Nitrous Power Secrets Revealed

Getting The Most from your Nitrous System 

Getting more horsepower and more consistency is always the quest for every drag racer.  We decided to research how to get the most out of your NOS. We uncovered some interesting facts that will interest most Nitrous users!

We interviewed Jake “The Snake” a young Big Block Ford engine builder in Louisville Ohio.  Jake explained that “The Big Fords react well to a squirt of the laughing gas” but consistent atomization and bottle pressure is key to horsepower and safety of your investment.  Internal rotating assembly “shock” or “Crank Flex” happens on any boosted engine, nitrous oxide is just another form of boost.

  While I don’t have as much experience as more mature engine builders, I have observed and learned from many years of mistakes.  We have all observed engine tear downs or rebuilds and during pre-assembly, we find stress cracks in cranks, rods or line bore issues.  Over the years it has been chocked up to “while he is running Nitrous”  The other observation is one person will run two or three seasons, while another will have a catastrophic failure in less than a season.  Many chock it up to “luck”  while I look at use or abuse.  Over the years fuel delivery, fuel metering, nitrous metering and delivery systems have all improved.  The use of a quality nitrous controller is key to engine survival and race consistency.  Using a nitrous controller to stage out your horsepower not only saves your bottom end from a 350HP “shock” but it also allows you to tune to track conditions because most radial type tires don’t tolerate being “shocked” either.  While staging or controlling your nitrous with a controller and a window switch may not give you the “I just got hit by a cement truck” feeling but your engine may live much longer and make you even faster.

  Consistency, always an important topic for anyone, preparation to your Nitrous system may be robbing you of precious ET’s. Jake claims “Nitrous bottle filling is just as important to constancy and proper atomization as anything else in your nitrous power plant”  In the world of “big box retail stores” proper filling of a nitrous bottle through a “chilling” process not only will get proper atomization but will give you more constancy.  ”you can not beat physics” he claims, many will have a fill while you wait and get their nitrous bottle filled in 15 minutes and then pay the price by having the bottle heater run constantly to 900psi at half bottle weight.  With having your bottle heater running constantly that may cost you 10-15 HP on a late model car.  In my world 10 HP is 10 HP in a close grudge race or an evening bracket race it may rob you just when you need to “run the number”.

We personally get our Nitrous bottles filled at Big Dog Fabrication not only is the chilling process followed but, it is even more cost effective when compared to other places.  I enjoy the personal touch and knowing I get what I pay for, plus their sticker is on my sister’s race car.

Big Dog Fabrication
Stow Ohio
330-701-6886
Nitous Filling Station