Built4Boost

Hey, I have asked a few of these questions on here in the past. but now that my nitrous kit has just arrived, Id like to touch up a few things and make sure Im going to the right route in making my car as safe as possible. Im beyond a nitrous NOOB.

Im using a EFI wet kit from ZEX. and plan on going with a 50 shot. or even a 75 shot is it doesnt stand to be a big deal. I just dont want the motor to pop.

I was wondering if anyone else out there is using this kit as well. From what people have told me, it would be smart to use certain add-ons when using this kit, Such as:

-traction control window switch. (can manually set at what rpm the nitrous turns on and turns off. can also select what gear it comes on also)
-air/fuel wideband gauge (would nitrous read on the gauge and show up as richer?, still a little confused on that)
-adjustable fuel pressure regulator (The kit is wet, so would I need this? and why?)
-fuel pressure cut off switch (someone told me about this. but I cant find who sells it. aparently it will cut the nitrous once it senses any sort of fuel pressure drop)
-walbro 255 (was planning on picking one up either way)

Or do I not need any of this?

I plan on getting a slightly upgraded clutch. I curently have an OE clutch in mine and would hurt to have it replaced.

Any other info would greatly be appreciated. Thanks alot!

liquid_helix136

Hey Built4Boost,

I've got a Zex wet shot kit that runs great *most* of the time but I can answer some questions for you.

First of all, if you havent already, theres a great thread on this site about nitrous here that you should read.

You should be able to run a 75 shot no problem on the stock ECU, just watch your AFRs the first couple times you spray to make sure they are in the 11s, you see them get any higher than the occasional low 12, let off and swap to a slightly larger fuel jet. You can almost 'tune' your AFRs by playing with the different sizes of fuel jets. My set up was running really rich so I had to change to a 65 shot fuel jet and 75 shot nitrous jet to get the AFRs into the 11s. (So yes you'll need a wideband) Of course you could always run an aftermarket EMS to really fine tune your set up which would be optimal, but not necessary for just a 75 shot (any bigger than 75 shot your going to want to swap to a Direct port kit anyways)

Basically, out of the list you've mentioned, the things you dont need include:
fuel pressure regulator
fuel pressure cut off switch (never even heard of one honestly)
bigger fuel pump
isnt needed, but not a bad idea if you plan on boosting or going to a bigger shot in the future
upgraded clutch

On top of the basic kit that Zex gives you, the things that you MUST be running include:
window switch
Basically keeps your engine from blowing up in conjunction with the WOT switch that comes with the Zex kit. Set it for ~4500 (no lower than 4000) and a couple hundred RPMs before redline. If you hit fuel cut while spraying nitrous you WILL blow your engine, this cuts the nitrous before the fuel cut kicks in.
Air/Fuel wideband gauge
honestly this tells you so much about whats happening in your engine, I think EVERYONE should have one of these in their car if they plan on doing any type of modding, even if its just basic N/A bolt ons. Great tool.
1-step colder spark plugs
wrong plugs will cause detonation and/or misfires on spray. (Had personal experience with misfires on bad plugs while spraying)

Other things that you SHOULD run for increased safeguard include
Purge kit
Coolest thing about nitrous honestly, plus purging right after you open the lines allows you to have good nitrous ready to go rather than blowing a ton of fuel with oxygen when trying to spray and going SUPER rich for a few seconds before your nitrous lines finally empty of oxygen and fill with nitrous. Also when you close the bottle, you should purge all the air out because 900psi on your solenoids can cause them to prematurely go bad.
Lean cutoff switch
Leaning out your engine makes it go boom, setting a lean cut off switch to shut off the nitrous if it hits a predetermined AFR setting (I think most people set it at ~12.5) can save your engine if something goes wrong. (I dont run one of these, but a lot of people do)
Upgraded heater
The heater I got from Zex took 30mins to get all the way hot, and even then if it was cold outside the bottle pressure would only get to 600psi which means not a full 75 shot that Im running. I upgraded to a Harris Speed Works heater and that thing will warm it up to 1k psi+ no problem in 15-20 mins
Remote bottle opener
Come on.. who wants to run to the trunk and open up the bottle every time they want to spray, and then run back to it and close it up every time your done using it. (Not an issue if you were to just use it on a drag strip or something)
Electric Nitrous Pressure Gauge
Like the wideband this is a big thing that seemed minuscule to me at first, but after having one I would never go back to just the gauge on the bottle. Before I would hit the warmer and then guess how much psi the bottle *should* have when I wanted to spray. But now I can watch the pressure go up when I open the bottle, see what its at and then know exactly when the pressure is at its optimal level, and know that the lines are free of nitrous when I close it up and purge out the lines (gauge will read 0psi again)

seoul2k

in the long run a turbo setup or a s/c setup will be cheaper. I think around my area it's around 60 bucks to fill a 10lbs tank. I spent close to 1300 bucks on my setup and ended up selling it after a week of having it on. Went turbo instead.

I ran a zex wet kit on mine and ran a 75 shot in it. Its lots of fun, i'll tell you that much and its pretty addicting, but you have to worry about having the nitrous at a certain temp before you use it. So i would look into getting a bottle warmer also. You would also want to get a wideband of some sort, AEM UEGO wideband is what i ended up getting for mine. I'm also pretty bad with electrical stuff and i couldn't figure out for the longest time how to install and hook up the wiring. anyways the zex kit is pretty much dumb proof. you have to set it up while pressing the pedal down so it knows that your at wot and so it will engauge.

Now the safest way to go about installing nitrous would be direct port where it goes into your intake manifold. You would want to get it tuned imho, and if you have a 00-05 you would have to get either kpro or aem ems. If you would go that route your paying close to a used turbo kit.

liquid_helix136

^^^ true about it being addicting, Worst part about it is I cant have it ALL the time! lol