Nos

[un4gvnbb]

ok... whats the deal with NOS. i thought that nos was explosive, and when added to the air/fuel mixture, it gave it a hell of a boost.

now i have a friend telling me that its not the NOS that gives it the boost but an extra shot of gas into the piston chamber, and since NOS is compressed, when shot into the piston chamber along with the gas, keeps the engine cool.

am i retarded or is he pulling this out of his ass?

[Polygon]

Yes, he is.

While Nitrous Oxide has an intercooling effect it is VERY explosive. I don't here we got that Nitrous is only for cooling the cylinder. It is the Nitrous Oxide gas exploding that is causing that extreme amount of boost.

[YellowMaranello]

I read somewhere that it isn't so much the nitrous that explodes, but extra fuel that gets burned. The Nitrogen in it turns into oxygen and allows you to burn alot more fuel, at least thats what I've read, feel free to correct me.

[higgimonster]

When Nitrous Oxide (N2O) is injected into the cylinder the oxygen assists the burnning process of your fuel. Basically you are focing more air into your engine, same as a turbo/supercharger. The nitrogen helps cool the combustion process a little.

Your friend is right and wrong. It sounds like he is trying to sound smart by construing what happens. the Oxygen helps burn the fuel better (and most engines compensate for the leaner burn by adding more fuel and allowing more power.

As far as the deal with NOS, it is a company that makes Nitrous Oxide injection products. It is not the mane of the chemical.
And, technically speaking, N2O is not flammable without a fuel source, but in the real workd anything from dust to steal, to gasoline act as fuels. So, in all practical applications, N2O is explosive.
Another reason for the Nitrogen is to help stabilize the Oxygen and slow it's burning process down (I know, the O does not burn, but you know what I mean). Pure O2 inhection would be highly highly unstable

[ivymike1031]

Originally posted by YellowMaranello
The Nitrogen in it turns into oxygen and allows you to burn alot more fuel, at least thats what I've read, feel free to correct me.

Well, I think the subject has already been clarified to some extent, but I found the above statement particularly interesting. Since Nitrogen and Oxygen are different chemical elements, the only way one can be turned into the other is via a nuclear reaction. That's not to say that it doesn't happen from time to time, but it's not a significant part of what's going on in your engine.

http://chemlab.pc.maricopa.edu/periodic/O.html
http://chemlab.pc.maricopa.edu/periodic/N.html

[Wingcom]

Yeah, the only way nitrogen can turn into oxygen within an engine is if some how temperatures within your engine reached high enough temps to cause fusion (as in the stuff the happens in the sun). So, I don't think nitrogen ever turns into O2 in an engine.

[Neutrino]

Originally posted by higgimonster
When Nitrous Oxide (N2O) is injected into the cylinder the oxygen assists the burnning process of your fuel. Basically you are focing more air into your engine, same as a turbo/supercharger. The nitrogen helps cool the combustion process a little.

Your friend is right and wrong. It sounds like he is trying to sound smart by construing what happens. the Oxygen helps burn the fuel better (and most engines compensate for the leaner burn by adding more fuel and allowing more power.

As far as the deal with NOS, it is a company that makes Nitrous Oxide injection products. It is not the mane of the chemical.
And, technically speaking, N2O is not flammable without a fuel source, but in the real workd anything from dust to steal, to gasoline act as fuels. So, in all practical applications, N2O is explosive.
Another reason for the Nitrogen is to help stabilize the Oxygen and slow it's burning process down (I know, the O does not burn, but you know what I mean). Pure O2 inhection would be highly highly unstable

Well he is right with a few little exceptions. Nitrous oxide acts like a blwer but with a few advantages. It brings air forcefully into the engine very fast with 0 lag and its very coold not because of nitrogen but because it is a gas expanding therfore having an endotermic (cooling) effect. To try this just use a can of compresed air from a duster(buy one in compusa) and you see how cold the air can gets.
So the boost is from the forced air mainly but the cooling effect also helps.

The dissatvantages are. Its ussulaly hard on the engine and if the ecu is not compensating fast enough with extra fuel you will run lean.