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How Does Nitrous Oxide Make An Engine Work Better?

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Nitrous oxide is an oxygen bearing compound. Its chemical designator is N2O. Nitrous oxide is sometimes incorrectly known as NOS. That is an acronym for the company, Nitrous Oxide Systems, which is the largest marketer of nitrous oxide injections system for automotive use

A property of nitrous oxide is that at about 565 degrees Fahrenheit, it breaks down into nitrogen and oxygen. When it is introduced into the intake tract of an internal combustion engine, it is sucked into the combustion chamber and, on the compression stroke, when the charge air temperature reaches 565 degrees, a very oxygen-rich mixture results. If we add extra fuel during nitrous oxide injection, the effect is like a super charger or increasing the compression ratio of the engine. Automotive nitrous systems work like the automotive equivalent of a jet's afterburner and is used for short duration extra bursts of power.

Nitrous oxide has this effect because it has a higher percentage of oxygen content than does the air in the atmosphere. Nitrous has 36% oxygen by weight and the atmosphere has 23%. Additionally, nitrous oxide is 50% more dense than air at the same pressure. A cubic foot of nitrous oxide contains 2.3 times as much oxygen as a cubic foot of air. If you substitute some nitrous oxide for some of the air going into an engine than add the appropriate amount of additional fuel, the engine is going to put out more power.

Nitrous oxide injection is very much like a supercharger or a compression ratio increase in that, during combustion, it can dramatically increase the dynamic cylinder pressure in the engine.

Next Page: What Problems Can Nitrous Oxide Cause In Your Engine?

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