Words And Photos: Richard Holdener

There is no replacement for displacement. As American as apple pie, we have always embraced the bigger-is-better theme. What this statement implies is that if a 350-inch motor is good, then a 400-inch motor must be even better. There is some truth to this motto, as increased displacement will yield increased output, but this assumes a similar state of tune. What we mean by state of tune is that not every 400-inch motor makes more power than every 350-inch motor. If the two motors sport the same heads, cam and intake, the displacement theory will generally hold true, but if the combinations differ, all bets are off. Even if we ignore the possible exceptions to the displacement rule, I think we’ve found not only a replacement for displacement, but a more affordable alternative. Building a bigger motor is never cheap, but adding something as simple as a Sniper nitrous system from NOS is not only inexpensive, but plenty powerful as well. Excuse the performance pun, but the Sniper System is the proverbial Cheap Shot.

According to NOS, the Sniper nitrous oxide system was designed to offer safe and reliable performance at an affordable price. Like more expensive systems, the Sniper system came complete and ready to install on any 4-barrel Holley carb flange. The kit (pt#07001NOS) included the bottle, nitrous plate and solenoids. The kit also featured bottle mounts, arming and activation switches and all the wiring and clamps to complete the installation. Like more expensive kits, the affordable Sniper kit from NOS offered adjustable power levels. Using supplied jetting, the Sniper kit offered gains ranging from 100-150 horsepower, and who among us couldn’t use an extra 100-150 horsepower? The bottles are shipped empty and must be filled at a local nitrous filling station, but once installed, the Sniper system is ready to take a shot at some serious performance. While all of this sounded perfect on paper, naturally we wouldn’t rest until we put one of the Sniper systems to the test. Quick, to the dyno cell!

One of the great things about nitrous oxide is that it will add the desired power level to any combination. If you supply the 100-horsepower jetting, the nitrous doesn’t care if you install the system on a stock, mild or fully built motor. You push the button, and the system does the rest. Of course, it is up to you to ensure that the necessary safety precautions are observed. Like most power adders, proper preparations are in order, the most important of which is to retard ignition timing. Running nitrous assumes your motor is in good running condition and that you have a fuel pump capable of keeping pace with the additional power output. Contrary to the nonsense you see on the big (and small) screen, nitrous is perfectly safe even for stock motors. Just take care not to get greedy and start thinking your stock motor would be perfectly happy with an extra 200, 250 or even 300 horsepower (trust us, it won’t be).

To illustrate the gains offered by the Sniper system, we installed one on Westech’s Gladiator 2 test mule. Starting out life as a 372-inch Dart SHP short block, the test mule had seen literally thousands of dyno runs, testing everything from heads, cams and intakes to this Sniper NOS system. In its latest configuration, the Dart SHP short block was finished up with a COMP XFI cam, AFR 195 Eliminator heads and an Edelbrock Super Victor intake. The healthy COMP hydraulic roller cam offered a .584/.579 lift split, a 242/248-degree duration split and 113-degree lsa. The cam was teamed with the Competition version of the AFR Eliminator heads. The CNC-ported heads offered 300+ cfm flow numbers capable of supporting over 600 horsepower, while the Edelbrock Super Victor intake ensured plenty of flow to the AFR heads and COMP cam.

Also on the 372-inch test mule was a Holley 950 Ultra HP carburetor, MSD billet distributor, and Meziere electric water pump. Run in normally aspirated trim, the small block stroker produced 533 hp at 6,800 rpm and 466 lb-ft of torque at 5,300 rpm. After engaging the Sniper NOS system with 100-horsepower jetting, the peak numbers jumped to 652 hp and 563 lb-ft of torque. We took the liberty of heating the bottle (the right way with a bottle heater) to get bottle pressure to 900 psi and leaned out the mixture by dropping the fuel pressure slightly to the fuel solenoid. There was an additional 50 horsepower left in the Sniper kit, but for now, we were plenty happy giving our small block a Cheap Shot.

If your aim is to improve performance, look no further than a Sniper nitrous system. This test was run on a healthy small block stroker equipped with AFR Eliminator heads, a COMP cam and Edelbrock/Holley induction system. The healthy small block offered 533 hp at 6,800 rpm and 466 lb-ft of torque without the nitrous and an impressive 652 hp and 563 lb-ft of torque with the Sniper system set up with 100-hp jetting.

Sources

Air Flow Research
airflowreaserch.com

COMP Cams
compcams.com

Dart
dartheads.com

Edelbrock
edelbrock.com

Holley/Hooker
holley.com

Lucas Oil
lucasoil.com

MSD
msdignition.com

NOS
holley.com