Nitrous is known for its instant-on demeanor, and if you're planning to take big hits from the bottle, it used to be that only a fat set of stickies out back could get you moving from a dig. Not so much, anymore. These days, whether you're relegated to the small tires by class rules or simply chassis-clearance issues, there's a way to tame the so-called violent beast-specifically, with a progressive controller.
These controllers aren't new, and your heads-up class may or may not allow them, depending on your organization and its rules, but boy, do they work. Are they hard on the solenoids? We won't say they're easy on them, but the controller does exactly what it's supposed to do: open and close (pulsate) the solenoid to allow a preset amount of nitrous to flow at a specific rate. We will say it's important to regularly check the solenoid's plunger and seal, but for what it's worth, our radial Nova utilizes a controller, and we've yet to rebuild a single solenoid-and that's going on 13 events!
When it comes to wiring, it's nothing elaborate, and since Edelbrock includes an excellent, easy-to-follow diagram, we'll jump right into the details and show you how to program one of these little gems. To do this, we're about to disclose one of our personal tunes that enables us to hook our 1,500hp big-block on a set of 275 radials. Keep in mind, while this particular program works for us, this is only to get you familiar with the controller and its basic functions. Contingent on your chassis, every car is different, but if you've been pondering a controller for yourself, there is no denying that they work.
To recap and help illustrate the process, here's what our tune looks like on a graph. We first set the nitrous delay timer to come on 1 second from the moment we activate the unit. From there, we have the first ramp starting percentage at 40 to 70 percent for 2 seconds. For our second ramp, we set the controller to ramp in from 70 to 100 percent in 1.5 seconds. It takes 4.5 seconds for this entire process to occur. It may seem short, but there's a lot going on in that short amount of time. And should you need to abort the run, the Edelbrock controller gives you the option to reset the tune from the beginning or to continue from when you lifted your foot off the accelerator.
Nitrous delay time = 1 second
Starting rate = 40%
Final nitrous rate #1 = 70%
Nitrous build time #1 = 2 seconds
Final nitrous rate #2 = 100%
Nitrous build time #2 = 1.5 seconds
For the initial settings, we started by pressing the Function button until the screen read Nitrous Display Timer. Here you can set the delay time from 0 to 9.999 seconds in 0.001-second increments. This setting is when you want the initial hit to start from the moment you activate the controller. Once you have your setting, press the Function key again until the screen displays Saved. We're showing 9.9 seconds; however, for our application, we have it set to turn on the nitrous 1 second into the run, giving some time for the tires to bite. | 
After setting the nitrous delay, we set the initial starting percentage, which is the amount of nitrous being introduced into the cylinders. By pressing the .1 button, it'll start at 10 percent and continue to 100 in 1-percent increments. If the track is slick, we'll bring the nitrous in at as little as 25 percent, but we generally try to start at 40. | 
Here's where it can get a little tricky. This controller features a dual-ramp mode that allows you to set two starting and finishing percentages, giving you additional control on how soon you want to bring in the nitrous and where to set that amount in the run curve. Most cars utilizing full slicks can simply place the final nitrous percentage at 100 and be done with it. In our case, we always have the dual-ramp mode turned on and use the added delay by setting the first final percent at 70. |
Next we set the first nitrous build time, which controls how long it takes the nitrous flow to go from 40 to 70 percent. You can set this as quickly as 0.200 second and delay it to 9.900 seconds in .1 increments. In our case, we set this at 2 seconds, and again pressed Function until the display read Saved. | 
With the first ramp going up to 70 percent, we then set the second final percentage to 100. | 
We then finalized the second nitrous build time, which is the length of time the controller takes to go from 70 percent to a full 100 percent shot. At this point, assuming we're well into the run and have traction, we can bring in the full 100 percent of the nitrous into the motor at 1.5 seconds. Depending on your application, this can also be varied from 0.200 to 9.900 seconds. |