Nitrous: Wet v Dry
Staging Lane
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 86
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Don't know much about a wet kit but I do know a dry kit is cheaper and easier to install. I've been running dry for a year with no problems and I do believe the you must have a stock tune to run dry. I would like to know myself how wet is safer.
Thread Starter
TECH Regular
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 428
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From: Kansas City MO
After reading the sticky on NOS, what else is the advantage of running a wet kit.... Dry kits ruin your head gaskets and potentially other parts... Do you gain more with a wet or dry kit?
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wet verses dry This is my understanding: a dry system relies on the MAF to properly identify (through a timed sampling rate) the additional O2 amount that is being added to the system by a N2O shot. With this information the car’s computer then adjusts the amount of fuel to maintain a proper air to fuel mixture. If the car’s computer fails to make the proper fuel addition, the engine can begin to “burn lean”. A motor that is “burning lean” can achieve catastrophic damage very quickly. Today’s MAF sampling rate and the speed of computation of our computers can easily handle the demands of a “small shot”. The debate then becomes when does the amount of N2O begin to exceed the ability of our engine system to respond correctly? The next question that has to be addressed is when do you start pulling timing?
Please remember that a LS4 owner should consider that the LS4 has a smaller MAF then other LSx engines. Also remember our pistons have a much smaller surface area then other LSx engines and the material they are made from doesn’t do well with a “big” shot. So be careful about receiving info on other LSx engines and then applying that info to our engines.
Please remember that a LS4 owner should consider that the LS4 has a smaller MAF then other LSx engines. Also remember our pistons have a much smaller surface area then other LSx engines and the material they are made from doesn’t do well with a “big” shot. So be careful about receiving info on other LSx engines and then applying that info to our engines.
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Verdad Gallardo This is my understanding: a dry system relies on the MAF to properly identify (through a timed sampling rate) the additional O2 amount that is being added to the system by a N2O shot. With this information the car’s computer then adjusts the amount of fuel to maintain a proper air to fuel mixture. If the car’s computer fails to make the proper fuel addition, the engine can begin to “burn lean”. A motor that is “burning lean” can achieve catastrophic damage very quickly. Today’s MAF sampling rate and the speed of computation of our computers can easily handle the demands of a “small shot”. The debate then becomes when does the amount of N2O begin to exceed the ability of our engine system to respond correctly? The next question that has to be addressed is when do you start pulling timing?
Please remember that a LS4 owner should consider that the LS4 has a smaller MAF then other LSx engines. Also remember our pistons have a much smaller surface area then other LSx engines and the material they are made from doesn’t do well with a “big” shot. So be careful about receiving info on other LSx engines and then applying that info to our engines.
Please remember that a LS4 owner should consider that the LS4 has a smaller MAF then other LSx engines. Also remember our pistons have a much smaller surface area then other LSx engines and the material they are made from doesn’t do well with a “big” shot. So be careful about receiving info on other LSx engines and then applying that info to our engines.
The long and short of it is. You will get about the same power from the two.
Dry-cheaper, easier to install. I wouldnt run more than a 150 shot through dry.
Wet-Much more expensive, hard to install, you can tune the car so it runs safer, it also can prolly get a 250 shot into our engine.
Dry-cheaper, easier to install. I wouldnt run more than a 150 shot through dry.
Wet-Much more expensive, hard to install, you can tune the car so it runs safer, it also can prolly get a 250 shot into our engine.
Thread Starter
TECH Regular
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 428
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From: Kansas City MO
Hey! Thanks all! This is all good stuff, I know that this is covered in the nitrous forum here, but I specifically wanted to know the characteristics to cover a nitrous application in our cars.... I believe that we should make a sticky for things like forced induction, nitrous, N/A mods (i.e. cams, heads, rockers, intake) and other such things....
Staging Lane
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 86
Likes: 0
Since you ask the question I've been researching myself to find answers that I should have known before buying and installing mine. Everybody that I know personally that's into to racing uses wet kits but at that the same time these are not street cars, they are getting pulled on a trailer from place to place. Everybody that I asked say they hate dry nos but have never tried it. From what I read as far as being safer depends on how much hp you are looking for, 125 shot and below dry is safer and anything above 125 wet is best, also if you have a custom tune or planning running a tune wet is the only way to go. I chose dry because I could install it myself easily, had stock tune, and I could hind the plumbing pretty easy. I also had read where people burning plugs out with wet kit. As said before I had my 100 dry shot for a year now with no problems, love it and feels great. You'll be surprise how big of difference it makes.
TECH Regular
Joined: Nov 2009
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From: Farmington Hills, MI
No doubt.
Ha!
With a dry setup, you tune the AFR with nozzle location. Expanding N2O cools the air entering the MAF and tricks it into thinking that more air is passing through it than actually is. iirc, stoich for N20 is something like 7:1 (don't quote me on that), so you do have to richen the mixture up. Moving the nozzle around changes how much the heat the expanding N20 takes out of the MAF wires, so you figure out what AFR you need to run based on what percentage of power comes from the N2O and then adjust the nozzle until you nail it. Typical recommendations say to start with the nozzle 3-4" in front of the MAF, pointed straight at the MAF.
To pull timing, you just go beyond the g/cyl range you typically see running N/A and put in the timing you want to run. Your engine sees the N2O as more air, so it will automatically read the higher cells and pull timing. As a bonus, you even get a little enrichment from the transient fuelling calculations right as you hit it.
With a wet kit, you add your own fuel and use some trick (like an IAT switch) to pull timing.
Personally, I think the dry shot is more elegant. Then again, it might be that I'm just looking to justify 42# injectors.
With a dry setup, you tune the AFR with nozzle location. Expanding N2O cools the air entering the MAF and tricks it into thinking that more air is passing through it than actually is. iirc, stoich for N20 is something like 7:1 (don't quote me on that), so you do have to richen the mixture up. Moving the nozzle around changes how much the heat the expanding N20 takes out of the MAF wires, so you figure out what AFR you need to run based on what percentage of power comes from the N2O and then adjust the nozzle until you nail it. Typical recommendations say to start with the nozzle 3-4" in front of the MAF, pointed straight at the MAF.
To pull timing, you just go beyond the g/cyl range you typically see running N/A and put in the timing you want to run. Your engine sees the N2O as more air, so it will automatically read the higher cells and pull timing. As a bonus, you even get a little enrichment from the transient fuelling calculations right as you hit it.
With a wet kit, you add your own fuel and use some trick (like an IAT switch) to pull timing.
Personally, I think the dry shot is more elegant. Then again, it might be that I'm just looking to justify 42# injectors.
