Some of the Most Common Mistakes Made with Nitrous Oxide:
Too Much Nitrous: Once you have injected nitrous and fuel into (and filled) the plenum to the max, you are pretty much done. To put in more only causes a reversion of the total air/fuel/nitrous mix in the form of stand off. Keep in mind that forced induction (supercharger, turbocharger) packs the air into the plenum under pressure. It does not come back out through the carburetor or intake manifold. The supercharger acts like a big check valve, trapping the mixture in the manifold. Putting too much nitrous into the engine slows down the intake charge and causes distribution problems.
Ignition Timing: Nitrous speeds up the burning of fuel, therefore peak cylinder pressures occur earlier. Correct ignition timing is critical with nitrous. Ignition advance should be backed off (retarded) so that peak cylinder pressures occur back where they did without nitrous. The reason for starting ignition before top dead center (BTDC) is because it takes a certain amount of time for the fuel to burn and create a maximum peak pressure. When you add nitrous to your application, you speed up the burn rate of the fuel, so you must back off (retard) the ignition advance (or timing). This will actually give you more power, because you will have brought the pressure back to where peak pressure occurs. The key is to have peak pressure occur at approximately 14-15 degrees after top dead center. Some applications will vary, but the general rule of thumb is to back off timing 2 to 2 1/2 degrees for every 50 horsepower charge of nitrous added.
Overfilling Bottles: Attempting to put too much nitrous in a bottle can cause engine problems, but this can also be very dangerous. At the proper fill, the bottle will have a non-liquid gaseous nitrous area in it to allow for pressures that change due to temperature variances. Overfilled bottles, even slightly overfilled, can displace this expansion area with liquid nitrous. When the bottle warms up, even slightly, the pressure will skyrocket, and the bottle could explode. The bottle valve has a built-in rupture disc to act as a safety, that is designed to blow off at 3,000 psi, emptying all of the nitrous, but do not take any chances - Do Not Overfill Your Bottle! All bottles have a tare weight, which is the weight of the bottle without any nitrous in it. An aluminum, 10-pound bottle has a tare weight of about 15 pounds, when full, it will weigh 25 pounds. Additionally, most solenoids will not open after approximately 1,200 psi. Even if they did, your system is designed to run no more than 1,000 psi. Exceeding those pressures can actually lean out your system and cause major engine damage.
Spark Plug Heat Range: There is much more heat taking place in a nitrous engine. Consequently, the spark plug used must be of a cooler heat range so it can transfer the heat out to the water jacket and not become a "glow plug," causing pre-ignition and detonation. Also, the ground strap needs to be substantial in mass to transfer the heat and avoid heat sinking.
Gauges: Quite often, not enough emphasis is put on nitrous gauges when utilizing nitrous oxide injection. Gauges, particularly nitrous pressure gauges, should be "standard equipment" with any nitrous oxide application. Heat can cause bottle pressures to vary by hundreds of pounds. Correct bottle pressure needs to be properly maintained and watched over. This can be done with a 0-1,500-pound nitrous gauge. And, a separate fuel gauge is also important for maintaining proper overall fuel pressure flow.
Tech Support: Nitrous oxide is a technically oriented product. Knowledgeable tech support is a key ingredient to efficient, effective and safe usage of nitrous oxide injection. Most nitrous companies support their products with technical support. But, quite often, the high performance enthusiast makes the mistake of not relying on available technical support. At Nitrous Supply (NS) we emphasize nitrous technical support, and we have a knowledgeable staff of trained tech experts to professionally deal with all nitrous technical issues. NS technical support is available at (714) 371-1986. DR
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