Mustang Nitrous Kit - WOT And Wild

Greg Montoya gets reacquainted with stout rear-tire horsepower after a long time riding aboard the "No-Nitrous" wagon.

Horse Sense: Greg Montoya of Camarillo, California, owner of this '04 GT, was once a player in the West Coast 'Stang scene, having owned a nitrous-gulping, carbureted, 10-second, street-driven LX a long, long time ago. Yes, it has been a while since Greg has "grabbed the unit" in a 'Stang, so we're anxious to see how he feels about juice technology today-where the injector and nozzle has replaced the carb and plate, and nitrous is now at his foot's command, instead of at his fingertips with the old-school button.

Let's take a break from a few things we've been talking about quite a bit during the last few months: blowers, turbos, and other bolt-on power adders for '05-'07 'Stangs and Shelby GT 500s.

A nitrous installation is a simple, in-the-driveway project that doesn't require elaborate tools. The mounting location for the nitrous bottle and how you want to run the feed line-on the inside or outside of the Mustang- should be thought about before getting started. The passenger-side corner is the bottle's new home in the trunk of Greg's 'Stang. We ran the nitrous line through the inside of the passenger compartment. Keep in mind that the rear seat and passenger-side doorsill trim and kick panel must be removed.

Don't get us wrong-we have nothing but love for the new Ponies and we thoroughly dig having firsthand opportunities to check out the cool new parts that make them better. But we also like to make sure we're spreading love down to the earlier members of the 'Stang family, as well as to those of you in 'Stangland who have turbo or supercharger dreams, but finances that prevent them from coming true. A New Edge ride is at the center of this lovefest, along with our old friend nitrous oxide, the original low-cost-of-entry power adder.

In a nutshell, we thought it would be cool to take Greg Montoya's lightly modded 4.6 and shoot some nitrous at it to determine the power-gain potential of Nitrous Pro-Flow's new Universal EFI Wet System (PN 308751; $694.58). We also wanted to test its ease of installation and usability with a Programmable TPS Activation Switch (PN 568001; $81.18). Greg's like-new modular sports a K&N air filter, BBK 75mm throttle body, Trick Flow plenum, 4.10 gears, and only 10,000 miles on the odometer.

Making serious power with a stock bottom-end modular can still earn you a 'Stangbanger's merit badge, just as it did years ago with 5.0s. We've gone on and on about the way the turbos and blowers get down in stocker Two-Valve modulars. Sure, the stock-motor/nitrous oxide/inexpensive-power concept isn't anything new, but we think it's time to apply the concept to the 'Stang that has become more popular since the introduction of S197s: The '99-'04 New Edge cars.

So, with a bang-for-the-buck frame of mind, we installed Pro-Flow's Universal EFI Wet Kit and called on Sean Roberts and Saul "The Surgeon" Gutierrez at Extreme Automotive in Canoga Park, California, for their help with the tuning and dyno portions of our research. The plan was to dial in a safe DiabloSport tune and determine once and for all the type of performance enthusiasts should expect from a mostly stock Two Valve when it's taking hearty swigs from the juice jug.

Pro-Flow's 10-pound bottles include high-flow valves featuring large-diameter, radiused-inlet pickup tubes for steady flow. A high-flow filter/bottle nut (PN 368014; $59.99), a Nutbuster AN -4 line wrench (PN 906004; $19.93), and a 12-volt electric bottle warmer (PN 307412; $134.73) close out the accessory-side of the system.

These two small-body solenoids are perfect examples of big things that come in small packages. The nitrous solenoid (PN 372073; $80.65) features a 0.073-inch orifice, which is considerably smaller than the 0.115-inch solenoid formerly included in this kit. The former works perfectly for making the unit's maximum 150 hp. The fuel solenoid's (PN 371957; $73.82) orifice is 0.157 inches-the same as its larger brother. Combined, these smaller 'noids draw 20 amps-the big ones draw 21 amps a piece. Therefore, the smaller ones eliminate any need for installing a 30-amp relay for the solenoids when the Programmable TPS Activation System is used.

Nitrous or fuel leaks are a nitrous unit's biggest enemy. On the nitrous side, a tiny leak can lead to rapid loss of bottle pressure and the costly loss of your nitrous. We all know how disastrous a fuel leak can be.