h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Nitros, right?

I think it's Nitrous...

but isn't this really bad for the environment??

NO *At last, a periodic table pun, albeit a weak one*

*groan*

Nitrous Oxide is environmentally friendly. It consists solely of nitrogen and oxygen, both common elements in our air. The only problem is metering them in the right quantities so we don't get excess amounts of nitrogen oxides (NO, NO2, etc.), hydrocarbons, and carbon monoxides, pretty much the standard problem with any exhaust.

Yes, you read that right, nitrous oxide IS a byproduct of normal engine emissions. But it's too miniscule and too late to have any effect on power output.

Oh yeah, thanks for taking interest in the article.

On that basis Carbon Monoxide would be environmentally friendly. I may not be an expert, but I'm not a child.

On a side note, what do you mean by 'metering'?

Pumping them in in just the right quantities, I think.

Oxides of nitrogen in the exhaust is bad, it is a pollutant. But nitrous oxide getting ingested by your engine and combined with fuel in the right quantities is good!

When a modern fuel injected vehicle is running it doesn't run at a perfect air/fuel ratio. It actually 'swings' back and forth between rich and lean every second or so. When it's rich the catalytic converter collects a small amount of fuel vapor that it uses to 'cancel out' nitrogen oxides produced when it's lean. As long as the nitrous system also meters ('Pumping them in in just the right quantities' is a very good definition) fuel to keep the engine from running lean, everything should be fine and no extra pollutants are produced.

There's a guide entry from a couple of months ago in which I went into greater detail on electronic fuel injection. It's not one of my better posts, but I think it explains it fairly well.