switch allows the user to program a certain (and sometimes gear) window in which the nitrous is allowed to spray. It is never wise to spray a car under 3000 RPMs because puddling can occur. A window switch also has an upper limit to shut the nitrous off once the rev limited is reached. Advanced window switches allow the user to lock out certain gears to allow for maximum traction in lower gears by not spraying the car. This may or may not be needed depending on the car.
Misc:
There are a few odds and ends to also consider when spraying a car. Most kits will offer a form of tuning, usually in the form of an ignition box or something along those lines. These are fine for your basic nitrous application. Usually these kits will pull timing when your car is spraying. This is important to do and the general rule of thumb is to pull ½ degree of timing for every 25hp shot of nitrous. If you are running a kit that does not come with a tuning source you will have to find a way to do this yourself either through a tuning suite such as horsepower tuners or a piggy back.
Another important consideration is your spark plugs. It’s wise to run a one step colder plug in order to prevent detonation when spraying.
It is also important that you keep your nitrous bottle at a consistent temperature. This will insure proper pressure when the nitrous is sprayed. This can be achieved by adding a bottle warmer or a blanket to keep the bottle from having large fluxuations in temperature.
You can also use add on features to a kit like an automatic bottle opener which will allow you to open the bottle from the drivers seat and a purge system. A purge system is used to remove air from the nitrous lines before you are going to spray. The system uses nozzles that can be mounted in various locations outside of the car and will blow the excess unwanted air out of the lines.
Mustang Purging
Well guys that’s it. That’s the nitrous basics. I hope that atleast helps you narrow down your search for a system and helps you choose a safe system for you to run.