We used the included fitment ring to match up the port sizing with our 90mm throttle body. Patrick points out that since this ring is made from solid aluminum, builders who're using intake ports that fall somewhere between that 90mm size and the 102mm opening of the plate alone can port-match the fitment ring to taste.
The next step is to use the included gaskets to sandwich the plate between the throttle body and the intake manifold. “One item of note is that our perimeter plate system comes with a fitment ring on the inside, and it slides out if you don’t need it,” Patrick points out. “Our plate is designed for the common 102mm opening with the fitment ring removed, but if you have a 90mm opening, this aluminum ring shrinks the plate down to fit that opening. And since that’s a solid aluminum ring, if a builder wants to port match that to their manifold there’s no reason they can’t do that.” Setting Up For Success

Patrick also offers a few tips to ensure that builders get the most out of the system while ensuring the well-being of the engine. “The number one accessory I’d recommend a customer to get would be a bottle pressure gauge. Bottle pressure is crucial to get the most amount of safe, consistent power out of the nitrous system. We generally recommend a range of about 900 to 1000 psi. We rate our systems at 950 psi, but we’ve found that even if the bottle pressure varies 50 psi here and there, the reality is that it will flow about the same. When you start to go above 1000 psi or below 900 psi, your mass flow starts to change pretty drastically, and you will start to see things that affect power.”

He says that many racers tend to jack up their bottle pressure for a strong initial punch, but that initial surge can be misleading. “You’ll get a flow spike for maybe one or two seconds that will hit really hard, but then what happens is that the nitrous flow actually starts to bleed down very quickly, and within a few seconds you’re flowing about the same volume of nitrous as if you would have just set it to 950 or 1000. That’s one of those things where the seat-of-the-pants testing can be misleading, and the downside is that you’re running lean at the worst possible moment.”A purge kit is also a good idea. “It basically relieves all that excess vapor in the lines and gives you a good solid flow of liquid nitrous right at the solenoid so that when you go to launch the car you have instant power,” he adds.

But beyond system accessories, Patrick reminds us that getting the engine itself ready for nitrous is also very important. “When you bolt up a nitrous system, you generally want to switch over to spark plugs that are two steps colder in heat range. It’s very important because you’re going to have a lot more heat volume in the combustion chamber and the plug needs to match that. If the plugs can’t lose the heat fast enough, the tip will melt, and it will cause pre-detonation. You also want to dial in 2-degrees of ignition retard for every 50 horsepower worth of nitrous you put in the engine, so if you’re going to spray a 150-shot of nitrous on an LS, start off by retarding the ignition timing by about 6-degrees.”

Want to surprise the guy in the other lane at your next grudge match race? Give the folks at ZEX a buzz to safely and reliably add spray to your arsenal, then get ready to watch those ETs drop in short order.