Anyone here running nitrous with alcohol? My setup is a BBC with a single plane intake and a single Holley 4bbl running alcohol. I am thinking that I can get a plate designed for my carb/intake and run nitrous pretty simply. Other than being sure of the correct fuel/nitrous ratio, is there anything else to consider? Just multiply the amount of fuel by ~2.2-2.3 like when converting from gas to alcohol? Do they make larger flow solenoids to work with alcohol? Any ideas welcome. I am thinking of a 100-150hp shot to use when match racing. The car will usually be running as a 9.90 Super Gas car, but I am also going to be doing some match racing.

Rich

 

N.O.S sells a solenoid just for alcohol, but have you ever considered gas? Many of the promod outlaw racers I know run this setup for its simplicity and reliability. There is less cylinder washdown and the fuel demands are easier to meet. EGT's seem to be perfectly acceptable and the tune is much easier to nail. Unless you have a big Kinsler or Waterman beltdrive pump I would not even consider an alcohol nitrous setup without a separate fuel system. I run a 1 gallon nitrous fuel cell on a 225 shot(gasoline) and after 2 ,11 second passes it's damn near empty. Just imagine the fuel volume you'll be using with alcohol. Many people frown on the idea of 2 different fuels but its out there and it works. Just food for thought.

And buy a better system than you need, theres not much difference in the price. I went from an edelbrock rpm plate system (maxed out jetting), to a N.O.S big shot plate with proshot solonoids and a #6 feed line rated for 400 hp and picked up 2.5 tenths on the same 225 shot. If you go with alcohol just call the maker of your kit and ask for their baseline jetting and tune from there with your EGT's.

Hope this helps. this thread will be dead when I get back from vacation so good luck and Merry Christmas.

 

I do have a belt-drive pump, so I think I'll be ok on the fuel volume score. The second (gas) fuel system did occur to me, but I'd like to avoide the complexity of that setup if I can.

Rich

 

Sounds great, just buy the solenoid and do it cheap. By the way, what kind of car/engine combo are you running?

 

It's not for the Camaro, it's a 27T drag car that is nominally a Super Gas car. It has a fairly mild 60 over 427 BBC. I am going to be some match racing in addition to some 9.90 racing.

Rich

 

Rich,
Due to the fact that the inlet temps with alcohol are already low due to fuel vaporization, adding cold nitrous tends to condense the alcohol causing it fall out of suspension in the air fuel charge. Mixture distribution & fuel puddling can result. Cylinder washdown/scuffing could be an issue.

For this reason, many recommend running race fuel with the nitrous to minimize this tendency. Tuning on gasoline will also be easier due to the lower volume & less sensitivity to weather conditions. I know this adds to the complexity, but you may also have some distribution issues with the alcohol, especially if using a large HP kit. With condensed fuel in the plenum, cylinder distribution can be poor as you never know where puddled fuel is going in the intake.... especially under acceleration. You may be OK with a 150HP or less shot, but I would definitely recommend a direct port system if using alcohol as the supplemental fuel.

There was a very good article on this. If I can find it I will post it for you.

 

"There was a very good article on this. If I can find it I will post it for you."

Lonnie: thanks for the info. It makes a lot of sense. If you can find that article, I'd appreciate it.

Rich

 

Rich,
I loooked everywhere & cannot find the old article. I'll let you know if & when I find it. It basically went into more detail of vaporization & problems with keeping enough heat in the chamber. Any luck on your part?

 

Haven't found it yet. I did learn that NX makes a kit specifically for alcohol/4150 carb on a single plane. Acording to them, it works. But then again, I'd expect them to say that!

Rich

 

Yes they are available. NOS also makes a ProRace Fogger for Alcohol.

Do you already have the carb & intake? If not, get the Dominator style carb. The BBC's tend to like the wider throttle bore spacing with a more direct shot at the ports.