So I was reading through the nitrous FAQ and the howstuffworks.com article, and it seems like nitrous is used because at a certain temperature it splits into nitrogen and oxygen, and the extra oxygen allows for more fuel, creating more power.

If the net goal of the nitrous is to release oxygen, why don't people just use straight oxygen from the get-go?

 

To begin with pure oxygen is very dangerous and highly explosive. Also the nitrous is very cold which increases power by just cooling intake temps. Nitrous is stored as a liquid allowing for large amounts of to be stored in a relitavely small bottle. Since nitrous oxide is fairly common, it is also somewhat cheap to refill. Liquid oxygen on the other hand is expensive and untested as a means of boosting hp.

 

NO2 (nitrous oxide) is an oxidizer that allows more fuel to burn at a time given a certain cylinder volume. The gains you feel aren't from the nitrous itself, but from the extra fuel that is allowed to burn due to the extra oxygen. Think of it as chemical forced-induction. The decomposition of nitrous, as was already mentioned, also has a cooling effect.

 

Its a Liquid Supercharger.

 

Okay I understand how nitrous works, I was just unclear as to why it was used instead of other gasses. It sounds like oxygen itself is too volitile to be used safely.

 

Oops. Sorry to insult your intelligence.

 

No, no insult at all... I am the first to admit my automotive knowledge is very limited... I just didn't want people to spend their time explaining something I understand. But I appreciate the discussion, nonetheless.