HOW TO: Setup Nitrous on a daily driver

[Robert@KBXPerformance]

I was thinking along the lines of a 100shot or less. Would that be to much?

Like Charlie said, a 100shot is a cakewalk with these cars.

Just make sure that you are activating the shot the proper way (aka not spraying too low in the rpms), have the AFR's dialed in, and pull a little timing you will be fine. Pull 3 degree's from where the nitrous activates on up to the rev limit and you will be fine. Making sure that the car is properly tuned before spraying nitrous is key too. It will provide a solid base to build off of when jetting and tuning when on the juice. That will make the overall nitrous tuning process much simpler and repeatable due to you not having to go on a wild goose chase to dial AFR's and spark advance in.

BTW, I forget if I mentioned it before but I have a little background in tuning. I am a Ford,Lincoln Mercury custom tuner and GM custom tuner; which portion of my performance business. I use both the SCT Advantage tuning software and the HP Tuners software depending on the platform I am tuning. I am sure some of you might have wondered why I am spouting these semi-technical tuning methods so I figured I would connect the dots so you know it isn't just some schmo guessing or otherwise misleading you good folks in here.

[wreckwriter]

what I'm really looking for is specific kits or groups of parts that will work well on G8s. So far I find these items:

http://www.powerperformancenews.com/...stem-1654.html (claims to be a G8 specific kit but Zex site has nothing on it yet)

http://www.nitrousoutlet.com/catalog...roduct_id=2796 (this kit was apparently installed on a G8, info from G8board)

What I would be most interested in is probably not going to be available in a kit. I'm thinking dual bottles with a fully programmable controller so I can keep the nitrous from coming in before 2nd gear. I just don't have the knowledge or experience to put such a thing together myself.

[wreckwriter]

another question I have: often you see cars with nitrous also able to make decent runs on the motor only. I'm thinking this won't be possible on our cars due to the need for the tune to pull timing. since we don't have the ability to switch between 2 tunes we are stuck slower if not on the bottle, right?

[GeorgeInNePa]

another question I have: often you see cars with nitrous also able to make decent runs on the motor only. I'm thinking this won't be possible on our cars due to the need for the tune to pull timing. since we don't have the ability to switch between 2 tunes we are stuck slower if not on the bottle, right?

We need to convine Vector to offer us a "switchable" tune. One for regular and one for NO2.

[Robert@KBXPerformance]

what I'm really looking for is specific kits or groups of parts that will work well on G8s. So far I find these items:

http://www.powerperformancenews.com/...stem-1654.html (claims to be a G8 specific kit but Zex site has nothing on it yet)

http://www.nitrousoutlet.com/catalog...roduct_id=2796 (this kit was apparently installed on a G8, info from G8board)

What I would be most interested in is probably not going to be available in a kit. I'm thinking dual bottles with a fully programmable controller so I can keep the nitrous from coming in before 2nd gear. I just don't have the knowledge or experience to put such a thing together myself.

Whether you get a "car specific" nitrous kit or a "universal one" there are going to be damn near zero differences between the two. Maybe there will be a little plate to mount the nozzle into that bolts between the TB and manifold but that is usually about it. I really suggest that you don't get caught up in trying to find a nitrous kit made specifically for the G8. They will all work the same anyways.

As for a nitrous controller that you talked about? That FJO Racing controller mentioned in the writeup is your ticket. It is a badass little piece of equipment.

You can add a second bottle to an existing nitrous system VERY easily. Just buy the bottle, bottle brackets, the Y fitting and the extra -4AN lines and that is it. Nothing special or application specific. Make sure to have a bottle gauge on the second bottle as well. Just to ensure pressure is similar between the two. It should be due to them being mounted in the same location but it doesn't hurt to know for sure. Once you open them pressure will equalize so if you do want to cheap out and use just one bottle gauge then it will not pose much of a problem. The gauges only cost about $50 anyways. Pretty cheap.





When I first got into doing nitrous systems years ago I used to overthink it like most others who are new to it also do. What I later learned once I had become quite versed in it is that it is so very simple it is almost ridiculous. Once I discovered that I was making it harder than it really was I was finally able to move ahead much quicker with future nitrous projects because I didn't spend weeks on end trying to overthink things.

[GRRRR8]

^Agree 100%^ I understand the over thinking, but 100 shot is not going to cause the nightmare pics that people have in their heads.

[Robert@KBXPerformance]

another question I have: often you see cars with nitrous also able to make decent runs on the motor only. I'm thinking this won't be possible on our cars due to the need for the tune to pull timing. since we don't have the ability to switch between 2 tunes we are stuck slower if not on the bottle, right?

Well yes and no. I am currently running my nitrous tune in my G8GT right now. I took it to the track today and ran the equivalent of a 13.3 with CAI, Tune, and Catback and not much of a cool-down between runs. Had I bumped the timing back up a bit I would have ran faster but it will not be a total night and day difference in a N/A vehicle. Now bumping spark advance a degree or two higher when blown will usually add huge power, but not so critical when N/A.

If you go with a wet nitrous system then all you have to tune for is the Spark retard. The AFR's are taken care of by the jetting. If you want a super flat tabletop AFR graph then you can finetune the AFR's in the MAF table of the tune but it usually doesn't make a huge difference in performance. The jets, when properly sized for the amount of nitrous being injected, will be sufficient to dial your AFR's in when spraying. To ensure that your AFR's are going to stay correct it is key to know what your bottle pressure is so that you know the amount of nitrous will be in the proper proportion to the amount of extra fuel being injected through the fuel side of the wet nozzle. That brings me back to the nitrous bottle pressure gauge.

[wreckwriter]

We need to convine Vector to offer us a "switchable" tune. One for regular and one for NO2.

Is that even possible? Would both be contained in the same ECM? How would it be "switched"?

[Robert@KBXPerformance]

Is that even possible? Would both be contained in the same ECM? How would it be "switched"?

Sometimes custom operating systems are able to be flashed into a VCM and the tune can be switched on the fly with the use of an existing button; I have no idea about the GM specific ability to do this. For instance the Nissan VCM's can hold multiple tunefiles and hot swap between them with manipulation of cruise control button. I don't exactly know all the in's and outs but my friend/business associate is an UpRev dealer and has told me a little about the Nissan tuning. Something like that may be possible for the G8 VCM's but that would have to be something discussed with the engineers at Vector or HP Tuners who reverse engineer this stuff. They may be able to tell you right off the bat "yes" or "no" depending on what they have looked into.

[TheTugBoat]

couldn't you tune drive for N/A and sport for the bottle?