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Operating and Tuning Nitrous
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Initial System Checks
Before you take your nitrous-enhanced machine down the track, always take a few moments and
perform a system check. The purpose of these checks is to verify that the nitrous circuit and the
fuel circuit are both operating correctly. Make this procedure a habit before racing and you’ll spend
more time running and less time on the trailer. There are two scenarios regarding system checks,
depending on whether you have a dry manifold system or a wet manifold system.
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Dry Manifold System Check
To check a dry manifold system, first energized your car’s ignition. Then check all fuel and vacuum
lines for leaks. It’s pretty easy to spot fuel leaks, but vacuum leaks are harder to see. Generally, a
vacuum leak causes the engine to idle rough if it’s bad enough.
Assuming the fuel and vacuum lines check out, start your engine. While the engine is running, open
the nitrous bottle valve. Listen carefully to your engine as you open the valve. You should not hear
a difference in idle speed or exhaust tone. If you notice either one of these changes—or both—
your system has a defective nitrous solenoid. That means you have to remove and inspect the
solenoid and repair or replace as needed. See the section on troubleshooting for more information.
Let’s hope you won’t notice any change in idle speed or exhaust note, leaving you free to inspect
the nitrous lines and fittings for leaks. Leaks in the nitrous supply line will be obvious because they’
ll be covered with frost.
If there are no leaks in the nitrous supply line, you’re cleared for take-off.
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Dry Manifold Initial Checklist
1. Energized ignition
2. Check fuel and vacuum lines for leaks
3. Start engine
4. Open nitrous bottle valve—check for stable idle speed and exhaust tone
5. Inspect nitrous lines and fittings for leaks
6. Go faster
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Wet Manifold System Check
To check a wet manifold system, first turn on the fuel pump then check the lines and fittings for
leaks. Next, arm the system by switching the arming toggle switch to “on.” Rev the engine to 2000
rpm and hold it steady. Briefly activate the nitrous system by pushing, or squeezing, the button. You
should notice a decrease of engine speed because, assuming the fuel system is working properly,
the engine should be running pig rich right now. If not, you’ve probably wired the system incorrectly,
have a restrictive fuel line, or a malfunctioning fuel solenoid. See the troubleshooting section for
more information.
If the fuel circuit checks out, open the nitrous bottle valve. With this test you don’t want any
changes in engine speed or tone. If you notice such, you have a broken or defective nitrous
solenoid that needs replacing or repairing. If the system passes this system check, inspect the
nitrous lines and fittings for leaks. Once again if the system passes this check, you’re ready to run.
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Tune Your Engine Without Nitrous First
You should get your engine running right without the nitrous system first because 90 percent of
the time you’ll be running on the motor alone. You don’t want to jet the carburetor to add fuel or
anything like that. You want all the additional fuel to come through the nitrous system. Next, start
tuning the nitrous system with the fuel jets to bring it back to a better state of tune.
Typically you should start with a conservative jetting combination and tune toward higher output.
You don’t want to start at the leanest jetting and break your engine right at the gate. If you don’t
have a reference point, then you’re much better starting off conservatively. It’s much more fun
installing larger jets than sweeping up your engine.
Just keep putting in larger jet sizes, fuel, and nitrous, or alternate between the two until the plugs
read as they would if naturally aspirated. If you have the jetting correct the plugs should read
almost exactly like a naturally aspirated engine only you’re running nitrous and they see a lot more
fuel. You don’t have to run a nitrous system so rich the plugs are black.
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While it’s true it’s safer to run the mixture rich and that some engines will make more power on the
rich side than on the lean side, these observations come about from distribution problems rather
than from the characteristics of the chemical reaction of fuel and nitrous.
Regarding spark plugs: the ground strap on spark plugs is usually longer on stock engines
because the combustion temperatures aren’t as hot. The problem with running these types of plugs
with nitrous is that the heat path is so long that the ground strap becomes red hot, the plug turns
into a glow plug, and you get detonation. Even if you use a plug a few steps cooler like the nitrous
kit manufacturers suggest, you can still run into this problem. Again, it’s the style of plug with a long
ground strap that causes the problem not necessarily the heat range.
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What you really need is a plug with a short, wide,thick ground strap. Louie Hammel says he even
cuts the ground strap so it isn’t over the electrode so the spark can jump from the corner of the
electrode. Hammel says he keeps the same gap, but because this shortens the strap, it gets the
heat out of the strap quicker and is less likely to force detonation. You’ll find this same approach on
racing plugs that have a short ground strap mounted to the side of the electrode. On these plugs,
the ground strap is short, thick, and wide so it transfers the heat to the cylinder head more
effectively .
You choose the heat range of the plug for the type of duty the engine sees. If you go too cold, the
plug won’t clean itself and the cylinder won’t fire. If you go too hot, you can get into detonation and
even melt and crack the plug. With nitrous, you don’t have to use a non-projected style plug such
as a racing plug, but you do have to change the style of ground strap.
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Carbureted Engine-Tuning Strategy
At the risk of stating the obvious, with carbureted cars, the carburetor is the source of naturally
aspirated engine performance in that it mixes fuel with air so that combustion can occur in the
cylinders. Furthermore, it must do so in a specified proportion commonly referred to as the air-to-
fuel ratio (a/f ratio). The a/f ratio that’s accepted as safe and will produce the most acceleration
from a high-performance gasoline-fueled internal combustion four-stroke engine is 12.8:1, or a
brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) of 0.50. Advanced engine tuners can run an a/f ratio of 13:
1 or 0.45 BSFC to get the most steady-state power from an engine. Keep in mind you’re getting
closer to the lean side of the fuel curve, and if you’re not completely dialed in, you can get into
detonation. By the way, these ratios are for full- throttle, high-load situations. When you’re cruising
under low-load conditions, you can run right at 14.7:1 or stoichiometric and lower without problems.
As long as it’s not too lean.
From a performance standpoint, though, the job of a drag-racing carburetor is to deliver a constant
a/f ratio of12.8:1 throughout the rpm range of the engine. Simple enough. However, there are
physical obstacles to achieving the desired result.
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The carburetor is a mechanical device that regulates the amount of air and fuel the engine receives
to control rpm and power output. The carburetor allows the engine to idle, hold a certain rpm level,
and to rev up to the limits (and sometimes beyond) of engine combination. It does this by the
physical dimension (or size) of the throttle bores and the angle (or opening) of the throttle plates
that control the amount of airflow, as well as the various sizes of orifices and jets that comprise the
idle, acceleration, mid-range and high-speed fuel-metering circuits.
Because of the subtle complexities of mixing fuel into air—that is at times traveling faster than
sound—within the carburetor and changes temperature, density, and humidity levels, it so far has
been impossible to design a carburetor that will deliver a constant a/f ratio throughout the entire
engine rpm range. If you graphed the fuel curve as the carburetor throttle blades are opened, the
engine rpm increases, and the various fuel metering circuits come into play, you'd see it zig-zag
around. What the manufacturers do is arrange to have the variations of the fuel curve head toward
the rich side. This is because less power is lost on the rich side of the curve and there’s less
potential for engine damage. Custom carburetor builders and blue printers take this one step
further in that they increase the CFM capability of the carburetor and modify the fuel metering
circuits and structures so that the carburetor is able to deliver precisely controlled a/f ratio within
specific rpm ranges where your particular engine combination performs best.
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That said, it’s easy to see why becoming a mix-master approaches the art of mastering a science.
And while we can’t turn you into a ninth-degree black-belt carburetor guru just by reading this book,
we can at least help you get started on the three-fold path to peak horsepower.
First you need to understand how air density effects the fuel curve of your carburetor. Second, you
must know how to choose the correct carburetor for your engine combination and purpose. And,
third, you must become a diligent observer, note taker, and tester in order to establish a baseline
carburetor tune.
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How Air Density affects Air/Fuel Ratio and Power Output
In general, the power output of a naturally aspirated engine is at the mercy of the prevailing
atmospheric conditions. That is, the denser the air, the lower the altitude; the lower the humidity
and temperature, the more power an engine can generate. Air density changes with altitude and
temperature and is a major factor in tuning your carb to meet weather and track conditions.
To this end we enlisted the aid of mix-master Bruce Huggard of B&G Racing Computers. B&G
Racing Computers manufactures a racing weather station, which along with computers, has
become essential tools for improving racing performance. To be consistently quick, a racer needs
to understand how air density affects performance and be able to measure air density and make
appropriate adjustments to the carburetor.
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“The aeronautics industry has described a standard column of air as one that, at sea level, has a
barometric pressure of 29.92 inches of mercury and is 59 degrees Fahrenheit and which loses one-
inch of mercury, or barometric pressure, and 3.5-degrees per 1000-feet of altitude gain. What that
means to the racer,” Huggard continues, “is that elevation and temperature are the main factors
determining air density. Therefore, if you are at a track elevation of 1000 feet, the relative air
density could be similar to that found at 4500 feet in a standard column of air, if the temperature
happens to be high.”
“If you go to a different track with a big difference in elevation, you will notice a change in the
performance of your equipment because of the large change in barometric pressure. But once
there you’ll find that the barometric pressure will remain nearly the same except when the
temperature changes. Humidity will affect performance, but not as much as elevation and
temperature. The exception is when you get an increase in humidity at a high temperature. This is
because the relative air density is low to begin with, and with more water in the air to displace the
oxygen content of a given volume of air and the amount of fuel that can be suspended, then the
power potential of your engine is reduced under such conditions.
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“Now let’s learn a little about fuel mixture and it’s effect on performance. Figure 1. illustrates a fuel
mixture curve for horsepower. As you can see ,the slope on the left, or rich side, is closer to
horizontal than the left or lean side of the curve. Which means horsepower drops off more rapidly
when slightly lean than when slightly rich. In addition, engine damage is most likely to occur when
running lean.
“Most stock or mild engines are set on the rich side so they can run all year round and travel from a
higher altitude to a lower altitude without running too lean. This is why during a race performance
will usually pick up as the air gets cooler at night. Cooler air means a lower density altitude and
thicker air. If the fuel remains the same, the mixture will get leaner. As the mixture gets leaner, the
engine develops more power because it’s approaching the maximum horsepower point from the rich
side of the curve. It’s desirable to stay slightly on the rich side for two reasons. First, there’s only a
minimal loss of power; second, you can hurt your engine if the air-to-fuel ratio is just slightly on the
lean side. If you’re already operating on the lean side, and the air gets better, your vehicle will slow
way down and the probability of hurting your engine goes way up. If this happens, immediately go
up four jet sizes to improve performance and get a safety margin.”
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How to Baseline Your Carburetor Jetting
To be consistent, you need to do research. Fortunately this kind of research is fun because you
get to do it at the racetrack. The purpose of base lining your jetting is to establish a standard that
you can refer to under varying weather conditions. Your baseline is a reference point to help you
regain your bearings and proper tune for your car.
Base lining carburetor jetting is a simple but time-intensive task. The goal is to find the best jetting
combination for your car at a specific air density. This is how you do it.
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Start with a properly adjusted carburetor. For example, check that the throttle opens 100 percent,
the linkage is satisfactory, float levels and fuel pressure are correct, etc., and jetting that you know
is too rich for the altitude and temperature at the test site. The reason you start from the rich side is
because it’s safer and because the power levels are not affected as much coming from a rich
condition as coming from a lean condition. When in doubt go rich.
If you’re not sure of the current jetting and whether or not it’s too rich, physically inspect the system
and write down on the carb, firewall—or even a piece of paper—the number or orifice size; then ask
some of the faster racers at the track for guidance.
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Generally, the stock jetting is on the rich side, but if you’re running a high -rpm combination, heads
ported with a massaged manifold, big cam, and headers, you need to be at least two jet sizes up
from what’s considered stock.
Run your car down the track, changing jets until you get the fastest mph. It’s best to stay in the
same lane for your test runs in order to reduce variations in traction, even though the mph at the
end of the quarter-mile is the significant figure. While you’re establishing a baseline, remember to
only make one change at a time. Do not change timing, adjust the lash, or any other tuning
procedures. Simply change jets until you get the fastest speed in the quarter mile. The mph at the
end of the quarter mile indicates horsepower generated.
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Once you found the fastest mph in the quarter, note which jet sizes are installed. Take a
temperature reading in the shade with open air and make a note of it. Also note the altitude of the
test track. Keep a log of the best jets for the altitude and temperatures, and it’ll help you tune for
various conditions. Of course, buying a weather station and racing computer is the best scenario,
but good record-keeping can create a firm database from which to make tuning decisions if you’re
on a tight budget.
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Previous | Next
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This has been a sample page from
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How To Install and Use Nitrous Oxide
Injection Systems For Maximum Horsepower
by Joe Pettitt
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Includes information on nitrous basics and advance
nitrous theory. Written with the assistance of Nitrous
Oxide Systems
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Nitrous oxide injection is one of the potentially easiest, least
expensive, and fastest ways to substantially increase engine
horsepower. This new title, authored with the assistance of one of
the industry's largest manufacturer of nitrous equipment, provides
the latest technical information available regarding the proper
installation and use of this high performance, yet potentially
damaging equipment.
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Click below to view sample
pages from each chapter.
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"How to Install and Use Nitrous Oxide is filled with information
on nitrous, including the basics of advanced nitrous theory.
Photos, charts, and graphs accompany the text and illustrate
key points. Hands-on sections of the book cover how to plumb
a nitrous system and how to set up an engine to handle nitrous.
There's information on ignition timing, compression, wiring,
solenoids, octane, and fuel delivery." -- SPORT TRUCK, April
1999
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Chap. 1 - Introduction to Nitrous
Chap. 2 - How Nitrous Works
Chap. 3 - The Nitrous System
Chap. 4 - Installation Tech
Chap. 5 - Operating and Tuning
Chap. 6 - Basic Engine
Chap. 7 - Advanced Tuning
Chap. 8 - Nitrous Fuel Injection
Chap. 9 - Dyno Sessions
Chap. 10 - Real World Project
Chap. 11 - Chemical Reference
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8-3/8 X 10-7/8
128 pages
300 b/w photos
Item: SA50
Price: $18.95
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Click here to buy now!
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This is a great book that anyone using, or considering using a
nitrous oxide system will love!
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Other items you might be interested in
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Turbochargers
How to select and install the correct turbo for big or small
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Sport Compact Turbos & Blowers
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There is intense competition to be the fastest, and quite often the only
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How to Rebuild and Modify Carter/Edelbrock Carburetors
Author David Emanuel outlines carburetor types, gives a thorough look
at carb selection and carb function, and offers detailed information on
modifications, tuning, and rebuilding Carter/Edelbrock carburetors.
Also features the history of Carter as well as the history of the AFB
and the AVS since the purchase by Edelbrock. Contains more than
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Price:
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