Nitrous Oxide Q and A


Is nitrous Oxide Poisonous?

Nitrous oxide is not poisonous at all as it is mainly used throughout the medical industry by professionals such as dentists and doctors who feed it to their patients to kill pain and also put them to sleep prior to surgery. This is also why nitrous oxide is referred to as "Laughing Gas", as it is a sedation drug that causes giggling when inhaled.



Why does nitrous have such a scary reputation?

There has been some very shoddy nitrous "kits" sold to unsuspecting customers over the last 20 years; this along with the abuse nitrous has suffered from those who damage their own engines.



Is Nitrous Oxide Legal?

Having a nitrous oxide system installed in your car is not illegal. However Injecting nitrous oxide into your engine in whilst driving on a public road can not really be commented on as we can not find any law against this but at the same time we can't find one that permits it. So we recommend keeping the bottle turned off until you're in a suitable surrounding to inject nitrous oxide, e.g. drag strip.



Will it destroy my engine?

Nitrous Oxide will not destroy your engine provided it has been fitted carefully and it is used correctly. People always sound astonished when you say "I'm using nitrous". They all assume your engine bonnet is going to pop off and your engine explode. This is because Nitrous was originally used for automotive use by drag racers, Drag racers did not have a safe system and tended to use unsafe engine methods such as literally turning on the bottle to a direct pipe into the engine intake and in huge amounts creating additional gains of up to 1000Bhp. Although this obviously worked but it did incredible damage to the engine components such as clutch and piston rings where exposed to extreme heats can crack or even shatter. Using small amounts of nitrous oxide in small bursts will do the engine no harm providing it is only injected when the acceleration is at its maximum as this is when your engine is under least pressure. Injecting nitrous oxide into your system when the engine is at a lower throttle can create more pressure than the engine is capable of. This is why the micro switch is always used at set only to activate when the throttle is in the "wide open" position.



Can I have a performance chip in my ECU while using my nitrous system?

Generally the answer is NO. Only if the chip has been designed specifically for use with nitrous oxide. Most performance chips on the market advance ignition timing to gain additional horsepower. This additional timing, when using nitrous, can cause engine damaging detonation. The only exception to this are chips that have been specifically programmed for nitrous use.



Can I use platinum plugs with nitrous injection?

No, it is not suggested to use platinum plugs with nitrous oxide injection. There have been instances where the platinum tip has lost its bond to either the center or ground electrode when they were used in a motor with nitrous. Thus far the tech's say they have had no problems using Iridium plugs with nitrous.



Where should I run the main nitrous feed line?

The feed line can be run either under the car of through the passenger compartment. Care should be taken to route the line away from any voltage points or moving suspension parts.


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