Well, comes a time in everyones life when they start feeling like they need a little more horsepower... I have reached this point as I really feel like my 1996 Corvette convertible needs some more horsepower. The factory 300 HP isn't bad, and with the traction control it's a nice round number to launch from stoplight to stoplight out of the hole... However, on the highway at speeds above 70 MPH there are just too many other vehicles out there pushing more than 300 HP and it becomes a trick to figure out which ones you should mess with and which ones might leave you feeling less than thrilled...
I have had a lot of experience with NOS's dry kit PN 5176 and also the NOS's plate kit for Fords (yes I was a Mustang guy at one time). In fact I was able to merge the dry kit with the wet plate kit that went between the plenums for a nice 500 HP increase in power which I found to be quite reliable and almost untouchable... well, until I started getting cocky and calling out trailered drag vehicles... but even then some of them lost to the sheer amount of nitrous I was pumping and the only time I did lose I actually won (it was VERY close) but the other guys had an entire pit crew of older men who were so embarrassed they were getting to the point it was going to be a massive 3 on 1 fight with my guys, so I paid them. But still, they invited us to their place to party all night as they knew it was too close to call.
Stories aside, and my relative success with Nitrous in the past, I can't help but want Nitrous in my Corvette. I know the NOS kit like the back of my hand but I am very disappointed with the fact they do not offer any plate style kits and as such for the 1992-1997 LT1 and LT4 engines, so I have been looking around at other offerings to come up with a plate kit. I come across Nitrous Outlets 1992-1997 LT1 wet plate kit rated at 400 HP max and can't help but to think it looks pretty slick!
I just wonder how good of job this plate does at atomizing the nitrous and fuel... I guess there is only one way to find out, but I am almost positive this kit would also benefit from a dry kit mounted a few inches before this plate to atomize the mixture just a little better and also to boost vacuum at the regulator as most NOS dry kits use the syphon effect off the nitrous to do just that.
All in all it's about $1500 for what amount to a max HP increase of 550 HP with the engines stock 300 offering that's enough to best even the Dodge Demon in terms of HP. Sure, as time goes by I could get that number closer to 900 or 1000 HP by doing some modifications to the engine and exhaust, but for now it would allow me all the power I need to pick on whatever I might encounter on the expressway. Since I am not much into drag racing anymore, and the kid has got that arena locked up with his LT1 equipped Firebird, it's safe to say I need to increase my HP in the most cost efficient way and I think this plate kit, along with an NOS brand dry kit (which makes for two bottles ladies and gentlemen) is the best and most cost effective way to do this and still allow me to drive the car cross country in the event I feel like going somewhere on vacation.
Any thoughts or suggestions?
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What is to give light must endure burning -- Viktor Frankl
What's the maximum number of HP you can go before the ally-block says that it's too much ?
What is the interface with the GM computer ? eg. What are you triggering the injector-pulse-width with, or do the injectors shut down, & all fueling is taken care of by the metering-plate with the NO2, or both ?
Who at the moment "are" the real motivators on the road above 70mph ?
Is a cam-package necessary ? Or just heavy duty push-rods & valve-springs ?
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"Only an alert & knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial & military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods & goals, so that security & liberty may prosper together". Dwight D.Eisenhower.
That is the beauty of the generation II LT1's, they have a cast iron block!
There is no interface with the nitrous system, it a switch activated system that operates off a power toggle switch and then is activated (aka solenoids open up) when the pin switch at the throttle is activated at WOT.
The wet kit delivers it's own fuel which is supplied VIA a slick tap-in at the Schrader valve. The dry kit creates a vacuum between two solenoids as the nitrous passes an orfice which increases vacuum at the FPR to allow full out pressure to the rail as it closes the return path.
Pretty much any LS series V8 engine (read that as GEN III-V), DOHC Coyote engines, and anything high end with DOHC and modern direct injection with turbochargers can be considered a motivator above 70 MPH as most vehicles now days are pushing well over 300 HP in the performance segment.
No cam package or valve springs are needed with nitrous... That is the beauty of it... You're not having to rev the piss out of the engine as the air is forced in at 1,100 PSI... Plus that air is FROZEN dense air with 1 part oxygen and 2 parts nitrogen. The beauty of nitrous is it's only a stress on the engine when you're using it, the engine runs as normal at all other times unlike turbochargers and superchargers that are a constant load on the engine and are constantly increasing heat.
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What is to give light must endure burning -- Viktor Frankl
And the best part is, with a dual stage wet/dry system you have two independent kits... You can tap a safe and reliable 150 HP on the dry kit for the small jobs and then tap the bigger wet kit at 400HP when you're in need of the serious horsepower. I used to run back to back passes with a dry kit all night without issue back in the 90's as they are pretty efficient and safe kits... The big wet kits can melt all your spark plugs if you miss a gear or lean out, but hey... It's a small price to pay for such horsepower increases.
You can also get bottle warmers, remote bottle opening valves and other things like purge kits that are pretty intimidating to your opponent. Back in the 90's I didn't have the money for these luxuries so I just put NOS stickers on my car, reached behind the seat and turned the bottles on and used a propane torch to warm up the bottles.. Sometimes I'd get carried away and increase pressure over 1,100 psi in which that first pass would literally smoke a pair of 10.5 slicks @ 12psi thru 1st gear. That's a lot of power!
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What is to give light must endure burning -- Viktor Frankl
I guess N2O is a nitrogen molecule bound to an oxygen Atom. Given the fact a molecule is bigger than an Atom, I guess this is where I get the two parts nitrogen and one part oxygen, although I am quite sure it's a little more complex than that generalization that I use as an example but you get the point.
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What is to give light must endure burning -- Viktor Frankl
