So you want to know about nitrous oxide eh? Let's start
off with the basics.
What is Nitrous Oxide? Well kids, gather
around ole' Uncle Russ and let him tell you a little story about "giggle
gas"! Nitrous Oxide is a combo of 2 Nitrogen atoms and 1 Oxygen atom (N²O)
this mixture is 36% Oxygen if you were to weigh the molecules. These 3 atoms
together are locked until they are heated up really fast, and REALLY hot, then,
they CRACK apart and some really neat stuff happens. More about that later.
Lets start at the basics! Nitrous was actually first used in WW2 by allied aircraft
pilots to give them an extra advantage on how fast they could climb and fly!
After turbine engines were invented though, the bottles were put to bed until
the 1970’s! This is when Mike Thermos and Dale Vaznaian came around and
re-invented the nitrous oxide kit! In 1978 these two men formed what we now
know as Nitrous Oxide Systems (NOS)! (Just a writer’s side note. N.O.S.
is an abbreviation not a word! If you want to say NOS (NAWZ) then you should
stay away from cars.) Enough of that… moving right along!
We will start at the bottle. Probably
the most common bottle used in the world of Nitrous is your basic 10lb bottle.
Although nitrous is a gas, when you compress it, it will become a liquid. This
happens because the nitrous molecules are forced closer together and move a
little slower. This slower movement of molecules gives us our liquid. This liquid
cannot be measured in gallons like a gas tank. So we measure it by POUNDS (lbs).
So a 10lb Nitrous bottle will hold, well, 10lbs worth of nitrous. This amount
is measured at your N20 distributor on a scale called a FREON SCALE. The bottle
is pumped full of nitrous as the tech watches the scale closely monitoring how
"heavy" the bottle is getting, at 10lbs, the tech cuts off the feed,
and you now have a full bottle of "Go Juice". READ ON there’s
more!
Next, off the bottle, we will look at
the different lines and valves, called "plumbing". To stop the N²O
from exiting the bottle, a manual valve sits there that you can open and close
MANUALLY (go figure). This can be substituted with a valve called a "remote
bottle opener" (this will be covered in another article) but for now it
isn’t important. Just know that when the valve is open, out comes N²O
and when its closed, it stays in. The line that will run from the bottle to
your engine compartment is high-pressure braided steel line. These lines are
sized by a special measurement called AN. AN sizes, originally developed for
use by the U.S. Armed forces ("A" for army and "N" for navy),
describe the outside diameter (O.D.) of tubing in 1/16-inch increments. For
example, an AN 2 fitting will fit a tube with an O.D. of 2/16", or 1/8",
while an AN 8 fitting will fit a tube with an O.D. of 8/16", or 1/2".
Because the actual thickness of tube walls can vary from brand to brand, the
inside diameter of a tube is not used as a reference. You will also find the
dash (-) symbol or the word "dash" itself used in conjunction with
AN sizes. A "dash six" fitting translates to AN-6. Another type of
measurement you will encounter is called NPT (National Pipe Taper). NPT are
the most commonly used fitting sizes for general plumbing, piping, and tubing
use; not quite as popular as AN for automotive use, but still very common. While
AN fittings depend on the outside diameter of a tube for sizing, NPT fittings
depend on the interior diameter (I.D.) of the fitting itself.
Moving right along the main nitrous line,
we will hit what is called a Nitrous Solenoid. This is a magnetic valve called
a NEEDLE VALVE. That when electricity is passed over it, opens really fast.
The speed at which this valve opens is measured in milliseconds (ms). On the
OUT side of the solenoid is yet another high-pressure steel line. This line
will go into your intake usually through a nozzle or a throttle plate, depending
on your application. At this point, the nitrous will either blend with FUEL
(for a wet kit) or just get sucked into your intake. More on the wet kit setup
in the articles to come.
As the nitrous enters your intake, it
will enter a cylinder (which ever one is on its intake stroke) as it enters
into the cylinder, the piston will begin to rise back up towards top dead center.
During the combustion process in an engine, at about 572° F, nitrous breaks
down and releases the oxygen atom. This extra oxygen that has been released,
creates additional power by allowing more fuel to be burned (the more fuel you
can burn, the more HP you can make). The left over nitrogen acts to buffer,
or dampen the increased cylinder pressures helping to control the combustion
process. Nitrous also has a tremendous "intercooling" effect by reducing
intake charge temperatures by 60° to 75° F!! This is a very good thing!
I hope this lets you in on what so many
people don’t know about Nitrous Oxide! It’s a great power adder, and
is fairly cheap. As long as you do it right the first time, you wont have any
problems! You can purchase products like these and more from our store, Muscle
Car Performance and Audio, or wait until our page is build by Mottac Communications.
Until then email me in order to get in touch with a salesman!
Russ Conrad
Muscle Car Performance and Audio
Director of Marketing
RusConrad@yahoo.com
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