How much HP does nitromethane add?

Cars typically need about 15 pounds of air to burn one pound of gasoline. With nitromethane, you only need 1.7 pounds of air. Drag racing motors are big, with an average engine displacement of 8.9 liters. When supercharged, they can produce about 6,000 horsepower.

Does nitromethane have an octane rating?

Nitromethane: this is hard to quantify because nitromethane is an oxygenated fuel and they are also blended in different proportions with gasoline. Adding nitromethane actually decreases the equivalent octane rating.

What happens if you put nitromethane in a car?

The big advantage of nitromethane is that you can get a lot more power from each explosion inside the engine. Pound for pound, nitromethane is less energetic than gasoline, but you can burn a lot more nitromethane in a cylinder. The net result is more power per stroke.

Does nitromethane need oxygen burning?

Nitromethane carries its own oxygen, so it needs much less atmospheric oxygen to burn. That means, 14.7 pounds of air are needed to burn 1 pound of gas.

How can I check the amount of nitromethane in my fuel?

On the other hand you can do this yourself by using a hydrometer which is available specially calibrated for just this use, indicating by percentage the amount of Nitromethane in the fuel, checked by volume and not weight.

What should the hydrometer reading be for nitromethane?

It must be mentioned here that the average fuel test hydrometer is calibrated to give a completely accurate reading at one specific temperature, usually 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Thus if you check 100 percent Nitromethane solution which is at 68 degrees Fahrenheit, the hydrometer will give you a reading of 100.

What should ambient temp be for nitromethane fuel?

With the hydrometer however, you can run into trouble, as you will NEVER find a location where you can guarantee the ambient temperature will be 68°F, and you will need to measure the temperature of the fuel before attempting to determine the percentage of nitro it contains.

What’s the difference between methanol, nitromethane and water?

As we know water is 1, Methanol coming out at 0.79 and Nitromethane at 1.13, it is easy to establish the fuel mixture. To avoid having to consult tables or graphs the special hydrometer mentioned is directly calibrated, so you just read off the actual content of Nitromethane in percent. FUEL TEMPERATURE