Nitrous - anyone got it and what does it feel like?

[E30BeemerLad]

I'm thinking that it won't be long before the M50 200'ish BHP won't be enough for the touring and naturally I was thinking turbo.

Seen some kits on ebay in USA for $600 USD, so about £300 + postage for a turbo, intercooler, plumbing, manifold etc. All i would need would be some more plumbing and little bits, but of course some form of aftermarket management. Plus the quality of the stuff can't be upto much at that price.

So, avoiding all sorts of grief with mapping, manifold & downpipe dramas I am thinking a bit of the old laughing gas may be a more realistc alternative to power when you want it.

So, what is the best sort of kit to get and how much and does anyone have experience of nitrous in an E30? Is the performance increase really noticeable with say a 75bhp jet.

[Templ8e30]

I've got nitrous but I haven't finished fitting it yet.

I got my bottle filled yesterday and had a quick spin in the owners civic type r with a 50 shot and even that made a noticable difference.

The 'hit' of nitrous isn't just the power but the immense increase in torque, especially from say 3k, feels like you've attached a bungee to a passing F1 car.

I can't wait for some decent weather so i can get my install sorted.

I have a Nitrous Express (NX) EFI kit.

Cheers,

Iain T

[E30BeemerLad]

Be interested to hear all about this when you've fitted it Iain

[oakey]

I think nitrous will be my next performance upgrade. Aim to get close to 300hp

[fuzzy]

is it true that its recommended only be used in short bursts of around 10 seconds to prevent internal damage to the engine? or is that one of the old wifes tales associated with nitrous?

[agreen]

what a wizards of NOS kit ? oakey #?

[1an]

cant personally see the point in nitrous to be honest, as if you are racing someone will lsightly more power than you with hat youo have without nitrous, they will soon catch back up once you have used your short burst of spray, only tihng i can see with it is bragging rights and power figures from the rollers.

[Templ8e30]

cant personally see the point in nitrous to be honest, as if you are racing someone will lsightly more power than you with hat youo have without nitrous, they will soon catch back up once you have used your short burst of spray, only tihng i can see with it is bragging rights and power figures from the rollers.

Imagine You're at the lights and some dick in a type r or an M3 tries to show off to his girlfriend in the passengers seat by attempting to beat you off the lights, you engage the nitrous and you both set off.
He pulls away at first then Boom, your nitrous kicks in, next gear, Boom nitrous again etc etc. Before you know it he's well behind and completely owned. Race over.

I'll have a rev-window controller on my kit, the Nitrous will kick in at 3k and out again at 6k before the limiter kicks in and reults in a backfire blowing the manifold.

In reality you'll never have the solenoid open for more than say 20 seconds at a time anyway, every time you change gear the solenoids will close.

It's a bad idea to engage the nitrous below 2000rpm as it can cause a big backfire and major engine damage. As is accelerating through the limiter, the ignition is cut leaving lots of unburned nitrous/fuel mix to explode on the next firing cycle.

It is also recommended that your spark plugs be changed for one or two grades colder than standard to prevent the earth electrode from melting off at power hikes at or above 50bhp. You should also retard the ignition by a degree or so to prevent detonation although this'd be a bit difficult with our moronic engine management.

The ignition system neads to be in tip-top condition as well, weak coils/rotor arms/dizzy caps/leads breaking down and lead resistors going high resistance will cause big problems as well.

It's also a bad idea to have inlet mods like porting/polishing/big valves etc, the substantial increase in cylinder pressures require a higher proportion of exhaust flow over inlet flow to reduce excessive pumping losses.

Quite complex to do the job 'right' really

Cheers,

Iain T

[GDBN]

How much would you be looking at for a decent nitrous set-up ??
2 to 3 hundred quid ??
And what do you have to do to fit it ??

G

[Templ8e30]

I got mine for £190 second hand but unused with lots of accessories, about £350-400 will buy a good basic system.

Cheers,

Iain T

[march109]

Wizards of NOS kits start at around £900 inc spare bottle and progressive controller.

check out www.wizardsofnos.co.uk

the forum is pretty good too, the reason for the short bursts is two fold, as templ8e30 has said if you use through the limiter you chance screwing your fanimold. and its not great for engines under 2k rpm but more importantly under this and it would also help premeture clutch and tyre wear and be next to useless.

Nitrous when set up right feels awesome, the 325i has circa 170bhp imagine upping that by over 25% for under £1k, can't be done anyother way any 2.7, 2.8, turbo or sc is gonna cost way more. Yes the bottles do run out but do you really race off from every set of lights, and when cruising you won't use it at all.

Headache can be insurance companies especially if your young and or reckless, and believe it or not thanks to shite like fast and furious some people will actualy refuse to get in the car if they see the shiny bottle (when in fact you can actually put out a fire with a bottle of NOS!).

a 50hp kick up the arse is great fun, its almost like a large turbo when it comes on boost after lag. you can also jet (although these are approximations) to 75hp, 100hp, 150hp and 200hp. 75hp jets would probably be on the verge of max for a standard shagged m20 though.

[e30m3s50b32]

there is a point to nitrous, it's INSTANT POWER through the complete rev rannge, not just peak power.

the simplest exampple is as follows,

a 325i 170/170 bhp/ft lb
a well worked 2.7 about 210/210 bhp/ft lb

same gearing same weight

on a 1/4 mile, there will be maybe be a 0.5 second in it but add a 50hp hit of nitrous, will the 325i be the same as the 2.7 ? no the 2.5 will cross the line a second quicker.

i have personally seen a 325i sport run consistent 1/4 miles 1.5 seconds faster with 50hp "hit" of nitrous and change of tyre pressure. the same car would frighten e36 M3's

a 50hp "hit" on a 316i would frighten a 325i sport, becuase of the way the power develops

[march109]

when I said 'like' a big turbo coming on boost, I meant because you get that kick up the arse that pushes you back in the seat, I don't mean nos has lag or spools up or comes in 'only' at any point in the rev range!

and because its instant power throughout the rev range thats why at low revs I said its next to useless, because besides the damage to the engine your wheels will just spin and spin and you won't go anywhere, and before that happens you'll be adding premature wear to your diff and clutch and gearbox when they engage hard on launch while 'on' nos.

[dips346]

works nice as a anti lag kit as well on turbos

[zaust]

I use a 100 shot. I only need it when i'm racing on the m-way. Feel's great when activated. I can supply wizzards kit's as I know some one at the importers. Can set up a group buy if enough intrest...

[bootyman]

It for Pussies. Go get a job and get a real engine conversion done to give you real mans power

[zaust]

BTW Wouldn't use it for launching off the mark. Need's to be atleast 3k rev's and no more that 6k rev's. It causees the head to run hot so burst's of 10second's is an absolut max running time. Can get electroinc controllers to stutter the solinoids and limit run time and rev range.