MercuryLs
Well-Known LVC Member
Seeing how I have had Nitrous, Kenne Bell, and now a Vortech I figured I would write a comparison for those looking into putting a power adder on. I didn't cover turbo(s) because I have not had it(them) on my Mark VIII.
Nitrous:
The initial cost of Nitrous is cheap, far less expensive than a blower kit. Though nitrous in most area's is between $4-$5 per LB to fill the bottle. To figure out how long the bottle will last I have a basic formula for you. 100shot + 10sec= 1lb of nitrous.
Now Nitrous is in a sealed bottle so obviously as it drains out of the bottle the pressure drops. A lot of peoples answer to this pressure drop is to use a bottle heater. This is OK to a point, but failed heaters have caused more than one bottle explosion. Also keep in mind the LIQUID nitrous is what you want to inject into your motor. So if your using a bottle heater it is turning that liquid into a gas to fill the volume of the bottle.
I personally NEVER have used a bottle heater, here is why. I have a bottle/kit from Nano Nitrous. How it works is as the nitrous is draining out of the bottle the Nano bottle fills the lost volume with pressurized air- keeping the pressure at a steady rate. Also because of this it allows you to use 100% of the nitrous in your bottle- more bang for your buck!
WET or DRY? Now I know some of you may argue this point, but I'm telling you from my personal experience.... You could not pay me to put a dry kit on my car! Dry kits TRICK your pcm into injecting more fuel, because it does this you also now have to get bigger injectors so it can spray that more fuel. I know your argument to Wet is it can pool and backfire, well correct jetting and not getting too greedy with the shot will keep that from happening. Also do not use a fogger for anything over a 200shot, beyond that point you should be looking at a direct port.
Nitrous you can hide easier to give your car more of a "sleeper" look. Though it does suck if your rolling down the road and a camaro or something wants to play and you don't have your bottle in the car. Or it is in the car, but not turned on. This is where boost comes in....
Kenne Bell/Roots Blower
Boost is great. You have it when ever you want it, no need to fill bottles. It's on tap and ready to go! Though the initial cost is higher due to the cost of the kit.
A kenne bell blower is nice because it has INSTANT boost. A kenne bell feels like have a BIG BLOCK under the hood. All that lowend torque is there at the crack of the throttle. Our Mark VIIIs are heavy and have a high RPM torque peak, so having the lowend torque from the KB is great.
Now in saying that there is a down side. It's hard for our Mark VIIIs to HOOK all of that lowend torque now offered by the KB. Even with MT Streets on my car it would just FLAME the tires at will.
Also unless you do a C-Head (Tumble port) conversion you are stuck with a non-Intercooled blower. Roots blowers make a lot more heat than centrifugals.
Vortech Blower
The Vortech blower is like having a turbo under the hood. It doesn't hit as hard off the line, but once boost comes up your off like a rocket. A centrifugal blower also gives you the ability to run an intercooler. (I know I don't have one, that's coming later) Also Centrifugal blowers don't heat the air as much as a roots blower.
So to sum it up:
-If you just want some extra power for the track, or you just want to up your game a little and don't have a lot of $$$ Stick with Nitrous.
-If you want TIRE SHREDDING Torque, full boost at the crack of the throttle go with the Kenne Bell
-If you want to come off the line well and have a great top end charge, go with a Centrifugal.
Well there it is in a nut shell. Happy Modding, and be safe!
Nitrous:
The initial cost of Nitrous is cheap, far less expensive than a blower kit. Though nitrous in most area's is between $4-$5 per LB to fill the bottle. To figure out how long the bottle will last I have a basic formula for you. 100shot + 10sec= 1lb of nitrous.
Now Nitrous is in a sealed bottle so obviously as it drains out of the bottle the pressure drops. A lot of peoples answer to this pressure drop is to use a bottle heater. This is OK to a point, but failed heaters have caused more than one bottle explosion. Also keep in mind the LIQUID nitrous is what you want to inject into your motor. So if your using a bottle heater it is turning that liquid into a gas to fill the volume of the bottle.
I personally NEVER have used a bottle heater, here is why. I have a bottle/kit from Nano Nitrous. How it works is as the nitrous is draining out of the bottle the Nano bottle fills the lost volume with pressurized air- keeping the pressure at a steady rate. Also because of this it allows you to use 100% of the nitrous in your bottle- more bang for your buck!
WET or DRY? Now I know some of you may argue this point, but I'm telling you from my personal experience.... You could not pay me to put a dry kit on my car! Dry kits TRICK your pcm into injecting more fuel, because it does this you also now have to get bigger injectors so it can spray that more fuel. I know your argument to Wet is it can pool and backfire, well correct jetting and not getting too greedy with the shot will keep that from happening. Also do not use a fogger for anything over a 200shot, beyond that point you should be looking at a direct port.
Nitrous you can hide easier to give your car more of a "sleeper" look. Though it does suck if your rolling down the road and a camaro or something wants to play and you don't have your bottle in the car. Or it is in the car, but not turned on. This is where boost comes in....
Kenne Bell/Roots Blower
Boost is great. You have it when ever you want it, no need to fill bottles. It's on tap and ready to go! Though the initial cost is higher due to the cost of the kit.
A kenne bell blower is nice because it has INSTANT boost. A kenne bell feels like have a BIG BLOCK under the hood. All that lowend torque is there at the crack of the throttle. Our Mark VIIIs are heavy and have a high RPM torque peak, so having the lowend torque from the KB is great.
Now in saying that there is a down side. It's hard for our Mark VIIIs to HOOK all of that lowend torque now offered by the KB. Even with MT Streets on my car it would just FLAME the tires at will.
Also unless you do a C-Head (Tumble port) conversion you are stuck with a non-Intercooled blower. Roots blowers make a lot more heat than centrifugals.
Vortech Blower
The Vortech blower is like having a turbo under the hood. It doesn't hit as hard off the line, but once boost comes up your off like a rocket. A centrifugal blower also gives you the ability to run an intercooler. (I know I don't have one, that's coming later) Also Centrifugal blowers don't heat the air as much as a roots blower.
So to sum it up:
-If you just want some extra power for the track, or you just want to up your game a little and don't have a lot of $$$ Stick with Nitrous.
-If you want TIRE SHREDDING Torque, full boost at the crack of the throttle go with the Kenne Bell
-If you want to come off the line well and have a great top end charge, go with a Centrifugal.
Well there it is in a nut shell. Happy Modding, and be safe!
