Will nitrous destroy my engine?

The short answer is would the manufactures of nitrous oxide systems still be in business if they destroyed all or any of their customer's engines? Obviously not, and that is why for many years suppliers have experimented with n20 injection on many types of engines and pushed them further than any customer would want, to ensure that this remains true. The results are that despite being subjected to extend periods of very big power increases all but 1 or 2 survived without problems of any kind.

The conclusion is that as long as your nitrous system is fitted and used correctly, to an engine in good condition without any weaknesses in the original design, then there is no reason to worry about premature engine wear or failure.

How long does a cylinder of nitrous oxide last?

Just like your petrol tank it is not long enough between refills, especially when you first fit the kit and play with it as you would a new toy. However once you get past this playful stage you begin to realize what a useful boost nitrous is, and only use it when necessary, then the bottle seems to last forever before you need a refill. It is impossible to put a time to how long a bottle will last, as we offer three different sizes of cylinder, the biggest lasting five times as long as the smallest. Besides the size of the nitrous bottle, the size of the nitrous jet (which determines the amount of power increase, and consequently the rate of the nitrous usage) can be changed from as little as 5 bhp to as much as 100bhp, obviously the bigger the jet uses more nitrous more rapidly, to be exact 20 times more rapidly. With this in mind, a big bottle with a small jet will last the longest (approx 60 mins of continuous use).

To add extra confusion to the calculations, if you fit a powamax 700 progressive nitrous delivery system, you the user can alter the power and consequently the consumption of the nitrous, however the good news is that a powermax 700 makes the nitrous last approx twice as long as a normal nitrous system.

It's all down to you, as you control how often you hit the button.

Where can I buy nitrous oxide refills?

You may want to rent a large refill cylinder from you local branch of lynde gas 0121 500 1000, but don't tell them it is for automotive use as they seem to think anyone who is crazy enough to use it on a vehicle is unsafe to sell it to.

How much does nitrous oxide cost to buy?

Nitrous roughly costs £4.00 /1b but can depend on the supplier, another point worth keeping in mind whilst considering running costs, is that compared with alternative power eg cams etc a nitrous vehicle will make considerable petrol savings when running off gas.

Is the use of nitrous oxide road legal?

There is no law that prohibits the use of n2o injection on road vehicles. Our own cars are used on the road and the police confirm that they know of no law that we could be breaking. However you should inform your insurance company, depending on the type of wording of the policy. The same applies to all types of tuning, and should be reported to your insurers.

How is the power increase determined?

The power rating is calculated from the flow rate of nitrous oxide liquid through the nitrous jets, and is therefore only theoretical. The actual power increase achieved by a particular engine depends on i)the richness of the fuel-nitrous ratio, eg to rich reduces the power output, ii)the engines particular characteristics, so different engines will produce different power increases from a specific amount of nitrous oxide (eg i ) a v6 ford with 25bhp injected but measured 70 bhp extra at the crank (eg ii) a shogun v6 had 25 bhp injected but only measured a 16 bhp at the wheels)

How much power increase can I achieve?

Highpower systems have achieved as much as 500% power increases on some engines, without engine failure. This figure may not be attainable on all engines, but it does give you some idea of the potential of our systems. All high power systems are sent out with an initial jetting of 25 bhp in order to reduce gas wastage when carrying out initial testing and to avoid any engine problems that may be caused by incorrect installation. Once you have confirmed that the system is functioning correctly on your vehicle, you can request larger jets, which are available in 25bhp increments so you can look forward to more and more power from our system.

Do I need to fit any improved parts to my engine before I buy a highpower system?

No , but any parts that would improve a std engine will also benefit to a nitrous burner. The previous statement holds true only to a certain power output, with each engine having its own limits on each component. The first parts to show signs of weakness when using nitrous are usually the clutch then the ignition components, if the power is increased above 50 bhp it is possible for a piston failure to occur, but this can be prevented by retarding the timing to allow for the quicker burn rate when using nitrous oxide. most standard engine parts will handle more power than the driver.

Will nitrous work on turbo / supercharged, tuned or 2 stroke or diesel engines?

Yes it will, as nitrous does not know what kind of engine it is entering and on these types of engines the power output on nitrous almost always exceeds the theoretical power input.

How do I operate / use a nitrous system?

Most companies suggest that an arming switch (supplied with the system) be mounted within easy reach of the driver, with a throttle operated micro switch (also in kit) mounted in such a way that it will only operate at full throttle. With the arming switch off the micro switch operating at full throttle will not fire off the system, however when the arming switch is on applying full throttle will activate the n2o system and when the throttle is released it will switch the system off. This way you do not need to make any unusual actions to operate the system, and you will find it just like driving a more powerful vehicle or like driving an automatic car with kick down.

Guide thanks to Active Nitrous

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