OK, My Turn...
Gobble & Crew,
Yes, using N20 on the road course is a great equalizer to high HP cars, and if you use it to add torque on track out it can mean many seconds off your lap times. I put the RM 70 HP kit on 4 years ago for street use, and found it worked wonderfully at the track. To all you nay sayers out there - you are flat out wrong.
Now I never claimed to be a good driver, but as I get better, having the juice is even more fun. I most commonly run with the "Slow Pokes" Porsche group, which includes everything from street 944s and Boxters thru big dog GT3 Cup cars, full race Vipers, etc. Other than the most experienced drivers in the best cars, I pretty much roll by everyone else because of using N20 to come off corners - and I run street tires most often. It is fun though watching a Cup car pass me twice in three laps on a three mile course!
Unlike most superchargers, my button is instant torque exactly when I want it - no worry about boost coming on and kicking the rear out or waiting until revs come up for it to come on. I've found that I can get on it as soon as the car approaches track out and even the shortest corner to corner sections can use a little bump of the bottle. At my local track - Brainerd Intl - using it is worth 4 seconds a lap. Last I checked, there is no single upgrade you can do that'll give you that, other than raw driving skill and a rented car.
Now the other side of that coin is I'm careful, if not a little timid of a driver as I want to have a car to drive home. My experience and confidence has been built up by MANY track events and lots of street use and I know exactly what the car will do when I press my left thumb down. Because of it's "instant" characteristics, it could easily send you spinning if you used it too early in a corner. Just using it on straights is OK, but doesn't give you the true benefit of the extra power.
I've not ever failed tech because of the bottle, but I'm sure there are some events that'll do that. The only hole drilled were for the solid bottle mount in the trunk floor, and they are small and could be filled with rubber plugs if required. It is easy to install if you take your time and read how I did it - or get a hold of BadCarma.
As a side note, I rarely used it at Infineon/NSXPO 2003 - just on the straight coming up the hill from the carousel. That track was a handful without it!
Recap: More experience makes for better times. Headers, exhaust and brakes first, N20 next, and then practice until you puke.
As for me, I just ordered my new Exedy clutch from Dali, am working on my new suspension plan and just filled my two bottles, so prepare yourselves. This year should be fun.
-Ed
www.nsxbuilder.com
