Nitrous oxide, commonly referred to as "squeeze" or "squeezing," has withstood the test of time since first being discovered by an English scientist named Joseph Priestly in 1772. Used primarily as an anesthetic for medial purposes in its earlier years, this colorless and odorless mixture found itself playing an integral role during WWII, as it provided an emergency boost in both speed and altitude for our allied planes. Two centuries passed since Dr. Priestley's revolutionary discovery, when in 1970, hot rodders and drag racers began their own experimentation, plumbing nitrous systems on their V-8 sleds with amazing results. So what's so great about nitrous you ask? Yes...we know it's been used on everything from lawnmowers to jet skis and the idea of using such a system in aid of boost lag has been done. But have you ever considered injecting this non-flammable liquid into your vehicle, knowing you'd achieve minimal or no gains in peak horsepower numbers in comparison to your baseline numbers? We didn't think so.
Joining forces with Edelbrock of Torrance, California, and their knowledgeable R&D staff, we took one of drifting's most popular vehicles, a 240SX stuffed with an SR20DET engine, and installed a single-fogger nitrous kit with promising results. By now you're asking yourself, "What's the theory behind using nitrous on a turbocharged vehicle for drifting?" Nitrous acts as an additional intercooler by decreasing the temperature of the incoming air as it is injected into the intake, resulting in a denser intake charge and reducing "turbo lag" in turbocharged vehicles. The point of this install wasn't to achieve some groundbreaking peak horsepower numbers, but rather, to use the nitrous as an aid to minimize boost lag while maintaining a smoother torque and horsepower curve for added drift-ability. Never second guessing ourselves, we knew from the get-go this theory would work, but to what extent was to be foreseen after coming to the conclusion that many of the drift cars of today sport monstrous-sized turbos with an even larger lag problem.
A perfect example of a problematic drift car in need of some serious boost counseling was Richard Tang's show-worthy 1991 Nissan 240SX. You might recall seeing Tang's Nissan on the cover of 2NR's December 2003 issue a few years back. Over the years, Tang has been keeping busy, tearing up the tracks in his pink 240SX at various drift venues such as Drift Day and Just Drift. Obviously fed up with the vehicle's performance, Tang approached us with serious concerns that major boost lag was causing the 300+ hp vehicle to be inconsistent on the track. Equipped with a HKS GT-RS turbine, the two-liter engine was developing full boost at a slovenly 4500 rpm. With the factory rev limiter set at 7500 rpm, it was difficult to stay in boost with a usable window of only 3000 rpm. Combining the lack of torque and the small power band made the vehicle a handful to drive, even for an experienced drifter like Tang. Fortunately for Richard and the 240SX, this wasn't the first time we've heard of severe boost lag among drifters using upgraded turbos and bolt-on accessories. Within the past year, the originators of drifting have been dabbling with nitrous oxide on their high-horsepower drift cars with great success. Even Nobushige Kumakubo, owner of the infamous RWD Jun Auto Impreza, can be seen sporting a 10 lb. bottle in the trunk to help spool his monstrous hairdryer. Seemingly able to smoke the tires at a moment's notice, we can only imagine nitrous to be the hidden jewel that's been working wonders for this D1 Grand Prix championship contender.