Q. How much nitrous can I run on my motor?

A. That question cannot be answered without a lot more information, however almost any V8 engine can run up to 150HP boost without any concerns.

Q. Exactly how much timing retard will I need when I run the 200 HP jets in my plate system?

A. That question sounds simple however the answer can be very complicated. For example, to determine the amount of timing retard in any engine I would need to know the following information:

· What is the static compression ratio of your engine?
· How many cubic inches is the engine?
· What cylinder heads are you using?
· What lobe center is the cam ground on?
· What gasoline are you using?
· Are you running methanol or ethanol?
· What is the torque converter stall speed?
· How much does the car weigh?
· What gear ratio is in the rear?
· What transmission are you running?

Even with all this information it is still impossible to give you an exact answer. So what to do? Use a conservative figure, such as 2 degrees per 50 horsepower of boost and read your plugs to determine if you need more or less retard.

Q. How do I read my plugs?

A. A good plug reading can only be accomplished with a clean shut-off pass. No driving or idling, the engine must be shut-off right at the finish line and towed back to the pit area. Do not try to get by with reading only one plug, it’s either all or none. A good light is required, even in the middle of the day and a magnifying glass will help.

Q. What should my plugs look like?

A. A perfect nitrous plug would look as if you had just taken it out of the box, clean and white on the porcelain and the ground strap should be showing at least some heat discoloration half way to the plug body, about half way around the bend radius.

Q. My plugs are dark and sooty and show no heat at all, what does this mean?

A. When tuning the motor by reading the plugs you should start by getting the plugs clean. To do this you must lower the fuel pressure to the fuel solenoid a little at a time until the plugs porcelain cleans up. Once you have it running clean then you can start tuning the ignition timing.

Q. What should I look for on my plugs when trying to optimize timing?

A. When working with the ignition timing, the ground strap is the part of the plug that is most important. Advance the timing one degree at a time from your conservative starting point and look at the plugs each pass. When the ground strap starts showing heat on its tip you are getting close. If the porcelain is white, meaning you have already optimized the fuel pressure, then try to advance the timing until you have heat showing on the ground strap at least half way to the plug body (the threaded part).

Q. My plugs are showing heat on the ground strap but the porcelain is still dark?

A. You have the timing close but you are running too much fuel. Reduce the pressure to the fuel solenoid slightly and take another plug reading with a fresh set of plugs.

Q. What heat range plug should I run?

A. In a competition engine you should run the coldest plug that is available for your engine. On a street application you should run the coldest plug that will not foul in everyday driving.

Q. Should I run a retracted or projected tip style plug?

A. The extended tip may not be able to transfer the heat of combustion to the plug body fast enough. This will allow the plug to overheat causing engine killing detonation! A retracted tip plug is the only way to go on a nitrous motor.

Q. I read on the Internet that progressive controllers eat solenoids, is this true?

A. NX “Lightning” solenoids, PN 15200L for example, were specifically designed to be used with a progressive controller and have a limited life-time warranty. Do not try to run the other guys “off shore” solenoids, they can’t take it!

Q. What is a progressive controller?

A. The NX Maximizer PN 15959 is an electronic nitrous controller that allows you to apply the nitrous power is a controlled or ramped manner. For instance you can jet your nitrous system for 300HP but launch the car with only 50HP and have the controller ramp up the power over a pre-set amount of time to 300HP. This helps your car handle the tremendous torque produced by the NX “Next Generation” nitrous technology.

Q. I checked out the Maximizer but its out of my budget range, don’t you have anything for the little guys?

A. The Mini Controller PN FJOKWS0022 is just what you are looking for. It has many of the great features of the Maximizer but at a fraction of the cost!

Q. Does NX offer custom nitrous systems?

A. Yes, NX has a complete shop facility that is geared to make the most difficult nitrous applications easy, at least for the customer! Everything from classic cars, to hidden systems, to nitrous for the most obscure applications there’s no challenge too big for NX.

Q. What is a purge valve and do I need one?

A. The purge valve is an auxiliary nitrous solenoid that is activated manually by the driver prior to a nitrous assisted pass. This solenoid vents the gaseous nitrous from the supply line that connects the nitrous bottle to the nitrous solenoid. This allows a pure liquid nitrous charge to enter the engine for an instant surge of power. A purge valve is worth about a tenth of a second on a quarter mile pass. Yes, everyone needs a purge valve.

Q. I have a small roots type blower on my street rod, the blower is really cool but just does not produce enough power to satisfy my need for speed. Can you help?

A. The small street blowers can benefit greatly from a small plate style nitrous system. A PN 30040 conventional plate system can turn your 4-71 street blower into a raging 14-71 beast! A 100HP jet setting can produce a true 150HP rear wheel blast. How you ask; the nitrous discharges at 127 degrees below zero, this provides the ultimate intercooler while still producing the advertised 100HP. The 50 extra ponies are just a bonus.

Q. I have a budget 1968 Camaro with a crate engine. The car is great to drive and gets awesome fuel economy but the power is just not there, HELP!

A. You are a great candidate for our PN ML1000 MainLine economy nitrous system. Adjustable 50-100-150HP this system is designed for the hot rodder on a budget. It still uses the same rugged technology as our top of the line systems but all of the “Fluff” has been taken out to lower the price to rock bottom.

Q. I have carbureted engine with a centrifugal blow through supercharger, can I use nitrous?

A. NX specializes in blower and turbo nitrous applications. Any NX plate style system combined with the NXd5000 controller is the ultimate set-up. The PN NXd5000 is a boost referenced progressive controller that senses boost and automatically ramps the nitrous charge out as the boost comes up. This controller can handle two stages of nitrous and can ramp in either a boost or time reference. This allows for a straight torque “curve” with no soft spots. The ultimate in nitrous/boost control!

Q. What is the best gasoline to use with nitrous?

A. As a general rule the higher the octane the better, however steer clear of oxygenated fuels. They have high octane ratings but already have an added oxygen component. This can result in a very lean condition resulting in detonation and engine damage. There are several good companies that offer a nitrous specific fuels. Use the highest octane you can get and you will never be sorry.

Q. My race car runs on methanol, can I run nitrous with methanol?

A. Yes, Nitrous Express specializes in N2O/methanol nitrous applications. Every nitrous system NX sells is available in alcohol enrichment. A strong ignition system is required, but the results are worth the effort. Hugh amounts of torque and detonation resistance are the benefits of using methanol.

Q. What is the best compression ratio to run with nitrous?

A. Nitrous can be run successfully with almost any compression, however we have found that 14-1 is the highest ratio that has a reasonable “Window of Safety”. Ratios as high as 17-1 can be used, but only by elite tuners with years of experience. Using alcohol as an enrichment fuel will allow you to run higher compression ratios without fear of detonation.

Q. What do you mean “Window of Safety”?

A. The Window of Safety refers to how easy or safe it is to run a specific amount of nitrous on s specific engine. For instance, running a 100HP nitrous system on a crate engine with 9-1 compression is very easy and has a wide Window of Safety, but to run a 1,000HP triple stage system on a 816CID ProMod with 17-1 compression the Window of Safety is very, very narrow. Even the slightest tuning error will have an undesirable result.

Q. Can I rebuild my own solenoids?

A. Yes, all NX solenoids are field serviceable, however all NX solenoids have a limited-Lifetime warranty so no rebuilding should be necessary.

Q. How important is bottle pressure?

A. Bottle pressure is critical to a reliable, repeatable nitrous system. The minimum required to enjoy a trouble free nitrous system is a nitrous pressure gauge PN 15509, and a bottle heater PN 15940.

Q. Is the installation difficult for the average home mechanic?

A. The installation of the nitrous system is straight forward and simple. Anyone with
basic shop tools should be able to do the job is a few hours.