Nitrous a good stoplight race mod?
#21
08-02-2009, 11:00 PM
Sometimes you want turbo lag. No one wants all 500 hp from a turbo kicking in right at the start, youll spin forever. You want it later once you have some tracion going.
And a spray system would probably require internals with lower compression.
I just don't know if you'd run into a problem with ring gap- if you need more gap for a big power nitrous setup than for a big power turbo setup.
I doubt it will ever really matter though- the hardcore 3800 market seems to be dwindling as people demod.
#22
08-03-2009, 02:35 AM
That's a good point too much torque right off the start would not only make you spin forever, it'd be incredibly hard on your transmission, even if it were upgraded. Do superchargers add a lot of down low torque?
#23
08-03-2009, 11:10 AM
Yes- that is one of their big selling points with the gas truck crowd- low end torque for better pulling power.
With modern superchargers running a bypass valve, its not quite as instant- but you still get full boost very quickly.
Really though- for someone doing a hardcore build like a big turbo, or tons of nitrous- they'd ideally have a built tranny and some slicks or DR's to hook- and a higher stall converter to make even more power out of the hole.
With modern superchargers running a bypass valve, its not quite as instant- but you still get full boost very quickly.
Really though- for someone doing a hardcore build like a big turbo, or tons of nitrous- they'd ideally have a built tranny and some slicks or DR's to hook- and a higher stall converter to make even more power out of the hole.
#24
08-07-2009, 09:43 AM
I've had lots of experience with nitrous in the past. It took my 1995 Mustang GT from 13.9 to 12.7 in the 1/4 mile. Dollar to dollar, no modification will increase your cars performance as much as nitrous will.
That said, it has it's drawbacks. As bumpin96monte pointed out, there's no "part throttle" nitrous- it's all or nothing. I like having extra power at all RPMs, not just WOT. You won't have this with nitrous- your car will still be slow when merging, passing, and will only be "fast" when you arm the system and spray. To me, that makes nitrous great for a car that's already fairly quick, but not a good alternative for something that needs a major performance upgrade.
Nitrous can be safely run on just about any application these days. The key is to retard timing and add fuel in the proper amounts, and to keep your shot size reasonable. Spraying a 225 shot on a L36 Monte Carlo is probably not the best idea, for multiple reasons. On a stock 3800 N/A I'd limit my shot size to 75, personally, since you're probably getting close to the fuel systems limits.
If you're going to add nitrous to your car, make sure the kit you buy provides additional fuel when spraying. For example, the Zex dry kit will interupt the vacuum line to your fuel pressure regulator, and when you spray, the Zex NMU will increase fuel pressure to accomodate the nitrous. This provides the fuel needed. Some kits (like the Compucar Bottle-in-a-Bag, for example) don't provide additional fuel. I also recommend that most people avoid "wet kits" that actually inject fuel with the nitrous- modern fuel injected are not designed to pass fuel through the intake manifold, so flowing it via a nozzle isn't the best idea- it can puddle in the intake, then when the car backfires up the intake, BOOM. Reference the numerous car exploding at the track videos on YouTube- these are due to wet kits.
Another thing to keep in mind is that nitrous generally crease TWICE the amount of torque as the advertised shot size. For example, my 95 Mustang GT made ~200 additional ft/lbs of torque on a Zex 100 shot. This is murder on your car's transmission, so if you're spraying regularly on your 3800, expect to buy a new transmission in the near future.
That's about it...in summary, if you really want to spray, make sure you have adequate fuel and proper timing, keep your shot size reasonable, and have fun.
That said, it has it's drawbacks. As bumpin96monte pointed out, there's no "part throttle" nitrous- it's all or nothing. I like having extra power at all RPMs, not just WOT. You won't have this with nitrous- your car will still be slow when merging, passing, and will only be "fast" when you arm the system and spray. To me, that makes nitrous great for a car that's already fairly quick, but not a good alternative for something that needs a major performance upgrade.
Nitrous can be safely run on just about any application these days. The key is to retard timing and add fuel in the proper amounts, and to keep your shot size reasonable. Spraying a 225 shot on a L36 Monte Carlo is probably not the best idea, for multiple reasons. On a stock 3800 N/A I'd limit my shot size to 75, personally, since you're probably getting close to the fuel systems limits.
If you're going to add nitrous to your car, make sure the kit you buy provides additional fuel when spraying. For example, the Zex dry kit will interupt the vacuum line to your fuel pressure regulator, and when you spray, the Zex NMU will increase fuel pressure to accomodate the nitrous. This provides the fuel needed. Some kits (like the Compucar Bottle-in-a-Bag, for example) don't provide additional fuel. I also recommend that most people avoid "wet kits" that actually inject fuel with the nitrous- modern fuel injected are not designed to pass fuel through the intake manifold, so flowing it via a nozzle isn't the best idea- it can puddle in the intake, then when the car backfires up the intake, BOOM. Reference the numerous car exploding at the track videos on YouTube- these are due to wet kits.
Another thing to keep in mind is that nitrous generally crease TWICE the amount of torque as the advertised shot size. For example, my 95 Mustang GT made ~200 additional ft/lbs of torque on a Zex 100 shot. This is murder on your car's transmission, so if you're spraying regularly on your 3800, expect to buy a new transmission in the near future.
That's about it...in summary, if you really want to spray, make sure you have adequate fuel and proper timing, keep your shot size reasonable, and have fun.
#25
08-07-2009, 09:45 AM
Oh...and as for compression- high compression engines LOVE nitrous- they tend to fully utilize the shot more than lower compression engines. This is why high compression guys in competitive drag racing favor big cubic inches and nitrous, which lower compression guys prefer boost. Lowering compression will not really effect nitrous safety as much as proper timing and fueling.
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