There are many people out there that will justify anything that they can so they can feel good about doing something, or having something in their possession. The question is, does nitrous have any practical application on a diesel engine, but first a little information about nitrous oxide.
The Nitrous Kits for diesels that we run are pretty easy to install, with all of the wiring and solenoids self contained in two boxes, with all necessary hardware and fittings. And can even be installed if you have NOT O-ringed your heads, although if you do have stock heads you should limit the amount of nitrous being sprayed.
Nitrous Oxide when burned at high temperatures, releases oxygen. With nitrous burning it allows for a 50% saturation of oxygen, while atmospheric air only allows for about a 20% saturation of oxygen. The more oxygen, the more power. Nitrous dramatically increases power instantly. Nitrous also will dramatically lower the exhaust gas temperatures. Propane will also lower exhaust temperature some, but nothing like nitrous will. But does it have any real application?
Nitrous could be used in very small shots to keep things cool and give a little power, but the price would be way too much for the gain that you would get. Other than that, nitrous is friend only to those who are challenged to a drag race, or for the man who just has to be the fastest. There is really no towing application for nitrous oxide. With anything that will increase power so dramatically you need to take precautions as well, and should have a full set of gauges and the ability to monitor all of your engines parameters. So in conclusion, does running a nitrous oxide system have any real application on a diesel engine? Answered as an individual that has to have all the bells and whistles, I’m going to have to answer with an emphatic YES! So its only real purpose is for fun and racing.
The title that I have given to this article might be a little deceiving. In this article I am going to talk about the benefits of a feared power enhancer for diesel engines. The one that I am going to talk about is propane injection. Most Diesel Propane Injection Systems offer power increases of 80 to 100 horse power on diesel trucks, and about 40 to 50 horse power on diesel cars. It also gives an equal or greater amount of torque. That is quite a power increase. The fear that most people have is that they will over fuel their engine with propane which would cause costly damage. The propane systems that we run are not adjustable and run off of a vacuum draw which will draw the correct amount of propane that your engine can use safely. Also our systems contain a vaporizer which will not allow liquid propane to enter the system. This eliminates the possibility of a liquid surge which would cause serious damage.
The Fact is that if the propane system is installed properly it can be very beneficial to your engine. Propane is a higher octane fuel than gasoline or diesel fuel, and it will burn slower and longer which will increase power and economy. Also, most diesel engines only burn 75% of their fuel. If you run diesel fuel with propane, your engine will actually be able to burn 100% of its fuel. That alone will increase fuel economy and power because your engine is burning all of the fuel instead of just a portion of it. Propane also breaks down carbon build up in the engine, which will reduce wear and tear on the engine. Propane also doesn’t dilute the engine oil, which in turn often lengthens oil change intervals.
When running propane, the same amount of diesel fuel is injected as usual. It uses less diesel fuel though because the use of the propane allows for a more complete burn. You also have to use less pedal to achieve the same speed because you are adding more power. It really doesn’t give a super big mileage gain, but if you figure it all out, it will actually cost a little less per mile to travel. Then you add on top of that the savings from reduced engine wear and tear, because with propane the engine won’t build up carbon. Also the savings from having cleaner oil, and extended oil change intervals, adding propane is well worth it. On top of all those savings, you end up with a considerable power increase.
One of the only drawbacks to running propane is that public propane stations aren’t as common as gas stations are, but you don’t have to worry about running out of propane and damaging the engine. If you run out of propane you can just keep running. Most kits have an on/off switch also, so if you don’t want to run it all the time you can just shut it off. So in conclusion, propane should not be feared. To the contrary, propane has many great benefits.
