there is a NOS dry kit #5176 for sale on the for sale board, "complete" and he's only asking $225 for it. Would this be an alright kit to bolt up on my 96 SS without hurting anything or getting too complicated? What is the best, WET or DRY?

 

You are asking a controversial question Wet or Dry. The NOS you are speaking of is a Dry kit. You may need to upgrade your injectors and make sure your O2s are in good shape. Other than that a dry kit should be fine.

Wet kits are easier to tune and are less reliant on the stock engine management system.

 

would upgrading the injectors be a big deal if i wasn't going to use the kit much at all, and not running over a 100 shot? could it screw my engine up bad if i just use it a minimal number of times on a completely stock setup?

 

Good questions... You can run up to 150 safely. However, it only takes one time for a stock injector to lock up for a fraction of a second to make that cylinder run lean. Of course always run the highest octane available (91 in California).

If you upgrade to Ford SVO 42# injectors, you'll never lock up. Stock injectors are good for stock applications, but you do run the risk of one locking up with a dry system.

You should be fine, but most upgrade injectors with dry kits. Some run with stock injectors, but their fuel and ignition are maintained very well. O2 Sensors are the critical sensors when dealing with a dry system.

 

so locking up an injector and running one lean means the bad part will be...? besides having to buy new injectors.

and O2 sims would be a good or a bad idea?

P.S. - I have my cooling fans hard wired, and always on, my car never runs over 185 degrees, and I heard that under 160 the computer dont take readings from the O2 sims anyways, it just runs as if the readings were perfect. is this true? and does it mean that running my car under 160 would be safe.? what would happen if i had a bad o2 sensor and ran a dry kit?

 

The problem with an injector locking up is that it will make that cylinder run lean. That will cause extreme heat and could melt components (piston head, ring lands, valve, etc). Ultimately, it warp your heads. When you push unburnt N2O into the exhaust manifold, understand that your other cylinders are running rich, so the unburnt fuel will meet the unburnt N2O and heat will ignite the two (cats, manifold, etc) and it could explode causing mechanical damage.

O2 Sensors read the Oxygen levels... which is very critical on a dry system. If an O2 is bad, it will not richen the mixture and another lean condition will present itself to all cylinders.

O2s are always used except for Wide Open Throttle (WOT) or in open loop (first few minutes after a cold start or below 100*F +/-) An engine at 160*F would definately be in closed loop.

 

so ultimately i would need to install new o2 sensors to be safe or is there a sure way of testing them? how much money am i looking at here for sensors? for bigger injectors? new injectors requires dyno tuning doesn't it?

 

I use FreeScan which gives my Current Data of all sensors. It is free, but you'll need a cable to connect to the Data Link Connector. If your O2s are fine, the will cycle between .100 and .900 very fast. If they are lazy or stuck, then you have a problem.

O2s can cost $80 +/- for GM parts. Some buy Bosch aftermarket sensors but they don't seem to last as long. ($35). Do not splice into the connector/wire if it is short. Any crimping can affect the reading by tainting the signal with corrosion/resistance.

Step 1 - confirm your O2s are fine, you may not need them. There are other scanner programs out there that you can use to read your sensors.

About injectors, Ford SVO 42# injectors are about $480. You may be able to get away with 36# injectors if you keep your N2O below 150 HP... it is addicting so you may step up in the future. No, you don't need to dyno-tune with just a injector upgrade. There are provisions in LT1 Edit or Tunercat that will let you click the injector size. Pretty easy. I didn't check what year your car is. There are programmers who will make that change for you too if you don't have the computer cable.

I was considering the NOS Throttle Body kit which sprays dry N2O into the manifold directly from the Throttle Body. But, I didn't have confidence in the stock engine management system and didn't want to upgrade injectors just yet.

With a 75 kit, you may be safe with stock injectors, but again there is that risk of locking one up.

 

what does freescan display on, a laptop computer or what?

 

Correct, FreeScan works on any PC. A laptop is convenient, but you can use a desktop as well if the cable reaches.

 

Where can I get this freescan program for free, and how much is a cable going to cost me, and where can I get one? My car is a 1996 model SS.. OBD-II i'm assuming.?

I have access to a Snap-On computer, which i'm sure displays O2 sensor readings, but how often will I need to check this?

 

You can download here and just slip andy an email that you downloaded it.

You can get the cables here

I've also got a Snap-On scanner like yourself. You should check the O2s before you hook up the N2O to make sure they are rapidly bouncing between .100 and .900 +/-... they should bounce all over the place fast, if they are slow or stuck you've got a problem. Good to find out now before you hook up the N2O.

Then, I'll run a scan during a run on N2O. If you can Flight Record the movie, then that would be best. You should see the O2s hang in the .900-.999 to ensure that they are phasing correctly.

That's really about it for scanning. If you run with stock injectors, then you should be able to check the duty cycle. They are prone to locking up if under too much stress which is why people swap them out. They are good injectors for normal operation.

I hope this helps... just post if you have more questions. If your O2s are bouncing at idle and in the .9s on WOT, you should be fine. No need to replace them.

 

i have an OBD-II car, it says it does not support that

 

Crud... Your Snap-On Scanner should read the O2s without any problem. Just use that since you already have it. It should be able to tell you if your O2s are lazy or stuck.

The O2s are your primary concern with a Dry system. The injectors are another concern but I'd worry about it later.

Get the dry kit, check your O2s before and after the installation.
Run Premium Gas and then you'll only have to worry about the stock injectors locking up. Keep the stock ones and you won't need to adjust your programming. I'm not sure how you program the OBD-II vehicles (which program), I do know how to program the computers once you gain access. If you do upgrade the injectors, most companies will update for about $100.

 

Try carputing and click the link for 96/97 LT1 Programming. This will let you edit all of the features on your car.