The main purpose of adding nitrous is to increase horsepower. It accomplishes this by allowing the engines to burn more fuel per power stroke. The way nitrous is able to allow the engine to burn more fuel is that it increases the amount of oxygen in the cylinder during each power stroke. With more oxygen available, you also need to inject more fuel to keep the air-to-fuel ratio optimal, which yields a more powerful explosion.
This results in added torque and faster acceleration times. Because nitrous comes out as such a cold gas, it also cools the intake air, which increases the density, and gives the engine more oxygen. Nitrous can also actually decrease the risk of early detonation because of how cold it can make things. You want to be at full throttle when you use nitrous because this lets the engine computer add more fuel so that the air-to-fuel ratio stays ideal.
There are two types of nitrous systems on the market. The first is the dry system which is just nitrous injection. The dry system has to be used with an electronic fuel injection. As you inject the nitrous there's more oxygen in the cylinder. Your ECU is going to tell the fuel injections to inject more fuel. It uses the oxygen sensor to calibrate. The dry system does not react as quickly as the wet system. However, a wet nitrous kit provides increased risk of backfire. This occurs because fuel vapors can work their way into the intake tract, and if enough is there, they could ignite. This could damage your engine. How do we avoid this? A proper tune to support your new nitrous installation.
The main difference between a wet system versus a dry system is that with a wet system you’re injecting nitrous and fuel rather than just nitrous. A “wet system” adds additional fuel with a separate pump through the same plate or nozzle, supplying the nitrous oxide.
There are different pros and cons to both system choices when it comes to nitrous installation. But not to fear! Our experts will provide you with all the information you need to make an educated decision as to which route you’d like to take with your vehicle.