Hi goodtime65,
I have heard that its not actually "nitrous oxide" from my buddy and that its just co2 cartriges ( and thats what im thinking too) because he buys co2 cartriges as refills and he says it works just the same. I think it pretty much works on the same principle as a turbo for a car in that it relies on forced induction and packing more air and fuel mixture into the engine by running more air passed the needle in your carburetor or what have you. Therefore it shouldn't damage the engine. is this true based on your experience with it?
Thanks so much!
Malin
BS.
there are "soda bulbs" that ARE CO2, for carbonating beverages, in a soda siphon.
try whipping cream with one and you get very odd tasting cream, as the CO2 produces carbonic acid... hence why cream whippers use nitrous oxide.
i wont say "try inhaling" one because thats naughty!
but fun
as butre says... co2 is non flammable. it doesnt "stuff more in the cylinder"... it simply displaces what would be entering the cylinder, replacing it with... stuff that does nothing at all!
timbone...adding PURE O2 is problematic, which is why they dont do it! raising the oxygen alone by a few percent just increases the likelihood of detonation. the combustion process has to be slowed down, damped if you will, ever so slightly.
nos takes a bit of energy to actually "crack" the molecule, to release the oxygen. then the nitrogen helps cool things down slightly. (not sure if the free nitrogen atoms do anything to produce power as they "combust" with each other to produce N2? possible, but merely conjecture)
hydrogen peroxide also works just as well, if not better. and is street legal (here in au at least, because noone has written a law against it yet!).
you cant just go spraying nos in the intake...you need to add extra fuel as well, otherwise you WILL melt pistons!
it isnt the NOS that produces the extra power...its the extra fuel that does it...but extra fuel is useless unless the stoichometric ratio is still correct. so, we force extra air in, with a turbo/supercharger...or add some type of oxidising agent that ISNT pure oxygen...
its a bit like the nitromethane in model engines...they run fine with methanol/oil mixtures with no nitro! but the tuning is touchy. adding nitro allows you to stuff more fuel into the cylinder and still burn it. adding extra fuel means the tuning isnt so sensitive. you make more power cus you burn more fuel on each cycle BUT... (this is why i run 0-5% nitro fuels most of the time) you get less run time per tank as it sucks it down faster!costs more, lasts for less time, and as i dont compete... why would i need that extra poofteenth of power?
then theres compression ratios and all that sort of stuff... a turbo engine without the turbo is pathetic as the compression ratio is a lot lower, gets back to the detonation issue... stuff more in, raise compression that way, but at some point, theres too much compression and petrol starts behaving like diesel and self-ignites. gimme a direct drive supercharger any day, rather than turbo lag...
last thought on NOS... you cant stop the engine immediately after using it. it produces nitric acid, which isnt really a nice thing to leave inside your engine...
the cheapest source i have found is from the guys that supply things for hotels etc... helps if your buddy owns a takeaway and can order cases of the things without any questions being asked...