COMPLETE NOTES ON NITROUS OXIDE SYSTEM (NOS) !!

NOS or nitrous oxide - a familiar name among drag racers and those who are crazy about speed and power. This gas also called as laughing gas, was once used as an anesthetic for minor surgeries, yet now being widely used in automobiles and other propulsion systems. Many would have seen NOS system in action while racing in  the movie- fast and furious. Due to its superb property as an oxidizer, this gas is used in boosting up the performance of bikes and cars. Along with instant acceleration it also increases the horsepower of  engines. A nitrous oxide system is one which delivers NOS with right quantity to the engine. Generally air is required to burn the fuel inside the engine.

The air contains oxygen which is the supporter of combustion to take place. More the quantity of oxygen in air, the more complete and efficient the combustion will be. Based on this the usage of NOS is employed in automobiles.

A gas molecule of nitrous oxide contains one oxygen atom and two nitrogen atoms. So when its being fed and ignited inside the combustion chamber of  an engine, it releases a great number of oxygen atoms. 

This sudden increase of oxygen level inside the chamber causes more fuel to burn effectively at an instant of time, delivering tremendous power. It's just like an additional supplement for boosting the performance.

A nitrous oxide system can be classified under two categories :

>Dry fogger type 

>Wet fogger type.

The key difference between the two systems are simple. The dry fogger type uses a nozzle or port to inject only the NOS without any injection of fuel. A wet fogger type uses two nozzles or ports. One nozzle feeds fuel and another feeds NOS. It injects the fuel along with NOS combined to a throttle body or directly inside the combustion chamber.

The wet fogger type is usually complex and generates more power when compared to dry fogger type.

In fuel injected motorcycles the nitrous oxide system can be equipped with wet fogger system. Along with a fuel injector, a nozzle for wet fogger can be used. For carburetorbased motorcycles the dry fogger system can be fixed. Likewise, the same scheme can be applied for cars too. A solenoid valve is used to operate and regulate the flow of NOS into the engine. A solenoid valve is an electronically controlled valve.

NOS damages engine and its components like pistons and valves under prolonged usage, since it produces rapid combustion which liberates high heat, power and excess stress to piston, rings and other components. So it's suited only to motor racing which uses high performance engines, and especially during drags.

HONDA COMBI BRAKE SYSTEM EXPLAINED !!!

The Honda Combi Brake system was introduced in India with the Honda Activa in 2009. However, this system has been in use since more than 30 years internationally. The Honda Combi Brake system is a first-in-industry technology.

What is the Honda Combi Brake System?

The most efficient way of braking is to apply the front and rear brakes simultaneously. But it is a practice, most two-wheeler riders have not mastered.Combi brake means that the brake will act on front and rear wheel together every time you apply the brakes. This means a lot of improved safety.

How does the Honda Combi Brake System Enhance Safety?

In two wheelers (scooters and bikes), there are two separate brake controls for front and rear wheels.Most of two-wheeler riders apply only rear wheel brake, or use only rear brake in most of the cases. However for most effective braking and stopping in small distance safely without loosing control, both front and rear brakes should be used together. Most people fear using front brakes too much because if you press them too hard, the scooter/bike may skid and the rider will fall badly.

Honda Combi Brake system applies the front-brakes in the correct amount whenever rear brakes are applied. This applies both brakes when you apply only rear one. This means that the scooter rider need not worry about using front brakes, they will be used in correct amount automatically when the rear brakes are used. See the image above, the highlighted green area shows how they have put an extra-cable to brake lever control of Honda-Activa 2009 to make combi-brakes work.

Advantages :-

Honda Combi Brake with Equaliser, ensures distribution of Force between the Front and Rear Wheel at the same time, giving perfect balance to the rider.

It ensures that rider with low expertise is also confident while braking.

Simultaneous application of Front and Rear Brake leads to the most effective braking.

TRACTION CONTROL SYSTEM EXPLAINED !!

Almost all super bikes and cars nowadays are using a traction control system to maintain an excellent stability and also to provide better safety.In general, a traction control system is identical to some of the commonly and widely used electronic systems in vehicles today like ABS brakes, fuel injection systems and damping control system which uses micro controllers. It can be also called in many other names like ESC (Electronic Stability Control) ESP (Electronic Stability Program) VSA (Vehicle Stability Assist) etc depending on the brand of a vehicle.

The super bikes and cars are usually equipped with high power engines which delivers instant power to the wheels to spin and move on. So when a situation like starting from halt to accelerate instantly and slowing down during cornering and accelerating again, there may a chance of wheel slip between the road surface and the vehicle. In bikes, the contact surface of tyres during cornering are not the same for both front and rear tyres. All these situations may lead to loss of stability & ultimately leading to an accident. 

You may occasionally experience a wheel spin when starting off or accelerating, particularly on a slippery or wet road surface. The Traction Control prevents wheel spin. While the Antilock Braking System ABS prevents the wheels from locking during braking by reducing the braking pressures, Traction Control ensures that the wheels do not spin when driving off or accelerating. To do this, the drive torque at each driven wheel is reduced respectively. Traction Control improves the traction of the vehicle and increases vehicle safety by avoiding unstable driving situations within the limits. 

This feature is available in all super bikes like Yamaha YZF-R1, Ducati Diavel, 1098, Kawasaki ZX14-R etc.

In some systems it also reduces the power output from the engine until the optimum traction between the tyre and road is obtained. In simple words its a reverse mechanism of ABS which senses wheel lock and in here the system senses for wheel spin.