The car runs pretty decent as it sits now. I just want to milk some more power out for those "slightly behind" situations. The heads are cast iron. So if I went with nitrous, what all do I need to buy and do to make it safe as possible?

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1986 Z28
383 ci Stroker, Dart Sportsmen 2 heads, roller rocker arms, Crower Hot Street Beast cam, edelbrock 750cfm carb and performer rpm intake, Corvette Servos, shift kit and 2600 rpm stall convertor, 3.73 gears and Eaton limited slip posi rearend.

 

Well, I see your running a carb, so a cheater (up to 250 hp) or super powershot (up to 175 hp) kit is what you would want.
I dont know what you have for a fuel pump, so MAYBE you might need a second one, highly unlikely. Basically, a hobbs switch(fuel pressure safety switch) is the best investment you would make as it would kill power to the nitrous solenoid should the fuel supply come up short due to something like a pinched or smashed fuel line, low on fuel and it moving away from the pickup on acceleration, or even the fuel solenoid failing to open at all. That would be definately be something I would buy at the same time I bought the nitrous kit.
Other than that, nothing really. If you buy an NOS brand kit, or any brand for that matter, the recommended jet sizes are already on the rich side and you would have to go from there. Just get yourself 1 or 2 steps colder plugs, so race gas and take it for a ride. If it pops out the intake its too rich, if it pops out the exhaust its too lean. If it dont pop, and you feel it didnt make that much of a difference try changing 1 of the jets 1 or 2 numbers at a time at the most. And id go up on the fuel before I went up on the nitrous just to be on the safe side, if it gets slower, put the original jet back in and try going up on the nitrous side and see what happens.

 

NO2 IMO is expensive because it needs to be refilled every so many runs. Sure it is cheap today but "You can pay me now or pay me later".

My only bias against NO2 is that it is a sudden shock to the system. HOWEVER, if you do it right and don't get carried away, you should be fine. Make sure your injectors and pump are capable of carrying the additional load when the gas is on.

 

People will argue that Nitrous doesn't hurt a motor if setup right.. i agree 100% but it does put more strain on the moving parts obviously! Unless your running a Jacobs mastermind that will slowly increase your shot.. your still SHOCKING the motor with all that fuel, air and nitrous. Cutting the heads is something you can't undo once they're cut thats it... at least a bottle you can take off. They say every point of compression is ROUGHLY 15hp. Personally I'd go with the heads not only have them machined but ported and polished!... and if your not happy.. then spray it!

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(I know.. it's not an F-Body) 85 S-10 Millenium Yellow pickup, 12.21 @ 111MPH soon to be in the 11's (once we hook up off the line!.)

 

Personally, if I wanted to go faster I'd get the N20. Milling the heads and porting them would only yield perhaps 30-40hp considering that everything was set up right and you weren't getting any knock. Knock is bad because its anti-performance basically. These stock heads we have are only good to about 250-260 cfm with massive porting. Thats not very good considering that the LS1 heads flow 270 cfm stock. I'd rather pay for a set of AFR's that flow awesome from the box than spend money on the factory heads.

Nitrous is the way to go. AutoRoc got 1.4 seconds faster with a 75 shot of the NX kit.

 

Head work is something you are going to want to do sooner or later. You can do it yourself and save a bundle on aftermarket heads by getting the Standard Abrasives Deluxe porting kit. Most of the time a decent (though not perfect) job will gain you in the 10 to 15% range in hp. It is just sitting there waiting to be taken. But I wouldn't increase the compression. The cost of high octane gas over the years you own the car is a killer.

Nitrous is definitely an option, too. But I would prefer to get my engine as well sorted out as possible before doing that.

[This message has been edited by Sitting Bull (edited August 02, 2002).]

 

You really think you could get 10-15% increase in power? My heads aren't stock, they're dart sportsmen II's, and they're iron. They're supposed to flow pretty well already, but I've heard they respond great to porting.

 

Oh yeah, on a 300 hp motor, adding a good set of heads will add 30 hp or so. I think your current Sportsman IIs are maybe even more than your engine can use. They are very optimised heads, meant for a really well built 350, 383 or 400.

At your level, you are probably ready for a snort of nitrous.


[This message has been edited by Sitting Bull (edited August 02, 2002).]