NOS Makes Me Laugh

Adding a nitrous oxide kit to a SOHC GT can produce some truly amazing results. As I�m sure most of you have learned by now, the modular GTs are considered to be on the bottom of the racing food chain. This really pissed me off, but it gave me some motivation to set out for some respect. While the GT is rated at 215 hp stock like the 5.0s before it, the biggest problem I�ve found is the lack of any aftermarket support past SVO. SVO makes solid products but the prices are unbelievably high. To make up for the modular�s aftermarket shortcomings I decided to go straight for the big guns: nitrous oxide injection.

You can achieve massive amounts of horsepower very quickly with nitrous oxide, but NO2 might not be for everybody.

Nitrous Oxide Benefits:
Inexpensive - A basic kit can be bought for around $500
Power - a) Lots of it that�s consistent through the power band
    b) Easily adjusted through different jet settings
    c) Only used when you need it (also a detriment)
Installation - Can be done relatively easily by yourself
Portability - Very easy to take off and put on

Nitrous Oxide Detriments:
Bottle Refills - It doesn�t take long to empty that bottle (about $30 for 10 lbs. bottle)
Usage - Usually requires a trip to the trunk to arm the bottle
Brutality - Install something wrong and you could have a throw-away engine
Power - Isn�t there all the time

I think the benefits greatly outweigh the detriments by quite a bit. Sure there are some hassles that go with nitrous oxide, but horsepower and cost gains are incredible. A decent (meaning Vortech) supercharger will cost you over $3000 and just try to take it off when you want some dealer work done. Superchargers have their plus and minuses, but we�re on a budget here, right?

Since we�ve decided to go with the nitrous oxide kit (we did, right?), let�s start some of the kit information.

The Nitrous Oxide Systems (NOS) dry manifold kits are the ONLY kits I would recommend purchasing. While NOS kit #5171 is designed specifically with the modular 4.6 in mind, I found the old 5.0 kit #5115 to be a lot less expensive and works just as good (even verified by calling NOS tech line). The main differences between the two kits is that the 5115 kit uses a little microswitch to turn on the nitrous whenever the gas pedal is floored while the 5171 uses an electronic device. The 5115 comes jetted for 75 horsepower pills while the 5171 is jetted for 100 because it also comes with an auxiliary fuel pump that will allow for the higher horsepower jet settings. However, we can up the HP on the 5115 just as easily and buy whatever replacement fuel pump we want later.

The basic kit is very much that: basic. It comes with everything you need, but it doesn't come everything you really need.

What You Should Have:
Kit #5115 - Of course
Pressure Gauge - This is simply a must. Optimum pressure is around 900-1000 psi. To know what pressure you have you need a pressure gauge.
Bottle Warmer - Heat increases the pressure of the bottle; more pressure, more power. It's not summer all year round, so you might want to pick up one of these for the off months.

What You May Want:
Remote Bottle Valve Opener - This is almost a must. Really. You will get tired of the trips to the trunk to open the bottle valve. Too many times someone has pulled up next to me and wanted to race when I least expect it and it's not turned on. It runs about $150, but it's worth it. You can't tell the guy revving his engine at to you to wait while you get out and open the bottle. Trust me on this one.
Bottle Blanket - This is really not necessary at all, but it does clean up the look quite a bit.
Two Bottles - The bottles run out quick. It's always nice to have a backup.
Fuel Pump - A faster one if you want to set the HP jets higher (but don't go over 125 HP).

Installation of the kit is really straight forward. Some people come up with really creative ways to run the wires and lines to and from the kit (See Van's Blue 98 GT). Some adjustments to the microswitch may be required to make it fit properly under the throttle linkage. The solonoids will need to be mounted facing down in order to sit flush against the fender interior. If you have any questions or problems about installation, drop me an email.

Important Things To Remember When Using Nitrous Oxide Injection:
1. DO NOT HIT THE REV LIMITER WHILE ON NITROUS! The computer will cut off the fuel to the engine and you will run lean and could blow your engine.
2. DO NOT SPRAY NITROUS WILL NOT DRIVING! Test the nitrous lines by holding the nozzle away from the car and manualy depressing the microswitch. Spraying while at idle could have detrimental effects.
3. It's best to engage nitrous around 3000 RPMs or higher, not before.

The Results:
A few nights ago I met up with friend of mine who owns a local speed shop. He was driving a 98 Cobra convertible with the owner sitting in the passenger side. I've met the Cobra owner before and had a brief look under the hood and knew he had some good bolt-ons to boot. My friend yelled over to ask me if I had my nitrous hooked up and I shook my head. We toyed around on the highway and my car felt like a four cylinder against the Cobra. Then they wanted to go race me with my nitrous so I agreed. I pulled over and we chatted for a bit and I lit a little fire under the SOHC's ass. We went to the popular race area and got ready. The speed shop owner, of course, knows how to drive; it's his job. I'm not so bad myself. At the drop of the Cobra owner's hand, we hit it. We had almost exact launches, but that was the only thing similar; I pulled their ass by two car lengths in almost a quarter mile strip. We were all good sports about it and they gave me quite a few compliements on how well my car runs. The only thing that never left me as they drove off was the ten inch grin across my face that stayed there the rest of the night.

Some people will tell me that the Cobra was at a serious disadvantage because of the added weight from two people and it being a convertible. What I tell those people is that they can have a couple of tenths on those facts, but my car is only 215 HP stock compared to 305 stock. Mods? He's got bolt-ons ... I'm only running a 75 horsepower shot, 2.73 highway gears, an offroad H-pipe, and that killer K&N. Just think what would happen if I really decided to bump things up a bit!

Thanks for reading.