Time to fill those bottles and put a smile on your face when the power kicks in! We take five with the nitrous experts at ZEX.

With the street racing sanctioning bodies kicking into full gear in the next couple months, we thought it would be a good idea to get schooled on some common nitrous oxide questions. To get the straight scoop, we went to the team at ZEX.

ZEX has been injecting laughing gas for 15 years and has specialized in complete systems that bolt-on and go with an emphasis on superior performance and support. They’re constantly looking at new technologies to deliver optimized kits for late model and custom applications applications. One example is their patented Active Fuel Control  technology that adjusts fuel enrichment based of bottle pressure to enable increased control and safe horsepower gains.

Lets get started with a few of the most frequently asked questions we hear about nitrous systems.

We hear about wet and dry nitrous systems quite often, what is the difference between the two?

ZEX: A wet nitrous kit injects both nitrous and enrichment fuel before the throttle body. This mixture is then drawn through the intake manifold and into the engine. A dry kit injects only nitrous while the increasing the fuel pressure to richen the fuel mixture using the engine’s fuel injectors.

ZEX focuses on safe, quality built kits that bolt-in and make power.

A wet kit is ideal for both normally aspirated applications as well as forced induction applications. It can require a little bit more installation time than a dry kit due to the fuel circuit, but is easier to tune if greater than stock HP settings are to be experimented with.  Dry systems work well with  normally aspirated EFI combinations that have a return style fuel system. They are very easy to install and are a great “first time” nitrous system. For the record, dry systems are not recommended on forced induction engines.

A two part question: What is the ideal bottle pressure, and is a bottle heater really necessary?

A bottle heater is imperative for consistent nitrous performance by balancing bottle pressures.

ZEX: The optimum bottle pressure is 900-1,000psi and yes, a bottle heater is a great idea to help keep the bottle pressure consistent between runs. With nitrous, consistency is key and we offer a bottle heater that is fully automatic and thermostatically controlled. We also offer a pressure gauge so you can keep tabs on the system pressure.

Q: What is the safest way to activate a nitrous system?

ZEX: It is recommended to incorporate a wide-open throttle switch. All ZEX nitrous systems utilize this type of activation. Activating a nitrous system at anything less than wide-open throttle can greatly increase your chances issues. You could also use a manual push button while incorporating the WOT switch (which ZEX offers). Another setting to consider is rpm and we recommend 2,500 rpm as a minimum for nitrous activation. To be extra safe, incorporating a WOT switch and RPM Activated Switch is a solution.

Q: Do I need to change my fuel pump when adding a nitrous system? What about spark plugs?

ZEX: If your engine is basically stock with a handful of common upgrades including air intake, headers or exhaust, the stock fuel system should be adequate. It’s when you get into major mods such as a better cam, heads or forced induction, which you need to consider fuel delivery upgrades such as a booster fuel pump.

We generally recommend replacing the spark plugs with cooler plugs. Two steps down in heat range are recommended to help prevent detonation. ZEX offers a number of plugs for a variety of applications.

Plug choice is also important when switching to nitrous. ZEX offers a line of cooler plugs for a list of different applications.

Q: What type of fuel is recommended when I use my nitrous system?

ZEX: Premium fuel is recommended for 75hp shots on 4- and 6-cylinder engines and up to 125 for 8-cylinders. Once you step above those numbers we recommend racing fuel.