NITROUS vs. TURBO

Alright, can someone make up a pro's/con's on Nitrous vs. Turbo? i.e. cost, performance, maintenance, etc. ??? Now that we've got both going on, we should have a panel of "specialists" that could chime in. I'm sure inquiring minds besides myself would like to know.

 

Since I'm looking at this, though I'm not a specialist, here's what I can tell from what I've read:

Nitrous pros: Initially cheaper, power only when wanted, easy to install
Nitrous cons: The power source runs out, you have to get the power source re-filled, costs more to get more of the power source, if you don't pay attention to details on your install you could blow your engine, it will probably void your engine warranty.

Turbo pros: Always has power, power never runs out, no added costs after install
Turbo cons: Possible turbo lag, Have to be careful on some turbos to let them spin down before killing the engine, initial price can be steep, most people wouldn't fabricate their own system so you are at the mercy of pre-built systems, most people wouldn't try to install a turbo, if you don't pay attention to details on your install you could blow your engine, it will probably void your engine warranty.

I figure those are the basics, so all the knowledgeable people can say really smart stuff since I said the obvious stuff.

 

I'm not an expert too, but I want to say that having power only when you want it, sounds cool. The 8 is not that slow after all.
Don't get me wrong though, I love turbos! But the rotary's history with turbos is scary, right?

...in the end, maybe both is the best answer:D

 

You're tempting me again dude

 

The history of people messing with a simple turbo setup in the rotary, is what is scary. Greed my friend... greed.

 

I'm just showing you the right way


:D

 

Remind me again when it is we don't want power? :D

Seriously though, don't stomp on the gas. There's really no "problem" with the power coming on when you don't want it in a properly set up turbo car. The power delivery characteristics are a bit different than a non-turbo car, but the same can be said between NA cars of different types. This is no advantage with nitrous. My opinion of course!

jds

 

I agree, with Turbo you can make sure you don't get into boost quite easilly by paying attention to throttle position and the boost gauge, as long as you stay in a vaccume state, you don't get any boost.. When you want boost, depress the throttle a little further and the turbo spools up.. with nitrous, you either have it or you don't

 

With Nitrous, you get all these cool buttons to push in the cockpit and make you feel like a fighter pilot.

Seriously, I think in the end, most power hungry (which probably a lot of us on the board) RX8'rs, will become addicted to the added power. Long term cost of the nitrous would kill it for me.

 

^^^^^why, how expensive is nitrous??

 

Is it possible to put nitrous on an 8 with the Greddy kit? How and where would you put in and what problems could you run into?

Jamie

 

I wouldn't say nitrous is always there when you want it. If you want any kind of street racing the valve might be closed. With nitrous you don't always have the system on. You have a valve on the nitrous bottle that you have to open up to use the system, then you have an arm switch, then you depress the button/throttle switch when you want to activate the nitrous. The arming switch is not a cut off. Nitrous will slowly leak out if you do not close the bottle valve during non-use. So if you like doing stoplight to stoplight racing this may not be the best solution for you. I have the turbo, but if I had to do it all over again, I might have done all the NA upgrades & then done a simple Zex 55 shot nitrous setup. I love my turbo but the whole setup was more complicated & expensive than I thought.

With nitrous & the turbo, the nitrous is supposed to have a cooling effect on the reaction, but at the same time you are putting the engine under more pressure because the internal combustion this that much greater. i think a better way might be to go with a water/CO2/Nitrous sprayer on your intercooler.

 

Do you recommend the CryO2 system like you have? I've looked into it and almost bought it but I wasnt sure if it'd help with horsepower or times.

Thanks,
Jamie

 

if you are worried about being able to open the bottle at a moments notice, get a remote bottle opener. second, there is no(t supposed to be a)button to "activate" the nitrous. a properly installed nos system will have some kind of microswitch that will be actiaved at WOT (wide open throttle) only.

i forget who makes it, but someone has a nitrous kit that would ramp up the hp shot as rpms came up, so it felt something akin to a turbo.

 

Standard configuration does not have a bottle opener. Extra part to add, not part of regular package. Let's make that clear. Also, nitrous activation can have 2 different forms. One is a button that is activated by the person. Another, like I alluded to is a throttle switch, like what you said activates the system at WOT. The system that you are thinking about is probably the Venom system. They have three different modes of nitrous activation. One includes drag mode, where as throttle increase so does nitrous levels.

The only system I have seen done for the RX8, SO FAR, is the Zex. Does that mean others can not. Absolutely not. Just I haven't seen the other ones done yet.

 

There are a few systems out right now. The Cry02 system that I have from Design Engineering is one. Nitrous Express has their N-ter Cooler kit (Though you have to specify if you want to use nitrous or C02 as the cooling agent as they have different valve heads) & NOS has their new kit. This sprays nitrous onto the intercooler. There are several other kits that spray water onto the IC as well. here is some info. :


NOS System :
http://www.holley.com/products.asp?product=16034NOS

Nitrous Express System :
http://www.nitrousexpress.com/Pages/Ntercooler.htm

Design Engineering's System:
http://www.designengineering.com/pro...asp?m=sc&cid=1

I have a video of a guy who had the N-ter cooler system on an HKS SC'ed 350Z & went from 302 whp to 369 whp. In one of this months compact cr magazine they did the nitrous IC system on a 600 whp drag car & got 60 whp increase. Another guy in Turbo magazine running a 500-600 hp G35 got almost 100 hp increase from the N-ter cooler unit.

 

I have nitrous and let me tell you it does not take long to open my bottle 2 seconds and it wide open i have the nitrous express system armed with a wide open throttle switch.again the most i can take to arm and open my bottle is about 4 seconds max believe me i had to use this when i didnt think i would DAM HONDA'S :D

 

Do you have a remote bottle opener ? It would look kind've funny at a light if you ran to your trunk. :D

 

a PROPERLY installed nos system should be activated by a WOT switch. if you use a push button system, you run into issues such as activating the system at other than WOT, which can be very bad for a motor.

plus if you are racing, you should not have the distraction of having to push a button to activate your nos, you should have full concentration on the track and driving your vehicle safely.

 

Some do (NOS, ZEX), Some others have the push button. I don't disagree with you that a WOT throttle switch is easier. Just that is not with every kit.

 

im not arguing whether the wot switch or push button switch is easier, but all nos systems should be hooked up with the wot switch. all the ones i sell come with the wot switch, or in the case of the zex, an electronic box that knows when you are at wot.

it is actually easier to hook up a momentary switch to activate the nos system, but it is the wrong way to do it.

i would like to see a nos system that is currently available that has a push button activation.

 

Here is a picture of my C02 switches in my car. The IC systems are a bit different in that you can spray the IC before the 1/4 mile run to cool them down :



Usually just hit the switch for about 5-10 seconds before the run.

They have an optional WOT unit that activates the unit at WOT. Also they have an optional timing control unit. Where you push the button once & it sprays the IC for a set amount of time, from 5-30 seconds.

 

now that is completely different, in the instance of a co2 system, you want to have the momentary pushbutton switch.

 

yes i have the nx bottle opener

 

what did the entire setup cost you? (itemize if possible)
what kind of power do you put to the wheels?
how much does a refill tank cost?
how many shots do you get per tank (w/ a 55 shot)?



sorry for all the questions, but I am seriously considering this and need more info on it. thanks!