NOS systems?

[arcarsenal]

i'm looking at uprgrading my engine from a 1679 to a 1776, and hopefully end up with something in the neighborhood of 110~120hp reliably. i'd love to go bigger, but for 99% of the driving i do, even what i have now is adequate, so i can't really justify the added cost of building, maintaining, and feeding a huge engine in a daily driver scenario.

but there's always that 1% of the time when you want more power, and i was wondering if a nitrous system would be practical on a daily driver for limited use...you know, the occasional pesky 'stang/civic/integra poseur

how much power would a system add, and (as long as i'm not on the boost until the bottle is empty), will it be reliable?

what would i need in additional gauge-ery? nitrous psi, exhaust temp, etc.? speaking of which, does anyone know any place on the web that sells autometer gauges cheap?

[Iltis74]

First off, the daily driver 1776 you likely have in mind will not break 100 HP. But if you are going to add nitrous then I would advise not using the stock crank and using stronger rod bolts, and if you are buying a new counterweighted, preferably forged (though a quality casting is fine) crank, it will cost little to nothing more to increase the stroke up to 78mm. This crank will fit in the case with minor clearancing, work fine with a stock rod, and give you 2007cc with your 90.5's. Of course with the "A" pistons you may have a slightly wider motor, your gas mileage will go down, and with a 2L you start to be concerned that your heads carbs and exhaust will never be good enough, but I only mention this because there are steps between the two (crank sizes) that you should look into. When you bore it out and hook up the juice stock parts will proudly show every weakness they have, and you will have to build your bottom end to withstand the horsepower you will see when you push the big red button.
As far as nitrous output goes, you just tell them on the phone what you want. The typical kit is 40-50HP, which is quite noticeable and probably what you are looking for. Heck that is a 50% increase.
Reliability is not a concern. In the hotrod days of bandit nitrous blowing up V8s you were dealing with people rigging these systems in their garage. The kit you order from NOS is engineered a little better than that. However if you wanted to you could add a second fuel line to the car to plumb into the nitrous kit, and you would be bombproof!

[arcarsenal]

hmm...damn. i figured i could get at least 110hp (not at the wheels of course) out of a 1776...

i (inadvertently) got it out of my 1679, but it was hardly what you'd call reliable/liveable/etc, but that's another story, hehehe...

[Rick]

I would use a counterweighted VW crank over a cast crank any day! VW cranks are forged and hold up well to 300 hp turbo motors. Stock rods are fine, just have the bolts changed to SPS bolts, such as done in a Rimco super rod.

[Veepster]

my first expense would be a step up to a good set of pistons..........I have a bunch of cheap pistons at home w/ smooshed ringlands(sp?)........all other parts will be fine with the load you plan on using....

Peace............BartG

[Iltis74]

OK reread my post and maybe my comments on cranks were worded wrong. What I wanted to say was that the stock crank as it came out of the factory is not recommended. It needs counterweights and a good 8-dowelling. Cheap on an exchange basis and more than up to the task. These can also be found in a 74mm. I run one. 1903cc makes a torquey little motor, and chances are nothing would need to be changed on the rest of the motor. Mine runs stock streamlined DP heads, stock rods with SPS bolts, Engle 100 cam, dual 40 webers, and I estimate 90-95 HP. But hey lets be realistic, companies like CB Performance and others make some cast cranks that work fine as long as RPM isn't excessive, though admittedly the nitrous in this instance would rule heavily against them. No I've never run one and wouldn't, but I know people who have with no problems.

Horsepower numbers and the daily driver in my opinion don't belong together. I know the sizes and components of all my motors and that's enough for me. If you are building a 1776 for the street then you pick your heads and cam accordingly and who cares about the hard numbers? Sure 120 HP can be wrought out of a 1776, but I think that for a daily driver the questions being asked should have to do with drivability characteristics, reliabilty, and ease of maintainance, not horsepower. Plus I chronically underestimate horsepower ratings and flat don't believe most I hear, so don't let my comments deter you or get you down. I have no idea what you're putting in the thing or your daily driving habits, I just know I wouldn't get over 100 if I built it, especially if I had a backup plan.

Good luck with the motor and nitrous. For an affordable well-mannered screamer it is a hard combination to beat.

[cj011]

i have built a 1776 nitro motor and i will tell you what my builder in hawaii told me what is necessary. anything weak will break. but stock parts like rods can hold alot more than what you think. a forged crank and rod bolts are a must along with total seal rings. see running nos is not the problem, it is when you detonate, a built motor can withstand it depending how bad it is. you need about 4-6 psi to run nos, but i would recomend a big honking pump from a stock mustang at a parts store. also for every 50 shot, retard ignition 2 degrees. you can get away with more, but it gets risky. the final item is an air fuel monitor guage, that can tell you when you will detonate and it allows you to maximize you nos by seeing how much your motor can take..dont let people fool you, the reason for a large majority of nos breakages, is due to a lack of fuel, poor ignition timing, and getting greedy with nos. and realize this, one you get it going good you will use it way to much, the more you run light to light or quarters, the more you will have to take apart your motor. use smarts and conservative jetting and you will nos for many years happily

[cj011]

i have built a 1776 nitro motor and i will tell you what my builder in hawaii told me what is necessary. anything weak will break. but stock parts like rods can hold alot more than what you think. a forged crank and rod bolts are a must along with total seal rings. see running nos is not the problem, it is when you detonate, a built motor can withstand it depending how bad it is. you need about 4-6 psi to run nos, but i would recomend a big honking pump from a stock mustang at a parts store. also for every 50 shot, retard ignition 2 degrees. you can get away with more, but it gets risky. the final item is an air fuel monitor guage, that can tell you when you will detonate and it allows you to maximize you nos by seeing how much your motor can take..dont let people fool you, the reason for a large majority of nos breakages, is due to a lack of fuel, poor ignition timing, and getting greedy with nos. and realize this, one you get it going good you will use it way to much, the more you run light to light or quarters, the more you will have to take apart your motor. use smarts and conservative jetting and you will nos for many years happily