NOS

Noun. 1) An acronym for the brand name 'Nitrous Oxide Systems'. NOS produces a chemical known as nitrous oxide, often used in the performance optimization of car and motorcycle engines. The chemical (N2O) breaks up upon contact with air, releasing extra oxygen into the engine. This often means that oxygen detectors in modern cars pick up the extra oxygen and add more fuel to the a/f mixture. This means the engine will pack a harder punch than it typically would, in the form of an instant flywheel horsepower gain. 2) A buzzword used by the illegal street racing comunity (often populated by rice burners), to make one's car sound fast. Many misconceptions have arisen from the term NOS, particularily founded by the film iThe Fast And The Furious/i. One misconception is that NOS can be installed on any car, and with the push of a button it will result in an exponential gain in speed. Another is that NOS iis/i nitrous oxide; NOS is only a brand name. Nitrous oxide can only be installed on some engines, and does not necessarily mean a huge gain in speed. It is NOT activated with the push of a button, most nitrous systems have a throttle trip system that activates the nitrous flow at WOT (wide-open-throttle), in order to maximize potential speed. Another widely mentioned misconception is that nitrous oxide is flammable. It is not. Though any compressed gas can explode when heated, the gas itself is non-flammable.