Can you put Nitrous on a 2000 Viper? Safe?

[H8TOW8]

I know the 2000 was the first year for the piston change on the Vipers, and I've heard rumblings about that "limiting" heavy mods like nitrous?

Seems like the best "Bang for the buck" for performance, but I don't want to risk warranty or engine longevity.

I know there are 2 schools of thought on this...comments?

 

[BurnR8]

remember the beer ****??!!?? Doug Levin is just like that!!....force as much in as God intended....with out exploding!! I want forced air more than I want nasty gas. ok ....please all the NOS guys dismantle me now....actually Gadgetman...since we are neighbors...I will do the Doug Levin system and you do the NOS of your choice and we will compare....all we need is sponsor....any one up for the challenge?

 

[Doug Supercharged Vipers]

Gadgetmann -
Reducing the timing or using higher octane fuel are the two best ways to increase power on a nitrous engine. Pistons and spark plugs are often the first parts in the engine to suffer from the effects of overpressure and over temperature conditions. A high output engine should always be fitted with colder, less projected spark plugs and forged pistons, but there are wide variations between forged pistons. On a nitrous application, temperatures and pressures will far exceed anything seen on a naturally aspirated engine. Because the specific output is higher, the rate of energy release is higher. Piston dome temperatures can run between 450 and 550 degrees F. Most aluminum alloys have lost over half of their strength at 400F. Nitrous pistons need to have thick upper sections to be able to dissipate heat faster to the skirts and cylinder walls to keep dome temperatures down to safe limits. High silicon pistons can be fitted tighter because of their lower expansion rates for less rattling when cold but because they are more brittle, they don't stand as much detonation as a low silicon piston.

If we assume the new cast pistons are 36% stronger on the 2000 model year Vipers and up, we must remember this is significant for a *naturally aspirated engine. * If you note the construction of the cast piston and the location of the compression rings, it would not suffice to be a candidate for a high-output nitrous motor. With consideration of the previous paragraph regarding cast piston construction, and now the compression ring location high atop the piston,
the piston rings also suffer the ill-effects of overpressure and over temperature conditions. Compression rings located high atop the piston can seize momentarily (just one of the many detrimental effects) under these conditions and suffer a catastrophic fate. I would also like to note, I have seen the molly flake off the ring causing it to lose it's integrity.

Now if your wondering if the 2000 model Vipers can handle the effects of nitrous, the answer is "yes," but in very SMALL doses. The problem with nitrous-horsepower is "greed," those little nitrous pills that costs us about four bucks each, make BIG power ... temporarily

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Regards,

Doug

 

[Tom Welch]

Gadgetman,

While I agree with Doug's comments one must also consider that nitrous is only part of the total equation when considering it's use. Fuel and timing are critical. For a given nitrous jet size a given amount of fuel must be delivered, and that is what makes the power, safe-effective power. There are fuels available that are far more efficient than gasoline and they create a safer environment inside the combustion chamber. High, High, High octane, cool burning, pre atomized fuel will eliminate the chance for DETONATION, which is the item that destroys pistons/rings/pins/plugs..and eventually the engine itself. For more about this subject, feel free to contact me at any time and check out the FAQ's at my website at the link below.

As for pistons, vipers are not the first cars to come with cast pistons. The Hyperutectic(spelling) piston has been in service for years! The CAST piston has been around for several decades. Until recently most mopar junkies had to settle for cast pistons for certain engine combinations. Personally from my own experiences....and if you contact NOS Technical Department at 714-546-0592, you will find that 150-180 horsepower of nitrous gain on your stock engine will net no ill effects, assuming that your installation and usage are as specified.

Remember that your engine is merely an Air Pump. Any time you increase the Pumping Pressure BY ANY MEANS you increase the risk of damage to the pump itself.

Good Luck in your search,

Tom
Http://btrviper.com

 

[Supercharged Vipermad]

OK, the extremely short version:

An 4-stroke engine is just an air pump. It pulls in air, including oxygen, then adds fuel and ignites the mixture. Air and fuel burn at a set ratio (14.7:1), so to make more power you need to pull in more air and mix it with more fuel.

NOS is a gas which contains much more oxygen than does normal atmosphere. When you run NOS into the engine, you must also supply additional fuel to combine with the additional oxygen. This is normally done by either firing the existing fuel injectors for a longer duration, or by adding additional fuel injectors which activate whenever the NOS is flowing. Tom's system injects propane from a separate tank at the same time as the NOS, substituting propane (160 octane, cool burning) for gasoline (93 octane, hotter burning) as the fuel. By adjusting the ratio of how much NOS to how much propane is added, you can ensure the mixture is correct.

 

[jamie furman]

As a long time user of forced induction I would not put any decent amount of juice or boost on those pistons they will come apart.If you are going to have one of these guys sell you some juice or a blower have them sell you a good set of pistons to go with it, that will be better than your extended warranty.

 

[Supercharged Vipermad]

For what it's worth -- I've just gotten BTR Viper's NOS/Propane setup installed on my 2001 RT/10, and will be dialing it in on the dyno tomorrow morning. I'm going to be running his standard 200-HP shot (~160HP at the wheels). I'll do some dyno runs with NOS, go the dragstrip a few times, and then pull the heads to install replacement heads from Hennessey. At that time we'll also take a look at the pistons tops to see if there's any evidence of damage. I will, of course, report results as they become available.