The ZEX perimeter nitrous oxide kit is a great way to bolt on power.
Our 1972 Chevy Camaro Z/28 sports a 454 Chevy big block, a Turbo 400 automatic, and a new Strange rear axle and has run a best of 12.11 at the drag strip, but it’s time to add some more punch.
This Camaro makes appearances on V8TV as one of our test cars we like to have fun with. It's a clean Western car with a great look... sliver paint, black stripes, American Racing Torque-Thrusts, and a big block under the hood. It's fun!
Competition Cams manufactures a ZEX Performance plate-type Nitrous kit that delivers up to 250 horsepower through an innovative perimeter-jet spray system. Rather than using a traditional spray bar, the ZEX plate is punched with nitrous and fuel jets all around its perimeter, shooting the mixture straight into the intake manifold without hindering airflow with a spray bar. Check out the video on the ZEX site to see this plate in action!
Nick Scavo is no stranger to Nitrous Oxide, and he let out a few tricks on the install of this kit. He first commented on the completeness of the ZEX kit, as it came with everything you’ll need right in the box, from the bottle, plate, micro switch, and solenoids all the way down to the zip ties you may need to install it.
Nick did add a few items to the list like some Adell clamps to securely mount the Nitrous feed line to the frame rail, and some Earl’s line and fittings to make the job cleaner.
Nick also added a Holley fuel pump and pressure regulator to ensure this 454 would have all the juice it needed when the spray was on.
The first trick Nick performed was mounting the Nitrous and gasoline solenoids using stainless steel lines. The ZEX kit comes with a bracket to do this, but Nick likes the look of custom-bent stainless lines, and the stainless is strong enough to hold the solenoids without using the bracket.
Next, the nitrous feed line is run from the trunk along the frame rail up to the engine compartment. Here's where those Adell clamps come in handy.
Nitrous Oxide systems simply introduce Nitrous Oxide gas and extra gasoline into the engine at the same time. The Nitrous Oxide allows the engine to burn more fuel than is possible under normal atmospheric conditions. With the juice engaged, your engine can make more power than it could with regular air.
You may notice that the one line is longer than the other as they wrap around the carb base. This is the Nitrous feed line. Nick learned that you can tune the Nitrous system to introduce the juice in a slightly less aggressive manner by making the Nitrous feed line longer than the fuel line. This way, your street car will have a better chance of keeping traction when the system hits. If you add too much power too fast, you lose traction, and then you lose the race!
The bright purple ZEX bottle bolts easily in the trunk, and this kit comes with enough line to place the bottle wherever is convenient. Just be careful not to drill through the trunk into anything important like the gas tank!
The plate mounts on the intake manifolds, and the carb sits right on top.
The next item is the mounting of the throttle-activated micro switch. This switch mounts on the carburetor and is engaged when your foot hits the floor. Once you install the power switch, all you have to do is turn the switch on, open the bottle, and hit the gas for your Nitrous Oxide injection to light your fire.
We’ll be taking this Camaro to the track to test and tune this system soon, so be to check back for the drag strip results of this ZEX Performance Nitrous Oxide kit.
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