How it Works?

You have seen it in the movies. Hit a button and in an instant the engine produces 50, 100, 150 or more additional horsepower.

Is it magic? Not really. The explanation is rather simple, but before we understand 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 that 4G63 in your Mitsubishi, 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 you can combust, the more power 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.

Regardless of who manufacturers the nitrous-oxide system, every nitrous-oxide system accomplishes both of the above. In some way, either through the factory injectors or by adding additional fuel nozzles, the nitrous- oxide system puts more fuel into the engine. The additional amount of oxygen needed to burn this fuel is also supplied by the nitrous-oxide system. The additional oxygen is supplied by injecting gaseous nitrous oxide into the engine. When the nitrous oxide enters the engine, it supplies additional oxygen for combustion. The air that we breathe is about 21 percent oxygen. On the other hand, nitrous oxide contains 36 percent oxygen by weight.

The Basic System

A bottle, high-pressure lines, solenoids, jets and nozzles are included in all nitrous-oxide systems. The nitrous-oxide bottle usually holds 10 pounds of nitrous oxide and the trunk is the most popular mounting location. A high-pressure line carries the nitrous oxide forward to the solenoid. The solenoid is an electronically controlled valve. When a signal of 12 volts is sent to the solenoid, it opens and sends nitrous oxide to the nozzle and into the engine. At the same time that nitrous oxide is injected into the engine, the nitrous-oxide system will by some means add additional fuel into the engine.

The "Wet" System

The original and most simplified method of injecting the fuel is by using a second solenoid and a fuel nozzle setup. This setup is often referred to as a "Wet" system. This setup is nearly identical to the configuration for the nitrous except that the fuel is injected at a pressure of anywhere from 6 to 60 psi, while the nitrous oxide is injected at a pressure of 700-1200psi.

Learn more and educate yourself on the basics of nitrous by picking up a copy of DRAG Sport on newsstands and tuning shops nationwide.