Did You Know? How To Pick A N2O System

JUST BECAUSE ITS THE CHEAPEST DOES NOT MEAN ITS THE BEST OR JUST AS GOOD AS THE REST!!!

CHOOSING THE RIGHT PRODUCT AT THE RIGHT PRICE
In this tech article you will be given the knowledge to choose a nitrous system that best fits your needs and budget with out having to ask biased people or sales pitch throwing salesmen.

(Part one).
Over Head
First lets discuss some things that dictate what price a company has to sell there products for. Overhead is something every company has. Different companies have different levels of over head. For instance a home base single employee would have much less overhead than a shop based company with many employees. Below are just a few expenses a business may have.
1. Rent or Building -Expenses such as electricity, water, phone, etc.
2. Pay Roll- Sales, shipping, technical, accounting, marketing, employee’s
3. Marketing- Web forum sponsorship, magazine articles, goggle searches, catalogs, web development, web maintence , price guides, show expense, etc.
4. Product Development- New products brought to the market cost a lot of money when researching and developing from scratch.
5. Stock- To keep products in stock requires a great deal of cash flow to be tied up.

All the things above play a role in the quality of customer service you will receive from a company. You are investing into the company buy buying there products.
For Example.

Overhead Expenses.
Most companies that are established and based out of an actual building with employees are normally concentrating on making sure they are there in the future.
By investing into a established company odds are better that they will be there in the future when you may need to warranty a defective item or maybe just buy a part to match what you have. A established company is more than likely willing to go the extra mile to insure there customer is taken care of when the responsibility lies in there court do to being able to afford the expense.

Pay Roll
Have you ever been on the dyno or maybe getting ready to go the track and had some technical difficulties you needed help with? Then called the company you bought the product from only to find there was no answer or you had to leave a message with the hopes they call back in time. Or maybe there was no one there technical enough to give you the right answer. If so this one will make since to you. In order to have employees in house to take care of your customers it cost money. The more knowledgeable the employees are and the amount of employees the larger the company over head is. Companies that offer full time technical assistance will carry a larger expense than a company that does not they offer better customer support!! Having enough employees in order to run the business is a must when concentrating on customer service. While employees are taking tech calls sales, shipping, marketing, accounting etc still carries on.

Marketing.
Any company that is concentrating on the future survival has to invest into marketing. Reaching new customers is a must. With out marketing you would not reach new customers there for the companies sales would die off and the company would go out of business.


Product Development.
Companies that offer product development spend a lot of capital researching and developing new products. This is a large expense for a company. However it brings newer better products to market for your enjoyment. (Guys don’t mix this one up with companies that simply copy someone else’s ideas or designs. They don’t have near the expenses and they normally end up hurting the market making it hard for the companies they copy from to keep bringing newer and better products to market for you!)

Stock
Stocking products plays a huge roll in customer service as well. Have you ever needed a part and the company you did business with never seems to have what you needed when you needed it worse. The reason why is that a company has to tie up large amounts of capital in stocking products. In order to stay in business they have to have a profit return on there investment.(This is what makes the company be able to offer the customer in stock products, customer support, cover over head expenses, new products, product development, etc)

(Part Two)
Ok I am sure we all have the picture now on what kind of overhead expenses a company has. Now let’s talk about the product!

There are other items that determine a products cost other than overhead and advertisement expenses. While shopping for a new nitrous system I suggest checking these things before investing your hard earned money!

They are.
1. Product quality.
2. Product packaging.
3. Completeness of the product.
4. Instructions.
5. Warranty
6. Tech support

All of the items below raise the retail cost of the product.

Product Quality.
Better made parts cost a company more money. Plain and simple. Quality can be determained by many different factors. Mostly everything in this tech article will reflect the over all quality of a product.



Product Packaging.
Packaging is an investment to make sure the customer gets there product in one piece with no damages to the product. If a company vacuum seals a product to a back board and then packages it in a box with packing materials the odds are greater that the products will make it to the customer with no damages over a company that just simply puts items in a box. The better the packaging the higher the cost.

Completeness Of The Product.
This area can cover many areas. If the product is missing small pieces to work on your application odds are what started of cheap will add up costing more. (This will make more since in part three of this tech article.)

Instructions.
In order to install your product you will need detailed instructions. Putting together instructions require many man hours. It also requires printing cost. The better the instructions are the higher the cost.

Warranty.
Different companies have different warranty programs. Some companies offer no warranty. Offering a warranty of some kind is a companies commitment to there customers for supporting them and using there products. Offering a warranty cost a company the employee expense and product expense.

Tech Support.
Odds are you will need this at some time. Make sure you can get tech support on your product when you need it most. Tech support is something not every company can offer. Finding knowledgeable employees to sit in front of a phone to tie up large amounts of time cost a company a great deal of payroll and phone expense.

(Part Three)
Ok now on to choosing your nitrous system.
THINGS TO LOOK FOR WHEN COMPARING NITROUS SYSTEMS!
This is why cheaper is not better!!!!
We will break this down part by part.

1. Nitrous Bottle- What size bottle does the system come with, 5lb, 10lb, 15lb etc. Most systems come standard with a 10lb bottle. Is the bottle painted or powder coated? Paint will scratch and become dingy faster. Powder coat will with stand more abuse.

2. Bottle Valve- What doe’s the bottle valve support flow wise? Internal orifice size and the amount of turns will dictate how much the valve will flow. What type of turn knob does the valve have? Does the turn knob offer any valve stem support in the event you were to knock over the bottle? Does the valve offer accessory ports for a gauge, heater transducer, or nitrogen push system. Does the valve have a 326 or 660 style connection? A 326 connection is a two piece bottle nut and nipple that seals by compression. The 660 style is a one piece bottle nut that seals with a gasket. With a 660 style what ever position the nut stops in you are stuck with. With a 326 style you can dictate the position you stop the nut in. This is great when using a manifold and gauge attached to the bottle nipple. What is the orifice size of the pick up tube? Will it support enough flow to match the valve?

3. Bottle Brackets-What are the bottle brackets made of. Do they offer a quick release style removal that does not require tools? Is the bracket well made to with stand abuse and hold the bottle in the vent of a car crash? Are the bottle brackets big and bulky or a compact design. Are they ugly?

4. Main Feed Line- Is the main feed line a 4an hose or 6an hose. Is the main feed line stainless braided or is it a triple insulated race hose? How long is the main feed line? Is the main feed line long enough to mount your bottle where you need it and reach the solenoids?

5. Solenoids- This is the heart of your system. Choose wisely. How much will the solenoids flow? Will you have to upgrade in the future? What is the orifice size and coil strength of the solenoid? Small body solenoids that support higher flowing hp levels over 150 hp generally are not as reliable as larger body solenoids that have larger coil strength. What is the orifice port design? Does it offer a purge port so that you can purge the nitrous clear up into the solenoid? How many turns’ doe’s the nitrous have to take before exiting the nitrous solenoid? The orifice size, coil strength, and orifice flow path will dictate how much a solenoid flows and at what pressure it will open at. Will the solenoid with stand abuse from a progressive controller? What material is used on the fuel and nitrous pistons? Different materials will withstand different amounts of abuse. What material is the solenoid base made from? Stainless or aluminum? Stainless is stronger. Aluminum releases heat faster and weighs less. Are the solenoid cans metal or carbon fiber? The metal cans help the magnetic of the coil strength. The carbon fiber weighs less and offers a different style look.

6. Feed Hoses From Solenoids To Nozzle Or Plate- How long are the hoses? Two foot is standard. Anything longer creates a delay in response and possibly a lean spike. Anything shorter gives you a limited amount of areas to mount your solenoids. Are the feed hoses 3an or 4an? On a 3an hose the nitrous will max flow around 175hp. 4 an will more than likely flow more than you will ever need.

7. Nozzle Or Plate Design- What material is the plate or nozzle made from? What is the machining quality? Machining quality will not only dictate how nice the part looks but it will dictate strength flow and atomization as well. How well does the discharge atomize? How much will it flow? How does it seal when installed?

8. Jetting- What HP levels come with the system? You may need to buy jets for different hp levels.

9. Electrical- Does the system come with all the electrical you need? Harness and relay, activation switch, wide open throttle switch, fuse, fuse holder, wire, wiring terminals, etc. What is the quality of these items? Will they with stand time?

10. Hardware- Does the system come with all the hardware to mount everything? Solenoid brackets, nuts, bolts, plugs, etc. What is the quality of the hardware? Will it rust over time? Does the solenoid bracket or brackets make you bolt the solenoids together or can you separate them?

11. Fittings- What are fittings made from? Brass, nickel plated brass, Raw aluminum, anodized aluminum or stainless? Raw brass will oxidize over time. Plated brass will not. Anodized aluminum fittings that are sealed will not fade or oxidize. Raw aluminum will oxidize over time. Stainless will with stand the test of time longer than any other fitting. However screwing a stainless fitting into a stainless solenoid will gald the threads. Anodized aluminum and nickel plated brass generally give a cleaner install and are over all better with a nitrous system. Are the fittings color coated with the rest of the system?

12. Accessories- Does the system come with any accessories? Such as gauges, tps activation switch, blow off valve, blow down tube, fuel pressure safety switch,etc. If it does it will raise the over all cost of the base system. However that is less accessories you have to purchase seperate

When choosing a system for your application I suggest comparing these items before ever looking at the price. This way your mind focusing on the price does not fool you into cheating yourself out of getting the best product for your money… Remember Cheaper is not better!! Ask your self if the system is something you can grow with? After all why spend more replacing cheaply made parts or upgrading to higher flowing more reliable parts in the future.
Do It Right The First Time And Save Money!!!

Thanks for taking time to read this.

bump

This should be a sticky.

I believe part one is not needed... but everything else is very helpful. STICKY!

I believe part one is not needed... but everything else is very helpful. STICKY!

I agree



...good info

Part one is there only to outline pricing strategy when looking at 2 kits that look similar, but one is slightly more expensive.

If the more expensive kit is from a company that is constantly releasing new, innovative products and the other only has existing products anf long lead time from orders to shipping. Those are some of the reasons.

I would agree the first part is not technical, and may need to be edited or deleted. In the meantime, and in the absence of any sort of moderation on this forum, I'll sticky it.

bump

What LS1 plate systems do you carry?