The Effects of Boost on an Engine

[93gtmustang]

The below is from an article I read.

Nitrous or Supercharging Without Proper Planning

Nitrous and supercharging can be costly mistakes if you don't do your homework beforehand. If you're contemplating quick, cheap power gains (nitrous-oxide injection), you must first know what's inside your engine. Cast or forged aluminum pistons? Cast pistons? Forget it. Forged? Good-you are cleared to proceed to the next step. What is your engine's compression? Don't know? Then you better check now.

When manufacturers assure you 100, 150, 200 bolt-on horsepower increases by touching a button, sacrifices will be made elsewhere. Your engine will not live as long. Nitrous introduces your engine to a violent jolt of extreme heat energy hammering the piston crowns, rings, and lands. Rod bearings also take a pounding with nitrous.

The same rules apply to supercharging, which isn't quick, nor is it cheap. It's just more subtle than nitrous, and mandates special care. Remember, there are no free lunches in the world of power. When you gain big one way, you make huge sacrifices somewhere else.

So, does this mean if I was to run a Zex dry nitrous kit, with a 125hp shot, that I would be shortening the life of my motor?
All the nitrous companies state in their FAQ's, that if you run the amount of nitrous that your set-up can handle, it will not shorten the life of your motor.

Is it not a good idea to run the Zex kit with my set-up?

Thanks

1993 GT Mustang / Ford Racing GT-40 Crate Motor B-303 Cam / 24 lb. Injectors / Stock Ignition / MSD EFI Blaster Coil / Edelbrock 5.0 Upper and Lower Intake with BBK Phelonic Spacer / Professional Products 70mm Throttle Body / C&L C.A.I. w/76mm MAF / Stock Air Box w/K&N Panel Filter / Holley Adjustable Fuel Pressure Regulator / Holley 190 lph Fuel Pump /

 

[TokyoJoe]

The key to any of the above is good tuning for longevity. I think what the author is saying is that you shouldnt hastily decide on one power adder over the other without deciding first what your motor can actually handle. Not really sure why some things are worded the way they are though, I mean so many setups have been proven with a stock 302 block that nowadays its just a matter of picking one and "doing it"

Like I said though the key factor will always be tuning

 

[jrichker]

Putting a 125 shot of NO2 on a low mileage engine is probably OK IF it is tuned properly. Doing the same 125 shot on a 100 K + mile engine is going to definitely shorten the remaining life in it.

The NO2 setups tend to be cheap, I bought it at the swap meet kind of thing. Guys are looking for a cheap way to beat the competition. The kit hardware may be excellent, but the buyer does not want to invest the effort, time and money to learn how to tune it themselves. Most of them don't have the $$$ for a two stage custom dyno tune either. One stage is street tune without NO2 and the other is full race with the full shot of NO2 running. The result is an engine that makes a few NO2 passes and then comes apart in a spectacular show of bent, broken flying parts and smoke.

 

[86bluecobra]

I would go with a wet nitrous system. They are a little safer in my opinion. I have had nitrous on my car for over 5 years now and still running strong. I have however had issues with tranny's and axles. So there were some sacrifices made.

 

[93gtmustang]

So with my set-up would I need a tune?
I like the idea of the Zex kit controller working of your TPS to kepp the fuel mixture correct.
Would that kit be ok to run?

 

[jrichker]

So with my set-up would I need a tune?
I like the idea of the Zex kit controller working of your TPS to kepp the fuel mixture correct.
Would that kit be ok to run?

The TPS does not give information about the amount of air entering the engine. It only measures the amount of throttle opening. The Mass Air Flow meter (MAF) provides air flow information to the computer. The NO2 kits use the TPS to keep from turning on the NO2 until you are in sufficient throttle opening range for full power.

There are wet NO2 kits and dry NO2 kits.

Wet NO2 kits use a separate fuel injector that is turned on only when NO2 is in use. Fixed size jets are used to control the amount of fuel supplied to get the desired air/fuel ratio. Change the jet and you change the air/fuel ratio. You need an air/fuel indicator to help choose the right jet size for max power and minimum possibility of engine damage.

Dry NO2 kits use the engine fuel injectors to supply the correct amount of fuel for the proper air/fuel ratio. This usually requires larger injectors and a two stage tune to make the car street drivable and still have the extra fuel for use with NO2.

Wet kit needs for max power and minimum possiblity of engine damage.
At the very minimum, you need a data logging air/fuel instrument to watch the air/ fuel ratio, and a variable spark advance ignition system. The variable spark advance will provide a decreased amount of spark advance to reduce the possibility of detonation. Detonation is the primary engine destroyer on NO2 equipped engines.
Typical ignition system -
MSD 6BTM w/Built-in Boost Control (6462) $443.52

See http://www.msdignition.com/ignition_7_6462.htm

Typical air/fuel instrument with data logging - Innovate LM-1 Air/Fuel Ratio Monitors - price is $350.

See http://store.summitracing.com/partd...1&part=INN-3723&N=700+400587+115&autoview=sku

 

[fastranger347]

you dont believe that you could increase hp and trq by 50-100% while not increasing engine wear do you?? everything in life is a comprimise

 

[93gtmustang]

you dont believe that you could increase hp and trq by 50-100% while not increasing engine wear do you?? everything in life is a comprimise

I totally agree!!

Thanks for the information jrichker.

This is making me lean towards going all motor instead of boost.