NOS in National racing

[dono_marshal]

After watching fifth gear last night were they put a nitrous oxide kit in a golf I was wondering if you can put them into race cars (track not drag)?? If you can is there anyone that does?

[mark_l]

I think NOS is a banned substance in the Blue Book

[greenamex2]

You could always fill up an old fire extiguisher bottle with the stuff and point the extinguisher nozzle at the intake!!!!!

Alright until your car IS actually on fire then you are in REAL trouble, as would be the poor marshal who pulled the cable trying to save your life.

I believe the above actually happened but is could just be a race circuit myth.

[JustinDawkins]

Am I right in thinking that NOS isn;t actually flamable, it is a comomn myth?

[diz]

Originally posted by Denis Bassom
You could always fill up an old fire extiguisher bottle with the stuff and point the extinguisher nozzle at the intake!!!!!

Alright until your car IS actually on fire then you are in REAL trouble, as would be the poor marshal who pulled the cable trying to save your life.

I believe the above actually happened but is could just be a race circuit myth.

Which of the above actually happened Denis, the first or second paragraph?

Legend has it that a Pacer FF1600 used it about 20-25 years ago.

[scrutineer]

You could always fill up an old fire extiguisher bottle with the stuff and point the extinguisher nozzle at the intake!!!!!

I believe the above actually happened but is could just be a race circuit myth.

There was a case a number of years ago when a driver did fill up a fire bottle with NOS and had it linked upto the engine. He did have two fire bottles in the car one with NOS and one with AFFF, so the fire bottle would have worked if pulled. Very clever but it was found quickly.

[cannardd]

Originally posted by JustinDawkins
Am I right in thinking that NOS isn;t actually flamable...

Correct.
NOS is basically oxygen in a dense and easily injectable form, it just supports combustion, it isn't combustible it’s self.
You need to inject additional fuel to match (in the right ratio) the quantity of NOS injected.

[Revracing]

Oxygen in pure form is highly flammable and will burn readily and intensely if ignited, However, I am unclear as to the chemical composition of NOS and so would not like to to make incorrect ascertions......

[JohnMiller]

Is Nick Hewitt's secret out?

[Dave Brand]

Originally posted by Revracing
Oxygen in pure form is highly flammable and will burn readily and intensely if ignited, However, I am unclear as to the chemical composition of NOS and so would not like to to make incorrect ascertions......

Too late, you've already made an incorrect assertion!

Oxygen is NOT highly flammable! Combustion is, in basic terms, a rapid combination with oxygen. To start a fire you need a flammable material, oxygen & a source of ignition; remove any one of those & you won't be able to start the fire.

[Revracing]

I really Ought to think things through before posting, you are of course completely correct, and refer in your post to the so called Triangle of fire, only it should read heat and not ingnition....

So to correct my earlier post, Oxygen in it's own right is not flammable

[Snapper Baz]

...Ahhh, you mean something like this as seen in a VW Beetle last weekend!

[1200Datto27]

A driver in a turbo charged Australian touring car in the eighties, set a pole lap at the Bathurst 1000 by filling the fire extinguisher with nitrous, and having a nozzle pointing at the intercooler, that was designed to slowly drain the tank. He triggered the extinguisher at the start off the lap, and used the additional power gained to set pole.

[JustinDawkins]

Originally posted by JohnMiller
Is Nick Hewitt's secret out?

[Cynic]

It's a while since I'ce don emy homework on this, but if I remember correctly, having a NOS system will improve the acceleration, but won't give you that much of a performance increase at the top end of the cars limits. For racing applications you may be benefit from it in qualifying as described above, but over a race distance any performance increase would be negated by the fact that you'd probably damage the pistons and valvetrain.

[R59]

As an oxidising agent, Nitrous Oxide will allow the engine to produce far more power than it could normally do while breathing oridinary air.

Injected into the inlet tract, it also has the effect of cooling the charge, allowing an even more dense mixture to be burned, releasing more power.

The downside, is that given all of that lovely oxygen to play with, Aluminium also burns well. As Marc Almond once said... Say Hello, Wave Goodbye (to the crowns of your pistons, valves, etc..).

That's why Nitrous burning drag engines have to be rebuilt so often.

Top fuelers rebuild after each run. That's about 5 seconds per run for mr Average, 3 seconds for top bunnies. 6000 bhp plus on tap!

Blue book says that no oxidising agents may be used for racing, sprinting, hillclimbing etc..

The only place it's allowed is Drag Racing.

It used to say in the sprint/hillclimbs bit of the blue book - any fuel as long as it is liquid at normal ambient
temperatures.

Rob.

[1200Datto27]

Actually, top fuel dragsters do not use nitrous oxide, they use nitro methane.

Have a look at this link for more info on top fuellers.

http://www.race-torque.com/websitepages/news05.htm

[neilwaynesmith]

http://www.dynopower.freeserve.co.uk..._technical.htm should answer a few questions.

[R59]

Did I say that top fuellers run Nitrous?
No
I just said that they need rebuilding every run.
Nitrous engines ain't far behind!

You run the engine on the limit of melt-down for max power.

Rob.

[Woolley]

I believe Nick Mann's Moggie Minor ran NO before it was banned. I seem to remember something about a 70s NASCAR that filled part of the roll cage with it to assist with overtaking?