Trying To Piece Together My Own Nitrous Kit, Got A 5lb Bottle Now What?

[bo0st]

Hey guys how's it going? I'm trying to piece together my own nitrous kit to learn stuff & save money in the process as well, so far I have purchased a 5lb nitrous bottle that I got a really good deal on.

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So what's the next steps? What parts do I need I'm really clue less is it solenoids, switches, lines, nitrous pressure gauges, etc?

I'm intermediate when it comes to cars but a novice at nitrous so I'm trying to read up & learn some stuff from the best nitrous guys here @ DsmTuners.com

I don't want to blow my engine so I'm not going to do anything above a 55 shot I've decided, unless my compression test checks out really good.

I'd appreciate any help as to what parts you would recommend and any other input you may have.

 

[burkgonzo]

I would never buy used nitrous related parts. You would be better off buying a basic kit. Personally I deal with Nitrous Express.

 

[bo0st]

I'm not looking for any "used parts" only thing used was the bottle, and I don't think that makes a huge difference as long as it works it works right?

 

[4g63tc]

I'm not looking for any "used parts" only thing used was the bottle, and I don't think that makes a huge difference as long as it works it works right?

Check the Hydro date on the top of the bottle, some places will not fill it if it's out of Testing.

 

[Slow91Laser]

Also a 5lb bottle wont last long at all, 10lb bottle is what you need unless your only running a 50 hit....

 

[evil tsi]

when i had my camaro a 10lb bottle would only last 4 passes, but i was spraying 250

 

[97gst_spyder]

If your going with a wet kit (best) then you need two solenoids. One for fuel, and the other for nitrous. Then an arm switch (go pickup a toggle switch you like at the store), and a full throttle switch. You'll need to tee the fuel feed line coming from the passenger side for the fuel solenoid. Install the fogger 8-12 in from the throttle plate.

I'll have more later, but my phone hates me right now.

 

[jahjahSQC]

Go purchase a new High quality Nozzle. the better the aomization of the nitrous/fuel mixture, the better.

I'd also purchase all the nitrous accessories too. bottle warmer, purge valve.

and be sure to plumb/wire it correctly and safely. no wire or lines under the car

 

[97gst_spyder]

If he uses a purge on the 5lb bottle, it won't last long. I never ran one and never had any issues.

 

[bo0st]

Check the Hydro date on the top of the bottle, some places will not fill it if it's out of Testing.

Alright but I just went to oReilly yesterday and they offered to fill it for $43.45 so I think it's fine

Also a 5lb bottle wont last long at all, 10lb bottle is what you need unless your only running a 50 hit....

I know this, I wasn't able to get a 10lb bottle for a good deal so I just purchased a 5lb bottle to get my feet wet.

when i had my camaro a 10lb bottle would only last 4 passes, but i was spraying 250

Nice 250 shot ? How reliable was that camaro if I may ask?

If your going with a wet kit (best) then you need two solenoids. One for fuel, and the other for nitrous. Then an arm switch (go pickup a toggle switch you like at the store), and a full throttle switch. You'll need to tee the fuel feed line coming from the passenger side for the fuel solenoid. Install the fogger 8-12 in from the throttle plate.

I'll have more later, but my phone hates me right now.

Thanks I'll be doing a wet kit at least if not direct port.

Go purchase a new High quality Nozzle. the better the aomization of the nitrous/fuel mixture, the better.

I'd also purchase all the nitrous accessories too. bottle warmer, purge valve.

and be sure to plumb/wire it correctly and safely. no wire or lines under the car

Will I need a bottle cooler? I'm in Phoenix, Arizona so not so sure about the bottle warmer (As it's always warm here ha ha)

 

[jahjahSQC]

If he uses a purge on the 5lb bottle, it won't last long. I never ran one and never had any issues.

The purpose of a nitrous purge is to ensure that the correct amount of nitrous oxide is delivered the moment the system is activated as nitrous and fuel jets are sized to produce correct air / fuel ratio's, and as liquid nitrous is denser than gaseous nitrous, any nitrous vapour in the lines will cause the car to "bog" for an instant (as the ratio of nitrous / fuel will be too rich) until liquid nitrous oxide reaches the intake.

I ran purge on my last setup, and will run one on my next setup too. Its just a suggestion

Will I need a bottle cooler? I'm in Phoenix, Arizona so not so sure about the bottle warmer (As it's always warm here ha ha)

BOTTLE TEMPERATURE & NITROUS PRESSURE INFO


The Relationship Between Bottle Temperatures and Nitrous Pressure

Tech note: The lower the ambient temperature, the lower the resultant bottle pressure leading to a potential fuel rich condition. Although usually not harmful to the engine, loss of optimal power can occur. On the other hand, very high ambient temperatures can lead to leaner burning conditions and loss of optimal performance as well as possible damage to engine components. NOS gauges are an excellent way to monitor problems before they can occur.

NOTE: NOS recommends a bottle pressure of 950 psi for optimum performance.

Bottle Temp °F Bottle Pressure (psi)
-30-------------- 167
-20 --------------203
-10 --------------240
0-------------- 283
10-------------- 335
20 --------------387
32 --------------460
40 --------------520
50 --------------590
60 --------------675
70 --------------760
80 --------------865
85-------------- 950
97 --------------1069

once again, its just suggestion.

 

[bo0st]

So I need this:

NOS 15910 Nitrous/Fuel Pressure Gauge 0-1500psi | eBay

Can anyone link me to like a "kit" or the parts for me? Surely other people just buy a bottle & build a kit from there too.

 

[bo0st]

Can anyone here help me out? I am positive I'm not the only guy to buy a nitrous bottle first, then try to piece together my own kit.

Should I try a Nitrous forum or what guys?

 

[evil tsi]

Nice 250 shot ? How reliable was that camaro if I may ask?

i blew the head gasket, i trusted a friend to set the timing i ran 36 degrees on a 406 13.7:1 compression motor. i told him to retard it 6 degrees,, he advanced it. i blew the head gasket and burned a hole through where the block and head met(prob from crossfiring). i then put it on another camaro and sprayed 180 on my dd camaro, i only had 2.73s at the time so i still got almost 20mpg with a 355. its very reliable if you have your timing set right. also make sure you have a bottle heater to keep bottle pressure consistent

 

[bo0st]

How do I make sure the timing is set right? I'm most likely going to take it to a reputable shop and have them do the install but just curious about this one.

 

[evil tsi]

How do I make sure the timing is set right? I'm most likely going to take it to a reputable shop and have them do the install but just curious about this one.

i would just get an engine management system to retard the timing for you only while you spray, so you dont lose any off spray power.

 

[dsmjunk]

pm me i have a 10lb bottle and a v8 kit but you might be able to use it on a 4 banger

How do I make sure the timing is set right? I'm most likely going to take it to a reputable shop and have them do the install but just curious about this one.

 

[evil tsi]

I also have a bunch of 10 pound bottles( 3 zex and 2 nos) a bottle heater led purge lights and a remote bottle opener. Pm me if interested. The vs solenoids^ are most likely too big for him

 

[bo0st]

If anyone has all the parts necessary for a 35 - 50 wet shot I'd appreciate a PM or a website. Thanks a lot for the help so far guys will be sending you both a PM to see if I can get any parts off ya.

 

[dsmjunk]

If anyone has all the parts necessary for a 35 - 50 wet shot I'd appreciate a PM or a website. Thanks a lot for the help so far guys will be sending you both a PM to see if I can get any parts off ya.

 

[turboglenn]

Just go to either the NOS site or the NX site, they'll have all you need. DON"T SKIMP on good solenoids.. there's not much of a worse feeling than a stuck n20 solenoid not closing when you want it too. (and most times will result in either a blown engine or a bad accident if you're one of the people that uses the gas on public streets) Don't get me wrong, I love nitrous, but learning to use it correctly and wisely is way more important than how big a shot you have or how elaborate you system is (and cheap is NOT the way to go when building a system, in fact it's probably the worst way you can go) I don't mean to discourage you, but do some reading on nitrous mis-haps and NEVER think "oh, well that won't happen to me, i'm too carefull" etcc..etc..


As a matter of fact for added safety, i run 2 solenoids for the nitrous directly inline with each other using a dual male 1/8th" NPT fitting. (and believe me, when you get some age on them they WILL eventually stick open, also don't forget to use a nitrous filter pre-solenoid.. there's more trash than one might think that will work it's way into the lines and solenoids) I had a nitrous solenoid stick ONCE, very very spooky experience.. thankfully i was able to shut power down to the engine, coast to the road, disconnected the coil and pulled injectors fuse and cleared the egnine of all the gasses before i even thought about firing the engine back up (leaking solenoids are one of the main reasons you will see gassed cars blow the intake manifold clean up and through the hood, and more as soon as they go to start the car... nitrous is great, but using it safely is the ONLY option.. and cheap piecing together a kit = NOT safe for the most part. I've ben using the same kit i bought for my mustang for over 13 years now, buying the parts i need to fit it to the application i'm using it for at the time. But i rebuild the solenoids every couple of seasons (30 bucks for a rebuild is a lot cheaper than the damage than can result from neglecting the systems up-keep)

ONe of the most important i can think of when assembling a kit is to NOT use pipe tape to ensure a seal.. little bits of it will work in there and ensure you have a majorly scary even one day while on the bottle, i can't stress this enough or een begin to count how many systems i've seen peiced together and sealed with pipe tape only to take the thing apart and find bits of it in the solenoids causing light leaks (which could be heavy leaks causing a blown engine or worse)

And please don't fall into the trend of spraying the exterior of your intercooler with a gas tht costs you about 5 dollars a liquid pound, there's more cost effective gasses that can doalmost the exact the same job (c02 being one of them that i've used with success many times to spray a core down during or between runs, and IMO it's s total waste to burn presious nitrous just as an extrenal spray for cooling)

here's another site that carries kits as well as various parts
Nitrous Express Nitrous Oxide Systems

another place to go for nitrous pats is MPS racing (a motorcycle drag racing site) but great deals on nitrous part as well as stocking a lot of the various small parts you may neeed
MPS Racing

remember.. google is your friend.. It makes a great home page as well

Also, a 5lb botle unless only being used for a quick spool of your turbo will empty out FAST, my 10lb bottle on my mustang when jetted to around 125 HP would really only last about 5 full quarter mile passes before you start to feel the gaps in power from where your getting sloshing of the liquid nitrous to where you're sometimes getting gas and soemtimes getting liquid nitrous ( a 5 lb bottle IMO is best stuited for a motorcycle) You'll also want to check the hydrotest date on the bottle (typically an n20 bottle needs to be re-tested every 5 years to ensure it's safe to hold the average pressures of 900 to 1100 PSI (and belive me this is soemthing you want to just brush off and think "well it's working fine i'll just run it" A failed nitrous bottle is just as deadly as a bullet, but heavier and already in the car with you.. YOu'll honestly do better buying a small kit and using the 5lb bottle as a back up. You can get a decent wet kit with a single nozzle for around 325 bucks or so but piecing one together will likely cost you about the same with with a little les cnfidence as to the condition of the aprts your running if you don't bu them new or at least rebuild the solenoids on a decently regular basis

EDIT: A large back up solenoid right on the bottle is another great piece of added peice of mind in case something were to go wrong.. use it with one og the gaurded switches so it's easy to slap the cover and shut it down if need be.. now i'm not trying to scare you away from the gas, but rather put some thoughts in your head about how to safely build and run a nitrous system with the least chance of a major catastrophe somewhere down the road

for a 50 shot you can just get a single "shark" or pirhann" (forget the name right now) from NX, then start with a #35 nitrous jet and a # 21 or so for fuel and adjust the fuel jet from there for proper AFR's on the bottle.. being too right on nitrous will jsut cause you to miss, load up adn be dissapointed in the resultas youre gonne receive

Currently on e85 i run a single NX nozzlw, pre, throttle body, running a 41 nitrous jet and now a 21 fuel jet, and my afr's stay in check at about 12:1 on the spray (i am normally at 12.3:1 without the bottle) the guides posted on their sites are fine but most don't account for riding rate fuel pressure on a turbo car and often times will end up with way too rich of a mixture when put into use at 15-20+psi since the charts are generally based on 40psi based fuel pressure, but under boost we are usually running about 60psi at 20lbs boost depending on your BFP

Sorry for a long post, but nitrous safety is not to be overlooked.. NEVER use a torch to heat your bottle either, heat from being in the truck is usally enough but on a cool night if you don't ahve a bottle heater one of my old tricks was to run a nice hot bath and soak the bottle for 20 minutes or so with a -4AN cap over the fiting with a pressure guage on the bottle so you cna check where your at without loosing much gas.. the pressure relieve edisk in most bottles is set to relieve it's self at around 1300psi, so once you pass 1100 psi on the gauge, take the bottle out, mount it in the cat and go enjoy your power in a bottle

 

[evil tsi]

Just go to either the NOS site or the NX site, they'll have all you need. DON"T SKIMP on good solenoids.. there's not much of a worse feeling than a stuck n20 solenoid not closing when you want it too. (and most times will result in either a blown engine or a bad accident if you're one of the people that uses the gas on public streets) Don't get me wrong, I love nitrous, but learning to use it correctly and wisely is way more important than how big a shot you have or how elaborate you system is (and cheap is NOT the way to go when building a system, in fact it's probably the worst way you can go) I don't mean to discourage you, but do some reading on nitrous mis-haps and NEVER think "oh, well that won't happen to me, i'm too carefull" etcc..etc..


As a matter of fact for added safety, i run 2 solenoids for the nitrous directly inline with each other using a dual male 1/8th" NPT fitting. (and believe me, when you get some age on them they WILL eventually stick open, also don't forget to use a nitrous filter pre-solenoid.. there's more trash than one might think that will work it's way into the lines and solenoids) I had a nitrous solenoid stick ONCE, very very spooky experience.. thankfully i was able to shut power down to the engine, coast to the road, disconnected the coil and pulled injectors fuse and cleared the egnine of all the gasses before i even thought about firing the engine back up (leaking solenoids are one of the main reasons you will see gassed cars blow the intake manifold clean up and through the hood, and more as soon as they go to start the car... nitrous is great, but using it safely is the ONLY option.. and cheap piecing together a kit = NOT safe for the most part. I've ben using the same kit i bought for my mustang for over 13 years now, buying the parts i need to fit it to the application i'm using it for at the time. But i rebuild the solenoids every couple of seasons (30 bucks for a rebuild is a lot cheaper than the damage than can result from neglecting the systems up-keep)

ONe of the most important i can think of when assembling a kit is to NOT use pipe tape to ensure a seal.. little bits of it will work in there and ensure you have a majorly scary even one day while on the bottle, i can't stress this enough or een begin to count how many systems i've seen peiced together and sealed with pipe tape only to take the thing apart and find bits of it in the solenoids causing light leaks (which could be heavy leaks causing a blown engine or worse)

And please don't fall into the trend of spraying the exterior of your intercooler with a gas tht costs you about 5 dollars a liquid pound, there's more cost effective gasses that can doalmost the exact the same job (c02 being one of them that i've used with success many times to spray a core down during or between runs, and IMO it's s total waste to burn presious nitrous just as an extrenal spray for cooling)

here's another site that carries kits as well as various parts
Nitrous Express Nitrous Oxide Systems

another place to go for nitrous pats is MPS racing (a motorcycle drag racing site) but great deals on nitrous part as well as stocking a lot of the various small parts you may neeed
MPS Racing

remember.. google is your friend.. It makes a great home page as well

Also, a 5lb botle unless only being used for a quick spool of your turbo will empty out FAST, my 10lb bottle on my mustang when jetted to around 125 HP would really only last about 5 full quarter mile passes before you start to feel the gaps in power from where your getting sloshing of the liquid nitrous to where you're sometimes getting gas and soemtimes getting liquid nitrous ( a 5 lb bottle IMO is best stuited for a motorcycle) You'll also want to check the hydrotest date on the bottle (typically an n20 bottle needs to be re-tested every 5 years to ensure it's safe to hold the average pressures of 900 to 1100 PSI (and belive me this is soemthing you want to just brush off and think "well it's working fine i'll just run it" A failed nitrous bottle is just as deadly as a bullet, but heavier and already in the car with you.. YOu'll honestly do better buying a small kit and using the 5lb bottle as a back up. You can get a decent wet kit with a single nozzle for around 325 bucks or so but piecing one together will likely cost you about the same with with a little les cnfidence as to the condition of the aprts your running if you don't bu them new or at least rebuild the solenoids on a decently regular basis

EDIT: A large back up solenoid right on the bottle is another great piece of added peice of mind in case something were to go wrong.. use it with one og the gaurded switches so it's easy to slap the cover and shut it down if need be.. now i'm not trying to scare you away from the gas, but rather put some thoughts in your head about how to safely build and run a nitrous system with the least chance of a major catastrophe somewhere down the road

for a 50 shot you can just get a single "shark" or pirhann" (forget the name right now) from NX, then start with a #35 nitrous jet and a # 21 or so for fuel and adjust the fuel jet from there for proper AFR's on the bottle.. being too right on nitrous will jsut cause you to miss, load up adn be dissapointed in the resultas youre gonne receive

Currently on e85 i run a single NX nozzlw, pre, throttle body, running a 41 nitrous jet and now a 21 fuel jet, and my afr's stay in check at about 12:1 on the spray (i am normally at 12.3:1 without the bottle) the guides posted on their sites are fine but most don't account for riding rate fuel pressure on a turbo car and often times will end up with way too rich of a mixture when put into use at 15-20+psi since the charts are generally based on 40psi based fuel pressure, but under boost we are usually running about 60psi at 20lbs boost depending on your BFP

Sorry for a long post, but nitrous safety is not to be overlooked.. NEVER use a torch to heat your bottle either, heat from being in the truck is usally enough but on a cool night if you don't ahve a bottle heater one of my old tricks was to run a nice hot bath and soak the bottle for 20 minutes or so with a -4AN cap over the fiting with a pressure guage on the bottle so you cna check where your at without loosing much gas.. the pressure relieve edisk in most bottles is set to relieve it's self at around 1300psi, so once you pass 1100 psi on the gauge, take the bottle out, mount it in the cat and go enjoy your power in a bottle

i agree with you 100%, ive been running the same nos cheater system for 6 years, on the same selenoids. i have also discovered that if you have a nos brand line you will not be able to use a zex bottle with it unless you buy a new brass bottle nut fitting for it every time(f's the threads up and only get one time out of it). the v8 kit i have uses a filter after the selenoid and before it. i used teflon tape on the fittings but i dont put them on the first thread or two, i occassionally find strands of teflon tape in the filter. Another benefit of a purge being that it clears the contaminants out of the line. with my zex bottle heater it says that it holds the bottle at a consistent 900psi(even though a freshly filled bottle hits the hardest, probably because its around 1300 psi). if i were the op i would just purchase the nos sniper kit, it comes with a 10lb bottle, appropriate selenoids(jets from 35-75), line, nozzle, and a microswitch(which i would use this to retard the timing also); its somewhere around 300 bucks. also being that you are n/a, dont forget to take into account how expensive a bottle is to fill, here its $5 a pound, so $50 a bottle, if you spray a lot, it would eventually be cheaper to just turbo your car. best of luck on your build

 

[turboglenn]

EVil tsi.. You're correct, i've seen the same issue with the bottle nut on a friends car (i thought it was soemthing he was doing until it deformed 2 in a row with me being around enough to know he wasn't doing anything wrong.

Best way to fix that is to just go to the local circle track or drag shop and pick up some NOS brand -4 fittings and bottle nut (or get both in ZEX brand) however NX and NOS have no issues that i've seen interchanging but i'm also no nitrous guru either, just an enthusiastic fan

I appologize for my poor grammar last night. I was just released from the hospital and have been on more morphine than i'm use to having in my system on a normal basis. ON a little less today so at least i can halfway read the screen and see what i'm typing.

And like i said last night, i'm not trying to scare you away from nitrous, i just want to encourage you to go to some websites and read about nitrous safety and proper use...

As far as eveil TSi said about 50 bucks a fill and being cheaper to turbo your car... he's dead on with that one.. I eventuallyt was so hooked on the power i went to the junk yard and picked up a couple of thunderbird T3's, got some basic materials, broke out the fab tools and did a nice ghetto but effective twin turbo setup on my 89 mustang 5.0 (lucky i found an accell DFI cheap too and that's really where my love of stand alone engine management was born ) then after the turbo conversion the nitrous sat idle until the stang was gone and my new t-bird supercoupe needed a little "boost" of it's own since changing pulleys was the only way to up the boost, not to mention it was a 4200 lb car

enjoy your nitrous, use it wisely and you'll never have a problem out of it. Those who say nitrous is bad and only destrys engines are the ones who either never read up on using it safely or never jetted the system correctly and blew their engines

 

[bo0st]

Thanks for the advice guys it's really appreciated! I guess I have a lot of reading/research to do before I piece this together or possibly use the 5LB bottle as a backup to a new kit.

It's not hard adding another Bottle to a setup right?

 

[turboglenn]

Nope not hard at all, once you get good with AN lines and putting the fittings on you could have the infamous vin-diesel bunch-a-little-bottles all rigged together if you wanted (the same fittings are used for -3 and -4 brake and clutch lines that are used for nitrous so you can get pretty carried away). it's really (at least IMO) about using quality solenoids and assembling everything correctly and without trash in the system.. don't be affraid, build your system and have a blast with it, but you will want more than just that 5 lb bottle after you get a good taste of the juice ;D