Some call it a miracle or a type of divine intervention. Since power adders can increase an engine's output on the order of 40% or more, it's no wonder why power adders seem to be heaven sent. The power-adder trinity consists of turbochargers, superchargers and nitrous-oxide systems. Just like the biblical Trinity, the power-adder trinity has a reputation for performing miracles. Each member of this trinity has its believers and its strengths.

Today, turbochargers win the popularity contest while superchargers are starting to gain some ground. Despite the vast technological improvements in both of these technologies, neither delivers the "bang for the buck" performance of a properly-installed nitrous-oxide system. Nitrous-oxide systems represent the power adder for the masses. With the lowest entry cost of ownership and a near universal application list, it's a wonder why nitrous-oxide systems aren't more popular.

The Bad Rap

Based on its low cost and high-power producing capabilities, nitrous oxide systems should be the most-popular power adder in the world. However, the "bad rap" that surrounds nitrous-oxide systems causes many people to believe that nitrous-oxide blows up engines. The truth is simple: it's not the use of a properly-installed and tuned nitrous system that can lead to engine damage. Instead, it's the misuse or improper installation of a nitrous-oxide system that leads to broken parts and blown engines. Improper installation, inappropriate jetting or allowing the nitrous-oxide system to deliver more additional horsepower than the powertrain can handle will all lead to horror stories.

Beating the Rap

So how do you get all of the good from a nitrous-oxide system while avoiding the bad? First, a quality installation is a must. For first timers, there is no easier-to-install system than those offered by ZEX. The ZEX systems integrate the solenoids and TPS switch within a Nitrous Management Unit (NMU). This design eliminates the need to individually mount the solenoids and throttle switch. Recently, ZEX has made installation even easier with the introduction vehicle-specific systems. These systems are currently available for the 2003-2006 Nissan 350Z (p/n 82220) and the 2007-up dual-throttle 350Z (p/n 82238). Systems for the Honda Fit and Scion tC should also be available in the coming months. These vehicle-specific systems offer application-specific fuel rail adapters and custom-length hoses for a quick and simple installation. Second, understanding the capabilities of your nitrous-oxide system is a must. Each nitrous-oxide system is designed to support a specific range of added horsepower. Going beyond the range specified in the installation manual should not be done without first consulting the manufacturer's tech department. Third, don't exceed the power-handling capabilities of your driveline. Like a supercharger or turbo system, a nitrous-oxide system can deliver a significant increase in horsepower and torque. In some applications, this can overload the torque capacity of the clutch system. Hence, a high-performance clutch should be considered a necessity on a nitrous-oxide assisted engine. Also, the engine may have a "horsepower limit" too. Honda D-series engines pushed beyond 60 additional horsepower and Nissan VQ engines pushed beyond 350 wheel horsepower can often develop a failure of the factory connecting rods. Be sure to always stay within the power-handling capabilities of the engine. Exceeding these limits will result in broken parts and broken hearts.

Nitrous Science

Hit a button and in an instant the engine produces 50, 75, 100 additional horsepower. Is it a miracle? Not really. The explanation is rather simple, but before understanding how a nitrous-oxide system allows an engine to generate a rush of additional horsepower, it's best to understand a little on how the engine itself makes power.

Internal combustion engines, like the VQ35 in our Nissan, are designed to convert one form of energy to another. The engine takes the energy in the fuel and then, through combustion, the fuel's energy is turned into heat and pressure to produce horsepower at the flywheel. Even if you can't remember this, all that you need to remember is that the more fuel that you can combust, the more power that you can make. Bottom line, to make more power we need to be able to combust more fuel.

So this takes us to combustion. What do we need to be able to burn more fuel? The answer is simple, as just two things are needed. First, we need a way of adding additional fuel. Second, we need something that will supply an additional amount of oxygen to let the fuel burn.

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