Lets see if we can settle this one once and for all. :-)
In that "Magnum Performance Tips" article I mentioned earlier,
they said something that sort of struck me, especially in light
of some of the recent supercharger posts.
They said:
"Drive all week long on your 'stock' engine, then scoot to the
track, turn on the gas, and Viola... instant-racer. Serious
bolt-on modifications will be taxing an engine 100 percent of
the time. Not Nitrous!"
This is an interesting point... Could nitrous actually be more
healthy for an engine than a supercharger? Would running around
all the time with a supercharger put more wear on your engine
as compared to nitrous?
Now, all along, I've wanted a supercharger, and not nitrous. My
main reasons for this were the fact that I'd have to have a source
for the nitrous, and would always have to keep refilling the bottle.
(And I have no idea what that might cost.) I figured that there
must be a point, at X bottle refills when I put out enough money
whereby I could have gotten a supercharger. The initial cost is
much cheaper, but how long do you go before you hit that spot where
the supercharger becomes more economical? The other reason was
the general "bad vibe" that nitrous seems to have. There's this
sort of unwritten thinking that goes something like, "put nitrous
on your vehicle and it will blow up." I suspect it isn't quite
that bad, but I just need more education.
I think it might be helpful to come out in the open with the
pros and cons of nitrous and superchargers, so that maybe we can
figure out which one is best. (Or at least get all the facts out
there so that everyone can figure out the best choice for their
particular needs.)
The obvious one that comes to mind is cost. Nitrous is several
orders of magnatude cheaper, depending on what system you go with.
Also, I have no firsthand knowledge of this, but I suppose nitrous
is easier to remove from the truck for warrantee service. :-)
I'll bet nitrous will give you better gas mileage too, since
it isn't on all the time. Another one: truck will be better in
the winter without all the torque from the supercharger.
Some plusses for the supercharger: You can bolt it on and forget
it. No refilling of bottles, no additional costs after the
initial installation. If you need some power quickly, there's
no overhead; you just mash the gas. With nitrous, you have to
open the bottle, maybe warm it up, flip the switch on the dash,
etc. Lets see... Ummm, a supercharger sounds cool. :-) There
have to be more than this!
For the first time, I am actually considering nitrous as a viable
option to a supercharger. I'll be interested to see what info this
might turn up. :-)
And, if I were to get nitrous, New York Intl. Raceway Park would
have 2 nearly identical Club Cab Dakotas; one with an auto and the
other with a stick. That might throw a little fuel on that particular
subject. :-)
Speaking of which, Bill, where do you get your nitrous? I asked
a couple of people, and they didn't know where I could get it around
here, they said "maybe Buffalo". I think I've seen it mail order, but
there is a "hazardous materials charge" on it or something. Anyone
else with nitrous have a good mail order source?
While I'm on the subject of nitrous sources, while I was doing
some software development for Cummins Engine last year, I walked by the
loading dock one day and noticed that they had these huge canisters of
Nitrous Oxide. Everyone knows that its cheaper to buy in bulk, right? :-)
How hard would it be to get a huge canister like that and fill
a smaller bottle from it? Or would it not be worth it?
Well, I guess that's enough rambling about that. Looking forward
to what y'all have to say! :-)
-Jon-
.--- stei0302@cs.fredonia.edu -- http://www.cs.fredonia.edu/~stei0302/ ---.
| DoD# 1038, EAA# 518210, NMA# 117376, USUA# A46209, KotWitDoDFAQ, RP-SEL |
| '96 Dodge Dakota v8 SLT Club Cab, '96 Kolb FireFly 447 (#FF019) |
`-------------------------------------------------------------------------'
I do not speak for the SUNY College at Fredonia; all opinions are my own.
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