Mighty Car Mods: The NOS Install Adventure

In this episode of Mighty Car Mods, we find ourselves surrounded by an air of mystery and anticipation as we embark on our quest to finally dominate the MX5. But, as it turns out, our journey won't be without its challenges. Normally, a NOS install would be a relatively straightforward process, but nobody was willing to help me out. That is, until I stumbled upon a very special guest who was more than happy to lend a hand.

As we sit down with our new friend, Mechanical Stig, we can't help but feel a sense of excitement and nervousness. How's the GTR bro? asks Andrew Hawkins, trying to break the ice. Of course it is, man looks, replies Stig, his eyes gleaming with amusement. We're hoping to do a little work on my Honda today, he continues, his voice filled with enthusiasm.

Just as we're about to get started, Turbo Yoda bursts onto the scene, offering us an unexpected proposition: "How would you like a trip down to Sydney, all expenses paid, to, eh, work on your Honda?" The room falls silent, and we can't help but stare at Yoda in horror. But fear not, folks, because eventually we find ourselves face-to-face with none other than HighTower, our special guest for the day.

"Hello mate!" exclaims Hightower, his Australian accent a welcome respite from the tension that had just filled the room. "I'm just so happy to meet someone else on the planet who likes Hondas and NOS." Moog chimes in, equally thrilled to be among like-minded individuals. "So, erm, so we're going to be doing this...Are we gonna be able to go faster than a turbo MX5 with a Honda and NOS?" asks Moog, her voice filled with anticipation.

"Not a problem," replies Hightower confidently. We're going to make it fast, he asserts, his eyes sparkling with determination. "Not a problem," he repeats for emphasis, leaving no doubt in our minds that this is going to be an adventure to remember.

As we begin our NOS install journey, Moog takes a moment to explain what exactly Nitrous Oxide (NOS) is. "Nitrous Oxide, commonly known as NOS or laughing gas," she begins, her voice filled with excitement. "It's actually been around for a very long time and it's two parts nitrogen and one part oxygen." She pauses for a moment, allowing us to absorb this information.

"In the 1800s, it was first used back in dentistry and surgery as an anesthetic," she continues, her voice filled with curiosity. "I don't know about you, but I can't think of anything more frightening than having one of my molars removed back in the 1800s by Dr NOS." We can't help but chuckle at this image.

As we move on to discuss the automotive use of NOS, Moog explains that it became popular since the 1970s due to its effectiveness. "You get a big bang for your buck," she says, her voice filled with enthusiasm. But what exactly does this mean? When you add fuel to NOS, the extra oxygen creates a bigger explosion, resulting in more power.

We're currently at Ichiban, the owner of which is none other than Scotty, the Genie of the NOS bottle. "What we have here is NOS," he explains, his voice filled with pride. "It's a chemical supercharger." He takes us through the process of how it works, injecting gas from the back of the car into the engine and mixing it with fuel to create a bigger bang.

"So, in a sense, it is just like we're using a chemical supercharger because we're getting more oxygen in the same amount of displacement," Moog explains, her voice filled with understanding. Scotty nods in agreement, his face beaming with pride. "That's correct, we're using double the amount of oxygen being injected because of the chemical and then we add the fuel in which makes the bigger bang which makes it fast."

With this explanation, we can't help but feel a sense of excitement and anticipation. We're about to embark on an adventure that will take us to new heights – literally. The question remains, though: will our trusty Honda MX5 be able to keep up with our newfound power? Only time will tell.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enIn this episode of Mighty Car Mods,we, uh...You know what we're doing.(Intro rock music)SYNTHVOICE: Mighty Car ModsWelcome to another episode of Mighty Car Mods,proudly supported by Just Car Insurance.Now, in this episode, it's time to finally dominate that MX5and we're doing so with a NOS install on the Honda.Now, normally this wouldn't be such a hard processexcept nobody was actually willing to help me.BGM: <FLANGER GUITAR> Marty. How you doin' bro?Yeah man. Dude I was wondering if you could help me with my Honda?(dead silence)<FLANGER GUITAR> Rake? Are you lovin' it?Of course you are.Dude, I'm just doing some work on my Honda and-Andrew Hawkins. How's the GTR bro?Of course it is. Man look,I'm hoping to do a little work on my Honda tod-<SILENCE>Mechanical Stig!Oh man yeah, the olives were delicious.Thank you very much.Man, I've got my Honda here-Turbo Yoda!How would you like a trip down to Sydney,all expenses paid,to, eh, work on my Honda?(Horror music)BUT! Eventually I did find one very special guest!Here he is! Is our tripod big enough?Get amongst it.Everybody, this is HighTowerHIGHTOWER: Eh. Hello mate!MOOG: How ya goin'?I'm just so happy to meet someone elseon the planet who likes Hondas AND likes NOS.HIGHTOWER: Mate, NOS, this makes everything go quickMOOG: So, erm, so we're going to be doing this...Are we gonna be able to go faster than a turbo MX5 with a Honda and NOS?HIGHTOWER: Not a problem.MOOG: Not a problem.HIGHTOWER: Not a problem.MOOG (Voice over): Today we're doing a NOS install on the Honda S2000.and our only goal is to be able to go faster than a turbo snail MX5.So, what exactly is Nitrous Oxide?Nitrous Oxide, commonly known as NOSor laughing gas (mimics laugh) hahahahas actually been around for a very long timeand it's two parts nitrogen and one part oxygen.Now, it was first used back in the 1800'sfor dentistry and surgery as an anesthetic.Now, I don't know about youbut I can't think of anything more frighteningthan having one of my molars removedback in the 1800's by Dr NOS.Now, in 1914,it was suggested that it could be used as an oxidiser in rocket motors,plus it could be broken down when decomposedand turned into air that's breathableand in WW2, it was used to boost the output of plane engines.Now, in automotive use, it's been very, very popular since the 1970'sbecause you get a big bang for your buck.Now the reason you get a bigger bang for your buckis there's more oxygen in NOS, than there is in the air that's in the atmosphere,which means that when you add some fuel to it,you get a bigger bang!(disappointed) Ohh(painful scream) Aghhhh!So we are down here at Ichiban,this is Scotty, the owner of Ichiban.This is where Mechanical Stig worksand of course we've been coming down here for years.They build race cars, street cars,they import awesome stuff from Japan.Half cuts, they do all sorts of crazy stuff.But not only does Scotty do that,he's also the Genie of the NOS bottle.Now Scotty, can you give me a little rundownin how it is that THIS system is going to getstuck into the car and make us go faster?SCOTTY: Sure. What we have here is NOSwhich is a chemical supercharger.So we take a dirty big bottle out of the boot in the back of the car,bring the gas from the back of the car up,inject it into the engine,and then we'll bring fuel in and inject it at the same time.These two will mix together, go into the engine,make a big bang and we can have a rating ofhorse power from 35, 50, 75 horse powerthat'll make it fast.MOOG: Now the reason we're making more power isthere's more oxygen in NOS,then there is in the air that we breathe.So in a sense it is just like we're using achemical supercharger because we're gettingmore oxygen in the same amount of the displacement.Is that right?SCOTTY: That's correct, we're using double the amount of oxygenbeing injected in because of the chemicaland then we add the fuel in which makes thebigger bang which makes it fast.MOOG: So we're basically gonna go \"squirt squirt, bang bang\"and that should get us down the dragstrip faster than an MX5?'Cause that's the only thing we need to do,we need to smash Marty's MX5.SCOTTY: This will beat the MX5.This is all we need.MOOG: (Voice over) NOS can be run as a dry systemwhere the gas is sprayed into the intakeand the extra fuel added separately,ORNOS and fuel can be mixed togetherand run as a wet system,which is what we're installing today.(Scotty) You've got the run down here is your solenoids,this is where your two jets are containedand injects it into the engine.This is your fuel line.You've got a few little bracketries and wiringfor your micro switch,if you wanna wire it up that way.The NOS line,the relay to fire itand the fuel lines that go to the jet.MOOG: Is it possible that a Honda with NOSis just gonna be too powerful?Like there might be so much power going downto the ground, that we literally affect the way,that you know, like we affect the Earths' rotational pull?SCOTTY: Errrrm......I don't know if it's gonna be that much (Moog laughs)but we're definitely gonna have traction issues.They're your jets that give your different ratings.MOOG: Yep.SCOTTY: So, one's a gas jet,and one's a fuel jetand it comes in the instruction manualwhat two jets you can combine togetherto make your certain power.So,this one kit will do 35, 50 and 75 horse power.MOOG: So cool, like it's so physical.You know it's like \"that jet does this\"\"that jet does that\", like your literally screwing inhow much power you need.SCOTTY (Cross-talks) It isSCOTTY: It is very literal yes.It's erm...Yeah, this is a four cylinder kitand you put this on a four cylindarand you put that jet, that's 35 horse poweryou'll make 35 horse power at the wheels.MOOG: That's so cool man.OK, so these are the tools your gonna need.You're gonna need a drillfor attaching your different brackets and things.You're gonna need some spanners, some screwdriversyou're gonna need your drill bits of courseand then just a variety of pliersand a hammer so that you can smash things inwhen they don't fit!Let's get to it!MOOG: (Voice over) The first thing you need to do is finda location in your car to store the NOS bottle.We're putting ours in the boot and it needsto be angled so the valve is at the highest point.Next up, we're laying out all the parts from the kitto make it easier to install.(Music)So Scotty, we've seen some pretty impressiveexplosions in Hollywood movies of NOS bottlesgoing \"kerblammo\".Is that actually the case when this gets hot,or is there some sort of safety mechanism in there?SCOTTY: Yeah, now they do come with a safety method.It's located up here, which is a little burst valve,so once it gets over a certain pressure inside the bottleit'll actually release and let the gas outin a controlled manner so there's no explosion,as such you do see in the movies.MOOG: Yep, good to know.So, the only thing that's really gonna get blown awayis the MX5?SCOTTY: Correct.MOOG: (Voice over) We're gonna set the whole thing upoff the car, so we can show youexactly how it all fits together.The bottle of NOS is gonna be in the boot.It's gonna run down this line(make \"eeh\" sounds)It's gonna come down here into the engine bay.Now, everything that's blue are the NOS lines,everything that's red is the fuel line.So that's gonna be tapped into a fuel lineand then this here is gonna go into the intake herejust before the throttle body.Now, Haltech ECU is gonna be controllinghow and when the solenoids are triggered,so that this mixes the NOS and the fuel.It goes in there, goes bang, the car goes faster.That is basically how the system worksand now it's just a matter of installing the whole thing,putting it in, and SMASHING some MX5.(Voice over) The first thing I've gotta do isremove the intake so that we can install the Fogger nozzle.(Rock music)(Voice over) The solenoids come with bracketsthat allow them to be mounted in the engine bay.Then they'll be connected to power.(Scotty) Power 'n' earth to the solenoids,(three clicks)so when the solenoid's open (clicks)we have gas.(Voice over) Next thing you is gotta do is find a spotto mount the solenoids in the engine bay.(music)(Moog offscreen) Benny, are you pretty happy to have a......have a Honda down in the workshop mate?Hated it.Really?!Yeah. Bad-I thought you loved it.A bad day on a Subaru is better than any day on a Honda.And I'm not even doing it, someone el-... I'm not touching it.(Whispers) He said he wasn't gonna help mebut Benny's here. And Benny's helping.MOOG: He said he wasn't gonna help but he's come to helpMOOG: us with the fuel line BENNY: (cross talks) I'm not helping!I'm not helping (cross talks) Benny! , I'm just hanging outNo Benny, Benny came to help us with the fuel line,didn't you Benny?(Bootspants Electronic music)(Voice over) And with that, the Fogger is in!(Electronic music)Anyway, so that's basically the hard bit of the install done.And as you can see, that's not that hard.Now, the Fogger is in, that's gonna be mixing upthe NOS with the fuel, that's gonna be creating afine mist in there, and that's gonna help things go\"kerblammo\" in a good way, that is.Uh, I'd say in terms of effort, this install is probablyquite similar to installing, say a sub.So, with a sub, you've get your remote line, your audiowires, then your power cableand this is similar. You've got your fuel, you got your NOSum, and then there's a little bit of wiring to do.So now this is going back in and its gonna be mad!(Electronic music)MOOG: (Voiceover) As we test fit the system,Benny continues to not help.BENNY: I'm only getting bits to get rid of this thing (mumbles).I'm not helping.(Moog offscreen ) I like it when you help Benny!Well.Sorry.Not happening this time.(Moog offscreen) But I can...I'm filming youhelping right now Benny.BENNY: I'm not helping.(Moog offscreen) You're a very, very nice man.I'm not helping!Mechnical Stig everyone! (Cross talks) I'm not helping!Even though he hates the Honda,like everyone else does,he's still...BENNY: (cross talks) Not helping...appears to be helping...BENNY: I'm not helping....which is awesome! Thank you very much Benny.BENNY: I'm not helping.MOOG: What a nice... that's true friendship, isn't it?To hate your mate's carand then help anyway.BENNY: I'm not helping.(Moog) That's awesome. What a legend everyone!Mechanical Stig. There he is.(Voice over) Benny loves having a Honda at the shopand I'm sure he'll continue to not help us during the day.(music)(Voice over) Once you've found a suitable place to mount the solenoids,make sure you check your bonnet clearance.(Music, maybe dubstep)(Voice over) Next is the fun part, putting in the jets,which is what dictates how bigthe nitro shot is going to be.(Music)(Voice over) If you're installing a wet nitro system like us,you'll have to find a location to tap into the fuel.(Moog) We'll check if there's a fuel line underneathbecause we're gonna be running- (Scotty cross talks) That's right yeah......well this is rubber here, so it's gotta go downto something, so we'll have a look and see what's there.So we'll get cleared up and get it on the hoist.What do ya reckon, Mechanical Stig?Reckon it's a waste of time.Really?! (Benny) You're gonna lose anyway!Really!!(Moog and Benny) Awwwwwww!(Benny) Team MX5!(Moog) Wow!(Benny) All these fancy braided lines.(Moog) Wow! (Benny crosstalks)When'sWhen...When's the Auto Salon again?Oh-ho-ho (Moog laughs) Wow!Old camp MX5, off you go on your picnic!(Voice over) Benny continues hating on the S 2000and then starts welding some Subaru parts in protest.We're putting the car up on the hoist so we canrun the lines from the solenoidsdown to the NOS bottle in the boot.(Music with intricate drum pattern)So, we've just put the S 2000 up on the hoistso we can investigate the best way ofgetting the supply line from the NOS bottle in the tankin the boot, all the way to the front.Now, we've seen this awesome little plasticfuel line guard here, which is gonna be perfect for usbecause we can run a NOS line through the boot,down here, all the way up to the frontand then straight up that way.Then we're gonna tap here into the fuel line,get our split, so we've got our NOS and our fuelgoing into our mad little system up there.And then we're gonna be chemically superchargingour way down the drag strip,chopping MX5's like it's no tomorrow.It's just gonna be freaking awesome!(Music)(Voice over) After spending some time under the carinvestigating fuel lines, we think it's gonna bea better option to tap into the fuel rail.So I'm taking off the fuel rail becausewe need to tap in a fitting so we canget high pressure fuel, from here,over into the solenoid.So, we're just gonna to take this offand then we're gonna go and find a placejust around the corner, that cantap in the bits we need so we've got somemad, mad fuel going into our mad, mad NOS system.(Music)(Voice over) On this car, a hollowed out block of metalsupplies pressurised fuel to the injectors.A fuel regulator on the return line,helps keep the entire systemat a constant pressure.We can tap into this block and install a fittingthat then shares this fuel pressurewith the fuel solenoid on the NOS system.(Music, synth electronic distorted strings)(Voice over) After consulting with Mechanical Stig,who is still not helping apparently,we realised we probably don't need to go to a shopto get this done after all.Slight change of plan,we are gonna try and do it ourselves (laughs).(Music)(Voice over) The alloy rail is then drilled out(Music)(Blows through alloy, making trumpet sounds)We got a winner!(Voice over) And next up he's tapping in some thread.A fitting can then be screwed in,so we can attach the fuel line.Why do you think so many people hate on Honda'swhen they're so awesome?Serious question.(Scotty) Errr, cos mostly front wheel drive?(Moog offscreen) Yep.and...no one likes being getting beaten bya smaller motor that hasn't gotta a turbo on it.(horse neighs)(Moog) My experience with Honda's have beena real sense of you don't just get ituntil you try it yourself.(offscreen) Yep.And I think a lotta people don't even knowwhy we're meant to hate them.They just kinda go \"Oh Honda's they're crap\"because that's what the rest of the crowd's sayingbut they don't even know why they're saying that.It's just become like the kid that you tease at school.Yep, that's right.So that's why I decided to delve in,I was like \"I'm gonna have a go and see for myself\"(Voice over) Our NOS system now has fuel.So we've just finished tapping in the fuel feed linesfrom the fuel rail down to the solenoids.We're just gonna to prime the fuel pump,make sure everything is doingeverything that it shouldand nothing that it shouldn't.(Scotty offscreen) and again.(Moog) and again.(Scotty) Just four or five times in a row.(Moog switches ignition on and off)(Ignition on, engine revs)No leaks. We're all good!(Voice over) The last part of the installis running the braided line for the NOS from the tankinto the solenoid.(Music)(Voice over) The S 2000 comes with a plastic guardto protect the fuel lines.And we're going to run our NOS supply linealong side the existing piping.(Music)(Voice over) There are numerous different waysthat you can trigger the NOS,including via an aftermarket ECU,a switch underneath the accelerator pedal,or a manual button \"Fast and Furious\" style -which is exactly what we're gonna be doing,too soon junior??? when we get the car on the dyno.Make sure you check your local regulationsbecause depending on where you are in the world,a NOS system may be illegal to use on the street.We've bought the NOS hose up in the bootand the next thing you gotta do ismount your NOS bottle and throw the safety stickers on.And that's how you install a NOS system.It took around half a dayand we're super excited to see how well it performs.OK. So there it is, that is all the plumbing done.A massive thank you of courseto Scotty from Ichiban. Thank you.You're pretty excited about the Honda, aren't you?I can't wait. I can't wait.(Cross talks) I'm so glad there's somebody in my lifewho doesn't think I- (cross talks) MX5 eaterOh MX-, it's gonna smash the MX5So, next episode, we're gonna take this downto Haltech, tune it up, get an ECU,throw it on a dyno, see what kind of power we've got,and then we're gonna smoke some MX5.People, it's gonna be awesome!Scotty, thank you again. You're a legend.No worries. (Cross talks) Have you ever had a Tofu burger?No.Come with me, come. I'm gonna show you somethingincredible. You like Hondas, you're gonna love Tofu!(Voice over) Next time on Mighty Car Mods(upbeat electronic music)(music trails off, glass crashing sound)(Outro music)(Synthetic voice over) \"Mighty Car Mods\"Benny will never admit itand Marty will never admit it either,but they both love the Honda andthey'll never tell you!They've told ME off the camera, like,listen, I mean, Benny, you do actually love it don't ya?He does. He does. He loves it.I heard him the other day- (Benny starts drill)saying, \"I'm getting rid of my Subaru\"Oh look, He's...He's trying to wreck my audio now.He's trying to wreck my audio'cause he knows the truth is coming out.The conspiracy's over.\n"