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 ZEX Appeal
By Mark "I'm way too Zexxy" Squitieri
Introduction
When the quest for more horsepower becomes an issue for us, many go ahead with aftermarket aluminum heads, aftermarket intakes, larger injectors, etc. We always find ourselves looking for more power even after these modifications are performed. Some go with stroker engines, some go with blowers and then some look into nitrous oxide. There are many truths and myths regarding nitrous oxide and hopefully we will answer most of them here.
Many of you know that I am a real detailed kind of guy. I love the look of a clean engine compartment coupled with lots of power. Last year I made several upgrades to my car in the form of Trick Flow heads and intake, roller rockers, injectors, fuel pump, exhaust and other little touches. Recently I decided that I wanted something more - I looked into super chargers but with prices so very high it was hard to imagine dropping $3000.00 plus dollars on a super charger that will give me 100-125 instant horsepower. Nitrous came to mind right away and I wasn't sure how I'd like the look of all those solenoids in my engine compartment and those ugly micro switches. I also wasn't happy on the idea of a nitrous system that could potentially be dangerous to my car. Enter ZEX! ZEX has produced a great looking "smart" nitrous system for Mustangs that seems almost idiot proof. It contains a Nitrous Management Unit (NMU) that houses all the control valves and activating circuits necessary for a nitrous system. All the electrical, vacuum, and nitrous connections are made at the NMU. It is an almost foolproof unit with good looks and at a price extremely competitive with the big names in nitrous. Before we get started lets go over a few questions regarding nitrous oxide.
What is nitrous oxide?
Nitrous oxide is a gas composed of two nitrogen atoms bonded to one oxygen atom. The scientific abbreviation for one nitrous oxide molecule is N2O where the N is nitrogen and the O is oxygen.
How nitrous oxide makes power.
Nitrous oxide kits make large amounts of horsepower by allowing an engine to burn more fuel. Burning more fuel creates higher cylinder pressures that will push down on the pistons with greater force. When the nitrous is injected into an engine and the initial combustion takes place, it creates enough heat to separate the nitrous oxide into its two components, nitrogen and oxygen. Once separated, the additional oxygen is then free to react with additional fuel.
How to make it safe.
To run nitrous successfully and safely you have to introduce precise amounts of additional fuel with precise amounts of nitrous oxide. All of the extra oxygen provided by the nitrous oxide must have fuel with which to react or you may damage your engine severely. When the amount of nitrous and the amount of supplemental fuel is controlled precisely, your engine can safely and reliably generate exceptional power increases.
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