Whether you’re looking for a low cost performance addition or just more horsepower, adding nitrous oxide to your ride is a great and safe way of injecting power. Considering the safety and reliability concerns that come with adding such a system, it’s best to go with the big names in the business. One of the best sources is Nitrous Express (NX). Not only does Nitrous Express offer the highest quality kits, but all of their products are made right here in the U.S.A.
For our Mustang we went with the S197 3-valve kit. This kit can be tuned to provide anywhere from 50 to 150 hp. Nitrous Express also offers optional jetting that adds a fairly stunning 200 HP. The kit activates when the throttle is wide open and since it’s a wet kit, there is no need for an engine tune.
The kit comes in three main sections: trunk, interior and under the hood. For the trunk, you’ll be installing the bottle, bottle heater and remote bottle opener. For the interior all you need to add are three switches. One to activate the bottle opener, a second to enable the system and the third to purge the fuel lines. Under the hood installation includes a nitrous plate, fuel rail adaptor, purge valve and a wiring harness.
Although there are relatively few parts, you’ll need quite a few tools for this job. Turn to the experts at the Sears to set you up with everything you need. Overall this job requires: Wrenches, sockets, ratchets, drill bits, allen wrenches, screwdrivers, pliers, wire strippers, wire cutters, electrical tape, a Dremel tool, safety glasses, a drill and more. Considering the size of this job, having a buddy help you out isn’t a bad idea either.
Everything starts under the hood with installing the nitrous plate between the throttle body and the intake manifold. Remove the air intake duct to gain access to the throttle body. You’ll need a socket to remove the throttle body. Using the gaskets and hardware that come with the kit, attach the nitrous plate to the throttle body. After reattaching the throttle body, install the fuel rail adaptor block.
Begin connecting the system by attaching the included fuel line from the rail block to the nitrous plate. Once you’ve installed the purge valve, you can then attach the included stainless steel line from the nitrous plate to the valve. As you move from one installation point to the next, be sure to tighten down all of the bolts and fittings.
In order to adjust the amount of horsepower the system adds, you’ll need to add the correct nitrous and fuel jets provided with the kit. A chart is included to show which jets correspond with what power gains.
Now comes the not-so-fun bit of attaching the large wire harness. At first glance the harness may appear a bit overwhelming. Like most big jobs, take it one step at a time. Only think about the current task and not how many still remain. This way you can maintain low stress and minimal mistakes. Patience is the key word here. As always, before you conduct any electrical work, make sure that the battery is disconnected.
Once you’ve finished under the hood, it’s time to head to the trunk. The first step is to install the remote bottle opener. After making sure the bottle is empty, take off the factory handle and install the new collar, handle and motor. With this remote bottle opener there is no need to get out of the car to use the system. It can be activated from the cabin at any time.
In order to install the bottle we did have to do some light welding. Need a refresher on the finer points of welding? Check out this episode of Motorz for some excellent tips!
Finally, all that’s left is to install the interior switches. You can place them wherever you like, but we placed them just off to the right of the shift knob. There is plenty of room plus it provides easy access to the driver. This installation will involve drilling through factory interior components. Considering how expensive these parts can be to replace, this is definitely a “measure twice cut once” situation. Cut the holes initially smaller than you think they need to be. You can always make them larger.
Once installation is complete, connect the system to the battery.
In order to operate the Nitrous Express kit, all you need to do is press the three buttons you installed. First activate the remote bottle opener followed by enabling the system. Then just purge the lines and the next time you open the throttle completely the nitrous will automatically be injected.
This is a simple overview of what is involved with installation. For a complete step-by-step guide, check out the video below to see Chris install the kit!
To learn more about Nitrous Express products or to purchase any specific kits, check out the official Nitrous Express website.
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