**The Power of Nitrous Oxide: A Car Enthusiast's Guide**

In today's world of high-performance cars, one topic stands out as a game-changer: nitrous oxide. This colorless gas has been around since 1772, when Joseph Priestley discovered it, but its use in car engines only gained popularity in the mid-20th century.

**What is Nitrous Oxide?**

Nitrous oxide, also known as NOS, is a compressed gas that can be injected into an engine to increase power output. When released, it creates a high-pressure wave of energy that pushes more air and fuel into the engine's cylinders, resulting in a significant boost in horsepower.

**The Science Behind Nitrous Oxide**

When nitrous oxide is injected into the engine, it rapidly decompresses and releases its stored energy, which then gets absorbed by the air and fuel mixture. This results in an increase of up to 50% in power output, depending on the specific application. The process works quickly, usually within a matter of milliseconds.

**The Benefits of Nitrous Oxide**

So, why is nitrous oxide so popular among car enthusiasts? For one, it makes all the difference in drag racing and other forms of competitive driving. By injecting nitrous oxide into the engine, drivers can shave precious seconds off their lap times, giving them a significant edge over their competitors.

**The Drawbacks of Nitrous Oxide**

However, continuous use of nitrous oxide can be detrimental to an engine's lifespan. The increased stress on the engine components can lead to premature wear and tear, which may result in costly repairs down the line.

**The Rise of Nitrous Oxide in Modern Car Racing**

In recent years, nitrous oxide has become increasingly popular among car enthusiasts. The release of movies like "Fast and Furious" has sparked a renewed interest in high-performance cars and nitrous oxide, with many car owners now incorporating it into their vehicles.

**Getting Connected: Garage Amino**

If you're interested in learning more about nitrous oxide and other aspects of car culture, we recommend checking out Garage Amino. This community-driven platform allows users to connect with like-minded individuals, share knowledge, and showcase their own projects.

**Conclusion**

In conclusion, nitrous oxide is a powerful tool that can significantly enhance the performance of an engine. While it may not be suitable for everyday driving, its benefits in competitive racing make it a valuable asset for many car enthusiasts. By understanding the science behind nitrous oxide, we can appreciate its potential and explore ways to safely harness its power.

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WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- Today's subject is no laughing matter.I'm just kidding, it totally is!It's laughing gas!Nitrous! The NOS!And we're not about huffingit and getting the giggles!We're about cranking outhorsepower with nitrous oxide!(techno synth sounds)We've talked about engines before.To get more power, you need more boom.And to get more boom,you need more oxygen,to burn more gas more quickly.Gasoline needs oxygen to burn,just like every other flammable thing.And the more oxygen you add to something,the more of it you can burn.A cylinder is only so big, which meansit can only fit so much air.And one way to get more air in,is to force it in with forced induction.(cheering)And that's where turbo chargersand super chargers come into play.They way we're talking about today,is sneaking it in(booing)with nitrous oxide.Nitrous oxide gas was discovered in 1772by Joseph Priestley.This guy was all about isolating gases,because that made you prettycool in the late 1700s.- I tell the best stories!- He tried to find a use fornitrous as a preservative.But it didn't work, and all it really didwas make people giggle.So that's what people used it for,through most of the 1800s.It was a party trick and an anesthetic.Nobody figured out how todo anything else with ituntil World War II, when the Germansstarted using it in plane enginesfor better high altitude performance.But turbo chargers becamemore advanced and reliable,so its use didn't last long.You've probably heard folksrefer to nitrous oxideas NOS.- NOS!- NOS is actually an acronym fornitrous oxide systems.It's a name brand, just like some peoplecall tissues Kleenex, or the way Nolancalls his inline skates Rollerblades.Nitrous oxide is a way to getmore oxygen into the engine.But if oxygen is what we want,why not just shoot more oxygen in there?Like from an oxygen tank?Well, pioneering drag racer Barney Navarrotried that out in the 50s.And, well, it didn't workas well as he'd hoped!He found that a straight shot of oxygenlets the fuel explode at pretty muchany place that's hotenough inside the engine.That's right, it's the dreadedpinging- You suck!- Pre-ignition.And what Navarro got was detonation.He really messed up his engine,and just decided it wasn't worth it.(sobbing)The benefit of nitrous oxideis that it doesn't release the oxygenuntil it's already mixed with the gas,in the cylinder, and ready to blow.The nitrous is in a canister.When it gets shot out, it expands.(nitrous hissing)An added benefit is that when liquidsexpand into gas, they cool off,and cooler air is denser air, remember?It's not until the nitrousoxide gets into the cylinderthat it releases the oxygen.In a hot engine, thenormally stable moleculesof nitrogen and oxygensplit, releasing O2.Now, with extra oxygen in the cylinder,all you gotta do is add the right amountof fuel, and boom!(explosion booms)More power.And the dreaded pre-ignition, well,both the splitting of the NOS,and the release of thosefreed up nitrogen atoms,help to prevent pinging.- You suck!- It's kismet!- Jak sie masz!- One nitrous shot is able to bump outputfrom 50 to 300 horsepower.It really is the best bang for your buck,in terms of buying speed for your car.There's two overall methodsof nitrous delivery,known as dry injection and wet injection.In dry injection, the liquid nitrous oxideis squirted into the air intake by itself,and the fuel system is rigged to addmore gasoline to the cylinders.In wet injection, nitrousoxide and gasolineare injected into the air intake together,and that requires differentmods to your fuel system.Because it won't release oxygen beforeit gets to the heat of the cylinder,NOS can be injected asthe air enters the engine,or right at the cylinder with the fuel!Some systems are tooled by hand,like an old-school carburetor.And other systems are computer automated,to get the right mix of gas to O2,with millisecond precision,sometimes at the point of injection.When you want that neck-snapping(crunching)horsepower, you activate the systemby just pushing a button that's installedin the cockpit.The delivery systems are designed to mixthe right amount of fuelas the pressurized nitrouspours into the engine.If nitrous sits in the line,it's at a different density thanif it's under pressure.Because the amount of gasto inject with the nitrousis based on liquid nitrous oxide,a valve releases any airand nitrous oxide gasthat might be trapped in the lines.Without a purge, the car wouldbog down for an instant,until the liquid nitrous oxidereaches the intake.It would run rich, and not fire right.When the purge system is activated,one or more plumes of nitrous oxidewill flash from liquid intovapor as they're released.This brings liquid nitrous oxideall the way up from the storage tankto the valve that willrelease it in the engine.(valves hissing)It's pretty cool.So if nitrous oxide's so greatat making all this power,why don't we just inject it all the timeand drive everywhere, like we're Jessefrom Fast and the Furious?(upbeat music)For one, it makes anengine work way harder,and car manufacturers don't necessarilyengineer their enginesto take all that stress.(yelling)It's just bad news.And storage and cost can be a pain, too.For example, running a 125 horsepower shotfrom a 10 lb bottle of nitrouswould probably get you about10 quarter-mile drag races.That's 10 lbs of NOS everytwo and a half miles.At about $5 a pound, you're gonna find outyour car's stock horsepoweris perfectly adequate.And hopefully, you'll stop complainingabout these gas prices.Nolan.Since continuous usewould get crazy expensive,and put added strain onthe engine components,nitrogen's just used in short bursts.And that's why it'spopular in drag racing,and not in other types of racing.Then,(dramatic music)right at the beginningof the 21st century,a little movie called The Fastand the Furious came along.And a couple of guysracing nitrous-equipped,foreign four cylindercars changed everything.All right, this is not everything.But it sparked(applause)an interest in thecompact racing community.And now, you're just as likely to seenitrous oxide injection onan imported four cylinderas you are in a domestic V8.So even though we're not sucking it downand breathing it in,shoot it into an engineand it'll still make you giggly.(giggling)Subscribe to Donut!Please, guys.And thanks to Garage Aminofor sponsoring this episode.Garage Amino is an app that connectscar enthusiasts from around the world.And people write us allthe time and they're like,hey, I have a Mahindra Jeepwith a Peugeot XD3 engine.How can I make it fast?And I'm like, we don't have those here.So I don't know!Go get Garage Amino!Listen. Garage Amino lets you connectand share pictures, get advice,and use public chat roomsto figure this stuff out!You can even find inspirationfor your next dream project.The app is like a car forum,but turboed, supercharged with NOS.- NOS!- It's got a featured feedof the best new content,and the community is super active,friendly, and welcoming.You like original blog posts?They got 'em!You like historical analyses of cars?They got 'em!Concept builds? New car reviews?Parts? Accessories?They've got all that, homes!There's always somethinghappening on Garage Amino.And, if you're worried about missing out,there's a pop-up that tells youhow many people are onlineand what they're up to,from chat rooms to quizzesto polls and blogs.There's always newcontent to interact with,and you can contributeto the community yourselfsuper easy!So get inspired!Connect with people whoshare your passion for carsfrom all over the world!Check out the app, Garage Amino!It means a lot to us that everybody'senjoying what we do here.The more you like, comment, and share,the more cool stuff we get to do with you.So smash that like button,and share this with your bud!Follow Donut media onInstagram, @donutmedia.To learn about gas andhow it mixes with O2,check out this gasoline video.And check out this wheelhouse Nolan didon the rivalry between Dodge and Ford.