Nitrous Newbie, need help

[Fryguy]

Ok, I'm a total newbie when it comes to using nitrous. All of my experience is from F&F and hearing about people blow up their engines.

I've got a stock RS Engine with 84,000. I've got just an intake and exhaust so far (although I plan on doing other things)

I want to spray about a 50 shot of nitrous, and I want something that I'll need minimal upgrades for. What type of gas do I need, and I want to stay away from upgrade fuel pumps/injectors etc if at all possible.

What kits are recommended? I know zex makes computerized kits where I just arm it and it works (I can just arm it after I shift out of first right? then whenever i'm WOT it sprays). What exact zex model would be good for me?

If I did decide to make fuel upgrades, how much could I afford to spray and what exact upgrades would I need to make?

Also, if it matters, I plan on doing 4-2-1 headers, pulleys, a catback, cam gears, and a lightweight flywheel.

Anything else I need to know?

 

[NosLaser]

...Ok, I'm a total newbie when it comes to using nitrous. All of my experience is from F&F and hearing about people blow up their engines....

AAHHH!!! After a Fast and Furious reference, you are lucky you are getting a reply from me. But the rest of your post is valid, so I'll help ya.

...I've got a stock RS Engine with 84,000. I've got just an intake and exhaust so far (although I plan on doing other things)

I want to spray about a 50 shot of nitrous, and I want something that I'll need minimal upgrades for. What type of gas do I need, and I want to stay away from upgrade fuel pumps/injectors etc if at all possible....

First off, make sure the motor is in a nice state of tune. New plugs/wires fresh oil, all your maintanence is up to date, etc. I would say you would want to upgrade the fuel pump just as a safety pre-caution. In my opinion, I think a good upgrade would be to a stock Turbo DSM pump. Any safety pre-caution you can make is always best.

...What kits are recommended? I know zex makes computerized kits where I just arm it and it works (I can just arm it after I shift out of first right? then whenever i'm WOT it sprays). What exact zex model would be good for me?...

I personally like the NOS and Nitrous Express kits myself. Zex is the AOL of nitrous, and won't make as much power as the other two, but a lot of people find it user friendly, and I will admit, it makes for a clean install. And you can spray in first gear no problem, just use it above 3,000 rpm.

...Also, if it matters, I plan on doing 4-2-1 headers, pulleys, a catback, cam gears, and a lightweight flywheel....

Any little exhaust improvements are going to help on nitrous. I say start out with a 50 shot dry, and work your ay up from there. You should be able to go up to 75ish without too much worry. One thing to make sure, is do NOT run platinum spark plugs (in case you run them now.) Other than that, you are pretty good to go. Nitrous is pretty easy to use as ong as you monitor gauges and take proper pre-cautions. Any specific questions, feel free to ask.

Regards,

 

[Fryguy]

I've heard that Zex is the AOL of nitrous, but it tends to be a lot safer, since you can't really overspray or anything. Since my goal is to only run low 14s high 13s, maybe it'd be best to just get this and not push it?

Along with a fuel pump (how hard is this to install), are upgraded fuel injectors necessary/recommended?

Now on to the other kits. I know that zex works when armed and when I'm WOT. How do the other systems work?

And if I start spraying from the middle of first all the way through, is that particularly bad on my engine? How often can I afford to spray? 2-3x a month isn't a problem?

 

[Fryguy]

Ok, I've been doing a little bit more research, and it seems that the 55 shot of zex is almost 100% safe on my engine with 93 octane.

What if I wanted to do 65 or 75? I was reading on the 2gnt forums that I can just retard my ignition timing a little bit and be fine on a stock engine. Is this true?

Also, with a 65 shot, pulleys, cam gears, headers, exhaust, and throttle body, along with possibly a flywheel (haven't decided if I want to do 4-2-1 headers or 4-1 headers and a flywheel yet), will I be able to turn in 13s?

 

[GreenGVR4]

I personally prefer a wet kit, like NX or NOS because you can compinsate for fuel injectors by putting in a larger jet.

 

[bp97tsi]

i had a 98 talon n/t with a nx wet system. That kit was awesome. I sprayed a 75 shot with stock timing & 1 step colder on the plugs just to be safe. It did fine on amoco 93. I always checked my plugs after i sprayed. The nx stage 1 kit is ok to use on a completly stock engine w/o retarding timing & stock plug heat range, but i went 1 step colder just to be on the safe side. Call NX & talk to them if you doubt me.

 

[Fryguy]

so how does the NX kit work? do I have to hold the button down to spray or what?

 

[GreenGVR4]

The setup it comes with they will give you a micro swith wich mount either on your floor board, or your throttle body(you choose). you will also have a armed and disarmed switch, to turn it on and off. the micro switch on the floor will not open the solenoids until the pedal is fully depressed(for saftey issues so you dont blow your motor as fast) or you could go with the push button like you are talking about, but that is only good in my opinion when you are trying to squeeze off the line for just a second or so.

 

[Fryguy]

ehh, I'll probably just go with the zex kit, since it wires into my throttle position sensor, and instead of relying on a physical switch, it relies on a voltage reading, which is much more accurate and reliable IMO.

 

[GreenGVR4]

that is true, i havnt ever had a dry kit so i dont know how long your engine will last on it. but i heard the kit works very well and is easy to set up.

 

[GoriLLa]

YO, just listen to NosLaser he just about the only one talking in this form that realy does know what he is talking about... trust him...

 

[TurboAwd]

I have never used nitrous but I did alot of research when I was going to get a NX kit. I sold my car before I got the kit that's the only reason I'm not running it now. I recommend NX, the customer service is very helpful and everyone I know that runs with nitrous runs either NX or NOS (the brand). My friends have had no problems from either brand so really I would recommend NOS too. I just personally got alot of help/info from NX customer service and more of my friends run NX then NOS. I'll shut up now since I have very little hands on experience with nitrous. Check out this faq though it might help you learn a little more.

NX faq

-Paul

 

[Fryguy]

But the Zex kit is so much easier to do etc.. is there any real reason to run NX instead of zex?

Edit: the NX kit costs significantly more than the zex kit. Is there any reason to pay more for the nx kit?

 

[TurboAwd]

Every dyno sheet I've seen of the Zex kit is usually lower then the other kits produce. That could be because of different setups but I've seen alot of dyno's of similar Honda's on different brands of nitrous. I do know that it is the easiest kit to install though. I also thought that the Zex kit only came with a 55 hp jet but I could be wrong though (I was never clear on that). I think that Zex kit is a dry kit also which are always cheaper then wet kits. (less hardware)

Oh yeah Nx have raised their prices. The race kit use to cost $775 that's with triple insulated hoses and a few other things. I see that they want $775 for their normal kit now so maybe Zex would be better. Look at the NOS systems to though. I have personally seen Zex kits not perform as well as the other brands on dyno's. That's my main reason for never recommending Zex.

Like I said before though I have never used nitrous first hand so my knowledge is limited.

 

[NosLaser]

The reason why the ZEX kits make less power is because they spray a more controlled amount of nitrous based upon bottle pressure. It's a good idea, but nothing more than a gimmick. It IS safer, but only for the simple fact that you are spraying less. However, it is nothing different than spraying a 50 shot instead of a 75 shot. I personally like the NOS and NX kits, but that's just me. They are straight forward, no nonsense nitrous kits. They have the largest amount of parts available, all sorts of different nozzles and jets, and quite frankly the most experience in the industry. Any kit you get WILL work, so it's really up to you. The bigger question isn't which kit to get, but rather what to do with it when you get it.

Regards,

 

[TurboAwd]

Originally posted by NosLaser
The reason why the ZEX kits make less power is because they spray a more controlled amount of nitrous based upon bottle pressure. It's a good idea, but nothing more than a gimmick. It IS safer, but only for the simple fact that you are spraying less. However, it is nothing different than spraying a 50 shot instead of a 75 shot.

Ok I see what you're saying. I never knew that about the Zex kit. Thanks for the info.

 

[nano]

I have a zex and have seen great results. But persoanlly from my experice I wouldn't recommend it for a turbo dsm unless you trully know what your doing. If I would have just bolted this kit on with no tunning I would have blown my engine by now. Maybe it's just my car but I had to run quite a bit richer on the AFC to keep EGTs cool. Although it might work better on a N/A car since that's what it's designed for.

I got crappy results from the 55 shot but I got some huge gains from the 75 shot wich is very odd. On the 55 shot the car only would go from a 13.1 @ 103 to a 12.7 @107 in the same day, but on the 75 shot it went from a 12.9 @ 104.7 to 12.1 @ 112.2. That's a 7.5mph encrease and alsmot a second off my 1/4 time. I didn't use any bottle heater and it was in the high 60s out so bottle preasure was at it's best either. I'm not sure to what that would equte HP wise, but I'd say those are some good results for a 75 shot. Specially for a 3400lbs automatic.

 

[Fryguy]

So all NX kits are wet? Is running a wet kit on N/A a smart idea?

Also, short of spending $120(!!) on the extra switch, how else am I going to set up the WOT switch? The micro-switch that comes with it seems shady, since it works on mechanical rather than electrical.

so I'd really be paying almost $900 for the NX kit, whereas the Zex kit is only like $450 new on ebay.

Edit: ehh NOS even recommends a dry kit for my car, so I think I'm definetely going to stay with a dry kit, especially since I'm not going to be pushing this too much (75hp shot at the most). So it's either go with zex and lose a little bit (and save a lot of money), or go with NOS.

 

[GreenGVR4]

the micro switch does the same exact thing as yout TPS. It just mounts on the floor or throttle body, it is still electrical and sends power to the solenoids. it is just more universal. Hands down Zes is the best kit for someone that is clueless in setting up a N02 on their car, and is very inexpensive But the NX kit is in my opinion is the best on the market. has the best hardware. Have you ever heard the saying "you get what you pay for?" Well that might be something to think about.

 

[Fryguy]

yah I've heard that saying.. I'm very big into car audio and have seen it proven time and time again..

but anyways, isn't NX a wet kit, and isn't dry kit recommended for a 420A non-turbo?

Edit: after looking around for better pricing, both NOS and NX are in the 500-550 range, although I'm not sure exactly which model I need for either or (I think I know but after I make up my mind which brand I'm gonig with then I'll ask that)

 

[nano]

If you've never installed a wet kit or not sure how to install one I really recommend the zex. I've installed a wet kit and it's not hard but it's a lot more challenging. The Zex is plug and play. Took me about three hours on my first install. I bet I could do it in two hours now. If you want to make the most power and highest quality system get a NX. Wet or dry will work but wet is a more efficient and reliable way of doing it.

 

[Fryguy]

ok, I know that wet is necessary for turbo, I just thought that it was like forbidden on NA for some reason.

I got people helping me with the install, so challenge isn't that much of a problem. I started shopping around at places not direct from NX, and I'm seeing the kit that I think I need for about $525. The model number is EXM2501.

 

[-red97rum-]

Wet kit give a harder hit than dry--wet=more torque

I think dry kits are recomended becuase the cars are fuel injected and your intake manifolds aren't designed for fuel to run through them.
I personally think wet kit's are more safe to run than dry only because there are less things to go wrong. With camaros (don't know if it's the same for DSM's) but when you hit the stock rev limiter it shuts off the fuel to random cylinders and if you're spraying with a dry kit and bounce of the rev limiter it could create a very dangerous lean condition, and thats when detonation can occur. Or if a fuel injector fails and sticks closed. bla bla bla you get my point. Nitrous is always a gamble, I say unless you have money to buy a new motor ( or you just don't give a f#ck) then run Nitrous. Ahh screw it strap a 250 shot on that son of a b/tch and hold on to your as&!!!!!! I'm kidding. that's my .02

peace

 

[4 Wheel Peel]

I have a 90 GSX and I'm interested in doing as much of a shot as possible. I have a walbro 255lph HP, K&N and all the free mods. Any suggestions?

 

[-red97rum-]

I'm not sure, I don't own a dsm. But a few posts back nano said he ran a 55 shot and then a 75 shot. He knows what he is talking about and says he saw huge gains with the 75 shot. Maybe he can give you some ideas.

I always recommend a FPS no matter how sure of your fuel system you are.