Of course, what really matters is what shows on the dyno, and it would be an understatement to say we had plenty to be happy about there as well. Our pump-gas setup was impressive enough, as our 406 cranked out 747 hp and 672 lb-ft under the influence of a 125-jolt of juice. But once we poured in some 118-octane race fuel (as recommended) and upped the squeeze to a 175-horse shot, things got interesting in a hurry. Our 406 stroker and the Nitrous Pro-Flow system got along famously, belting out 840 hp and 774 lb-ft of torque-and doing it like it was nothing. That's a 247hp gain from the 175-shot, but there wasn't any drama here; this was about the most stoic, anticlimatic 800-plus horsepower we've ever seen. The engine was happy under the influence and made the number without a hint of protest.
We could analyze the results ad nausem, but this success really isn't hard to figure out. "If you build a good combination with good output to start with, it'll respond well to nitrous," comments Brule. The only drama came as we debated whether to go for broke-maybe literally-and hit our small-block with a 225-shot. In the end, we decided discretion was the better part of valor. Stout as this 406 is, it's still based on a factory two-bolt main block, and while the induction setup certainly had more to give, we knew we'd more than reached our bottom end's limits, so we called it a day. It may have not been dramatic, but it was a good place to end-we made power, and our engine was still alive. Check it out.
One risk of running nitrous is the chance of backfires through the intake system; these explosions can damage a carburetor or manifold if they're severe enough. Our plate of choice features these replaceable burst panels. If a backfire happens, the panels blow out, relieving the pressure. Once the panels are changed, you're right back in action. Fortunately for us, these samples came from someone else's test.
Nitrous Pro-Flow runs the system wire into an OEM-style, six-prong weather pack connector. Wiring the vehicle (or, in this case, dyno) side of the connector, the most time-consuming task we faced, was a simple matter of following the included wiring diagram.