NITROUS INTERCOOLER-TURBO + NX=BIG HP (FULL RESULTS!)

DOES NITROUS WORK AS AN INTERCOOLER? How effective is using nitrous oxide as the intercooler on a junkyard turbo LS? We put it to the test on a single turbo, SBE 6.0L LY6. The turbo motor was run first with with no intercooler, then again after activation of the Nitrous Express (NX) fogger nozzle. Find out how much the charge temp dropped after introduction of the -129-degree nitrous oxide. The video has has full results on the changes in hp, tq, boost curve and charge temps!

[@djzomb1]

"Hi, Im Richard Holdener and i'll fight anyone for more horsepower"

[@fatguynatree]

amazingjake hahaha. this was the comment I was looking for

[@ijmodified]

this made my morning

[@james10739]

Is that what really happened to his face

[@motorsports601]

I heard him and matt happel got into it over whos the godfather of the turbo ls

[@james10739]

@@motorsports601 well matt looked fine

[@gtuning1984]

The first rule of fight club...

[@yeetskeetledeet8184]

This insight to turbo engines is invaluable. Thank you for running these tests Richard.

[@burntorangeak]

"I'm not sure what to do with my hands." -Ricky Bobby

[@Mr.Saephan503]

"Get back to work" - Slave owner

[@knowbull5hit590]

Thank you Richard for everything you do for power junkies everywhere. I cant believe you covered all that in under 16 mins. You and Matt Happel are the best for engine info and pushing things to their limits like the LS platform lol

[@chazgeisler6213]

A test seeing if ceramic coating exhaust parts like manifold and turbo housing would have an effect on spool time, back pressure and power. Or a turbo blanket and wrapping exhaust with dei heat wrap.

[@daviddroescher]

Yes test 2 setups 1 outside only ,and 1 coated inside and out. I did inside and out on my cast pulse tuned after a few hrs with the pineapple . Makes the cast smother than a babys butt. #powerdrivendiesel did a blanket dyno test . No extra power(same peak)but power came on faster(less rpm spools quicker) power. VHT 2000° works if it never gets hit with water when hot( stuff starts flying off like popcorn in a hot skillet). I painted to prevent corrosion then I rapped. A to protect the ceramic paint and B 2 improve spooling characteristics C reduce under hood temps.

[@terrellhubert5753]

Let's see a test spraying the nos in the front of the turbo and let's see if it changes the efficiency range of the turbo.

[@tunerdadtunerdad7927]

Good idea. I spray my water/meth in front of mine and it definitely does.

[@bryanleverett2830]

This is big time on my mind. Richard has gotta get these tested. Meth and/or nitrous’s effect pre-turbo vs post turbo. And maybe even its effect on distribution. Little meth pre-turbo vs a lot of meth pre-turbo boost (atomizing all the meth vs flooding the turbo).

[@terrellhubert5753]

@@bryanleverett2830 I would just love to see if it changes the efficiency range of the turbo. I think in my mind it will just flood the blade area of the compressor wheel and not make as much power.

[@spankthemonkey3437]

Terrell Hubert it will spool it up faster specially if you spray it on the find to help spin it

[@ninablatchley842]

Cleetus sprays nitrous in front of turbo on his Galaxy and it definitely makes a difference

[@joshdrobny93]

Hey Richard, I think you should start a patreon, I would gladly pay a few bucks a month to help keep these videos coming. A lot of the conclusions are not that surprising to me, but the raw data on how much of a difference each thing ACTUALLY makes is what is so interesting to me. As with everything, it's the combination that makes the difference and this type of series is immensely helpful in determining pros and cons

[@dwarfgrumpy]

joshdrobny93 Patreon might be required for him to afford some liquid nitrogen storage equipment

[@MrTommy954rr]

I see your advice for Christmas morning (Face Plant) is personal experience!! Awesome video by the way.

[@divafizz]

I'm building an LY6 and I really appreciate your hard work and expertise :)

[@richardholdener1727]

one of my favorites in the LS family

[@carportshenanigans5918]

The internet: “WhAt hAppEneD?!?!” Richard Holdener: “you should see the other guy”

[@lborate3543]

Carport Shenanigans he must have fallen in the treadmill. Looks like that type of fall.

[@chucksgarage7165]

Boost = power. Nitrous = power. Boost and nitrous = power squared!

[@jamesk10turbo47]

Great video Richard. If you ever get your hands on some fresh builds, I’d love to see the two schools of thought on engine break-in go head to head. Gentle break-in vs stomp on it right away. Maybe do some compression testing?

[@jimmyj2563]

JamesK10turbo Hey that’s a great idea.. I have built a fair few engines and I have always had questions over the best run in procedure. Not that I have had any problems but I would like to know how to optimise the run in phase and what to avoid. Looking forward to this one!!

[@chesspiece81]

I was wondering why I haven't been seeing your uploads in a while and I just realized I had been unsubscribed for some reason. Damn KZbin. I love the content and thorough research you do Richard.

[@richardholdener1727]

welcome back

[@hexxj.6218]

Thanks for all your wealth of knowledge regarding the LS platform Richard! Get well soon!

[@ReinersRigs]

I used this same method on a supercharged ecotec. The LSJ uses an air to water intercooler and a 1L supercharger. Mine was using a 2.7inch pulley and cruising intake temps were in the 140-160 degree range. I added nitrous to the mix and the car increased boost pressure by 3lbs and a substantial gain in power. Intake temps also dropped from 140-160 down to 60 degrees with only the nitrous being the change. I added an ice tank to the intercooler and dropped temps even further and past freezing with the nitrous added on top.

[@richardholdener1727]

you dropped the air temps below freezing? might be spraying the nitrous on your IAT sensor

[@ReinersRigs]

@@richardholdener1727 had 2.5 gallons of ice and circulating water through the A2W intercooler which by itself dropped IATs down into the 35 degree range. The nitrous took it below freezing after that. I was spraying the nitrous at the throttle body and was reading the IAT temp at the intake manifold outlet into the head

[@fascistpedant758]

I know where I'm going for Christmas dinner next year! We've only had quiet family dinners since I've grown up, you really know how to party!

[@baby-sharkgto4902]

Richard, you are a badass! Thank you for putting out all of this great content! Merry Christmas and happy new year :)

[@woodgrain18]

When I was running my old sbe 4.8 I had the a2a and a NOS fogger nozzle in the charge pipe and it straight up worked it was 75hp hit ramped in with the Holley, Now I am running a nice little .05 over 04 ls1 with a nice rotating assembly and the same CNC'ed 799's and summit 102mm intake I had on the 4.8 with a a2w setup with the same nitrous kit except with only the fuel solenoid spraying m1 in the charge tube I also run ignite e90 but not for long when my income tax money comes I'm getting some billet atomizer 325s and swapping over to methanol

[@woodgrain18]

@@dj4monie it was making some steam for sure, I'm running a Huron speed v3 single T6 kit with a billet s480 1.32 exhaust housing the 4.8 needed the extra help lol but loved it. I ended up bending some rods but I went pretty fast with it I went a best of 5.57 @ 123mph in my 3300 pound 4th gen z28 So it had to be makin 900+ at the wheels But if you dont need help spooling the turbo a2w and methanol is where it's at, iv been a 5.42 so far with the ls1/6 combo i think it's got .20's in it. when I swap over to alchohol I'm gonna add another fuel solenoid and another fogger nozzle so I can spray more fuel in the charge pipe

[@johndillinger3851]

Stanislaw for the great video's .Helps us poor guys still build fast cars for cheap .

[@DavidHarnadek]

Great timing on this video. Looking forward to your test of intercooler with N2O.

[@BlàckÐèàth]

This man needs more subs / views. There's some quality info here. I thought this video would be you using nitrous to cool an air-to-air intercooler but guess I'll have to wait on that vid. Also very interested to see the distribution vid as well. I predict if you're shooting a dry shot the distribution will be fine. But if it's a wet shot just like your meth test I believe we'll see it mismatched. Thanks for the info!

[@richardholdener1727]

go tell 1M friends, dang it-thnx-we did a wet shot on the distribution test. I also did an NX intercooler ring on an ATA cooler.

[@tomwhite9034]

I think your pretty cool and it's awesome to know someone who knows what they are doing so I can learn from you thank you. And also I have seen you on season 2 fastest cars. You have my highest respect friend

[@richardholdener1727]

thnx-that was fun with my buddy Chad

[@tomwhite9034]

@@richardholdener1727 ur welcome m8 keep doin what u like doin best and I'll keep watching and learning from u and a couple of other people 🖒🖒. Stay awesome brother

[@melkerpersson3323]

Thanks!! so many "recepes For low buck power !! You should make a list of the in your opinon best combos .

[@charlesbeard8823]

Hey bad ass man, I’ve learned so much about turbo engines from you and I’d love to keep learning.

[@slandrum7350]

Best gearhead youtube channel EVER!!

[@frankrenda2519]

thanks richard .this is the best channel on the tube that was a great test.i watched a vid you did with frieburger and dulcich on meth injection on a turbo ls.what about testing it again on single plain manifold with pump gas to see what sort of timing advance figure you can get away with on one of you turbo ls builds.i wanted to see if you can get close to your 20 degree timing figure you use with e85 fuel.

[@mrmatt2525able]

Great video once again! Thank you for your service to the world of gear heads!

[@dominickroberson6946]

Great subject major for drifters 👍💯

[@thysellis3677]

Awesome video. Thanks Richard, we learn so much

[@citizenone3442]

Love your videos brother.

[@brandona4618]

The turbo pressure spike was caused from the nitrous dumping additional pressure into a compressed compartment.

[@nelsonperez9385]

you have motivated me to jump on the water to air setup for an intercooler and ditch the air to air stuff

[@richardholdener1727]

They both work-I have a comparison coming up, but ice water can't be beat

[@lsxcutty8739]

You should do a test on spool and power of a divided hot side vs merging to one before the turbo! Or maybe an off the shelf n/a cam with a turbo and see the benefits of a turbo specific cam. Keep up the great videos,

[@richardholdener1727]

Got something coming up on turbo cams

[@3800TURBO]

I have a probe in a runner and after a pass at the track the W2A keeps intake as low as 18C. Nitrous didn't change temp much at the end of the pass. It changed a little at the start. Love your channel Richard. Can you please test E98 vs E85 and with stronger ignitions, like adding ign1 coils instead of the truck coils and bumping up the AFR and the coil duty. Cheers.

[@daphantomstranger]

You should use a air-to-air that is being cooled by liquid nitrogen flowing over the intercooler fins to show what colder temps can really do as far as air density.

[@MrTheHillfolk]

Lolol use propane its cheaper , just don't be uncle Tony and be smokin ciggies 🤣

[@anthonyrybczynski5420]

I love your knowledge man. It's nice of you to share this knowledge, information and experience. You are testing many ideas that I think very hard, research and wonder about. I would love to be able learn these tests in person and experience it.

[@ThePryapizmC]

Sorry about the faceplant!...no worries, been there...heals faster than you would think

[@randystingray6544]

Awesome video Richard, let me know when you have a job opening, it looks fun!! I also have my own tools!!

[@jessemurray1757]

looking forward to the individual wideband test. Be interesting to see distribution on an NA engine vs nitrous.

[@paulschlaht405]

Great Video, Looking forward to checking out the next one as well, was thinking about using C02 in cold cans to cool things, and or some sort of AC unit to cool the air or inlet charge...

[@nickolaswhite4288]

11:17, expanding exhaust gasses performing well with nitrous shot turbo efficiency looks good.

[@brandonloll4262]

Should try spraying a plate kit over an air to air intercooler.

[@richardholdener1727]

I tested the NX intercooler ring on an ATA

[@MafiaboysWorld]

I'm deciphering it as "Here's my advice. If you're gonna insult your wife's cooking on Christmas Morning, make sure she doesn't smack you in the face and made you fall!". 😂🤣

[@crw3673]

So I'm not the only one who see that someone put the beats on Richard

[@baddaddybrady2]

So for Drag racing and short term use.. it’s good! Love the content..

[@markwarren3156]

Would like to see the same test with just the nitrous fuel enrichment changed to methanol.

[@baboost2994]

Such awesome videos rich. Keep up the good work

[@sean5comet]

Subscribed, these videos are great!

[@lasagna187]

Ever thought about testing transmissions or differentials for power handling and whatnot? Would be awesome to see your take on driveline stuff

[@drewsharpe7484]

Great informative vid as always Richard!

[@garysawyers8730]

Where nitrous will give the biggest advantage is on a really large turbo, not so much temperature wise but being able to spool it sooner. If you use methanol, use the nitrous to get the "candles lit" and then pull it back and let the turbos and methanol do the work.

[@travisstamp7428]

I've always wondered what would happen if you ran the AC back to the intake

[@markdahl4863]

I’d like to see the differences with nitrous injected at the inlet of the turbo and add liquid propane to say an af ratio of 20:1 or so I think that may work better due to a more homogeneous mixture?

[@brentspence3379]

Thanks for the excellent content. Love these!

[@paxtonspeed]

You make the best videos on the internet.

[@richardwimmer6846]

Thanks for the Video's ,,,,looking forward to more as i have a ls 6.2 going in a Chevy Vega soon

[@richardjoyce1102]

Would there be a benefit to running an air to water intercooler and some kind of 2 loop heat exchanger, water in one, nitrous flowing through the other loop, then to intake, to super chill that heat transfer medium, I imagine best performance on a progressive system

[@1269u]

Every breath you take I'll be watching you...

[@juanmangerita]

I have seen turbo imports that run on methanol add a nos nozzle (fuel only)after turbo outlet just to cool the mixture

[@richardholdener1727]

fuel works to cool the charge-just look at blow-through carb combos

[@robertnunez7812]

Sounds like Richard got to drunk at the family reunion and one of his family socked him up

[@richardholdener1727]

that would be awesome

[@buiItnotbought]

Was probably a NA ford guy

[@alltheboost5363]

I think the reason why boost went up when you activated the nitrous this because turbos work off of heat... and the heat dramatically increased in the exhaust I think the other half of it is if back pressure goes up boost goes up if the turbo is in its efficiency range.

[@danloosmore8099]

I would love to see a comparison of power output with turbo, turbo with water injection, and turbo water/methanol injection. Would be interesting I think?

[@richardholdener1727]

the engine masters episode i did covered that

[@timothy7754]

Can dry ice. Or nos shot to the front of the intercooler help? Ex... Set a pieces of dry ice on top of the intercooler fins. (Air to air intercooler)

[@michaelgunning347]

So it improved the exhaust ratio , why not work it out since you did for the other pull , what was the gain with out nitrous but with the intercoooler , then add the 3 psi of boost , all 9xx minus the 125bhp from nitrous and there’s the correct summary comparison

[@troymecey]

I really enjoy your info. Good job

[@turbomopie]

Love all the cool content Richard. Keep it up. Do you suggest the nitrous be sprayed into the turbo inlet or after it’s compressed?

[@richardholdener1727]

I'm not sure it makes a difference, though the longer tract might help with cooling-I just think is a ratio thing

[@studio571]

This was interesting , was planning to run 50hp shoot of nitrous on my combound duramax just for the cooling effect but with diesel it has smaller effect so i just need superb air to water two stage intercoolers and water meth ✌️

[@justinbryant237]

@6:02, Richard saw my comment from the last video.. "Thankyou Richard!!! That volume was much better ;)

[@richardholdener1727]

I read every comment and try to respond

[@FirstLast-tx3yj]

@@richardholdener1727 have you ever blown a wet shot or with a wet shot it is usually much safer??

[@thereluctantgearhead4544]

Looks like someone added boost to Richards head haha! Hope ya handled that situation properly Rich.

[@menoaz]

Anyone know what total timing would be if you add nitrous to boost?

[@theguru-s2l]

Hey Richard, this is probably a old video, im enjoying it non the less. Here in South africa its not uncommon to see turbo cars running quite a bit of nitrous, mostly for the power gains instead of cooling. I would love to see some of those huge stroker engines like the 632 offered by blue print engines, and even smaller ones. i know there is stroker kits for almost any v8 engine on the market, but one that has always pulled me is the ford 390 fe, in stock form and i stand to be corrected, they came in 390ci, 410ci, and 427ci, stroker kits takes them way over 500ci. i would also like to see some extremely high hp engines, 1000hp is childs play these days, many a drag car is over 1000hp now.

[@traekiser213]

Instead of just cooling the charged air, I wonder if cooling the ambient air coming into the turbo by placing a jet at the turbo Inlet keeps the temperature of the turbo itself down under a load and lowers charged air temps better than just having a jet in your charge pipe. Or if a small jet outside the turbo spraying into the compressor AND a jet in the charge pipe is better than just one or the other. Say you’re spraying 150 shot into the charge pipe or the turbo compressor, do 75 into turbo compressor and 75 into charge pipe.

[@ziggassedup]

Cool demo mate...Even tho I knew the answer I'm not sure you placed the nozzle in an appropriate place for comparison as an intercooler chills the air going in and not the air that has just arrived.(before or after Turbo)...Just my thought....Never the less it's great to get a quick spool up.

[@PBMototsports]

Could it possibly help stabilize the charge temps with the nitrous if it was sprayed before the turbo? It would drop initially charge temps and the turbo would allow the oxygen to get mixed with the air better. Thus allowing better distribution to all cylinders. Just a thought, thanks for the educational content.

[@BadAssEngineering]

Cant wait for the distribution video :O

[@drakeolson2539]

Great stuff!!! Keep it up 👍🏻👍🏻

[@kjewer1]

There's a fundamental problem with this kind of test, and that's injected fluids hitting the thermocouple and shifting the readings (always in a more favorable direction). Spraying pre-compressor will at least ensure the fluids are thoroughly mixed before they reach the TC. Some people that have done this test have concluded that pre-compressor injection doesn't cool as well, but it's likely just the result of getting a more accurate temp reading. Getting reliable data is always the hard part in these tests, don't trust everything your sensors tell you. :o)

[@c10mob88]

Great Videos

[@soundslikealot]

Thank you, learned a ton. Again! 😆👏👍

[@qwertyuiopasdfghjkl2556]

nitrogen expands vastly when heated it can explode if sealed airtight

[@jacobboros6600]

Have you tried spraying the nitrous before the turbo to see if it is more efficient

[@griplimit]

I’ve heard of people spraying CO2 or NO2 as a liquid on an air to air intercooler. I would love to see that test.

[@richardholdener1727]

i did that with an NX cooler ring

[@raw2transportinc363]

What’s does the temp do at the discharge of the turbo when nitrous is add . The two extra pounds had to increase the temperature.

[@BadAssEngineering]

I would have sworn that Nitrous/Fuel Fog was going to cool the air charge much more. Was the Nitrous shot Dry or Wet ??

[@kevinhumphrey932]

Would water methanol be a better option in the place of the nos or could run both basically using the nos to help spool the turbo a little bit faster to help with some of the turbo lag sorry if this question sounds dumb I new to the turbo game

[@ThePeopleVerse]

Okay, so first off...your reflection in the white board reminded me of the alien that probed me after I built my first SBC. Dang aliens.... With the nitrous; does the exhaust temp going to the turbo increase greatly as the nitrous gets going? And so the temp climbing back up later in the run? Also, let's see the faceplant video. We know you got it on video. C'mon

[@richardholdener1727]

I'm not sure how the EGT will change the temp of the air in th eintake

[@Mattax355]

Curious on how running a small No2 shot in the front of a A2A intercooler makes improvements. I've heard even a tiny 50 shot in that manner can make 75-100hp increases

[@richardholdener1727]

I tested the intercooler ring (nitrous injected across the ATA intercooler)-it does not add 75-100 hp

[@dontask8979]

Wonder how Injecting nitrous pre innercooler would work. Then its cooling the intercooler too, and the time it gets to the engine, it should be well mixed.

[@richardholdener1727]

adding fuel pre intercooler is not ideal

[@robertelmo7736]

I used nitrous on my junky old ball drive Paxton for my 5.0 Foxbody...made those new fangled gear driven Vortech feel sluggish lol. I actually sprayed a 125 or a 150 shot one time into it...that thing would run for a stock motored 5.0 lol... I told everyone it was intercooled and when they finally figured it out I explained it as a "chemical intercooler" lol...that isn't a lie! That setup was on my car from 1994-2018, motor finally got too tired and I put a Windsor in last year.

[@richardholdener1727]

it always helps

[@robertelmo7736]

How about a camshaft recommendation from a Pro (that's you)? I know you know about Fords, I know your past lol. Not the best combination of parts, but it's what I got to work with: 3200# Foxbody Coupe 5 speed Tremec 3.55 393 stroker 35W 9:1 built lightning roller motor, EFI Super Victor 351W, elbow and 75mm throttle body Street car..air conditioned...how big a cam can I go? Possibly will go stand alone to get 6500-6800? Car currently has this cam in it: www.ebay.com/itm/110451240631?ul_noapp=true Would be VERY interested on your quick recommendation.

[@elviswon6895]

Richard, great video! How about a test to see how much backpressure those manifolds create compared to turbo headers?!? Great site!

[@nateabol2486]

Awesome test! Love ls engines

[@raymassey5394]

Them damn Christmas hover boards will get you every time 😂

[@MustangCrazyMan72]

Good Job Richard! How about various fuels and their injected temps on same test engine with turbo.....leaded race fuel and E85?

[@georgewashington938]

is this guy an animatronic robot? there are four hand gestures that are repeated over and over

[@shaneshane1379]

I would prefer a intercooler over NOS cooling. The pressure and HP spikes are easy to blame for engine damage. The spikes are not in tune and create lean/rich conditions. I have used NOS to spool turbos up and had no failure, but I can say it did not cause let's of prematurely worn parts. And don't stand so close to the big bang projects. Haha

[@lukestrasser]

Great video and summary Richard. Is this the 1500 HP big bang 6.0?

[@richardholdener1727]

it is

[@rynev3392]

I’m curious if you’ve ever dyno tested different oils such as a 5w-20 vs 5w-50 on the same engine, if there’s a noticeable difference?..... love these comparison videos, keep them up

[@richardholdener1727]

I have run oil tests-synth vs non and different viscosities-change in weight can be worth power but its more important to have oil and change it regularly

[@rynev3392]

Richard Holdener great, thanks for the reply

[@snek9353]

I got an interesting turbo test idea for ya, something I'm personally curious about. Could there be a benefit from putting the turbo behind the catalytic converter. The converter basically performs more combustion and heats the exhaust more, this should better run the turbo.

[@chrisdootz1715]

RIP headphone users on that nitrous turbo clip.

[@masta51]

The boat anchor 350 gods came for their pound of flesh after the wheel of death.