Frequently Asked Questions
Rev.1-17-05

Question:  What is the CryO2 system?
Answer:  It is a System that uses Cryogenic technology to cool air/fuel intake charge to produce a colder denser charge.  The CryO2 system uses liquid CO2 delivered through stainless steel braided hose to a cryogenic solenoid valve and then to the first component.  From there the system hops from component to component.  If the intercooler sprayer is used in the system it is always the last in the system because it actually vents the liquid CO2 directly onto the fins of the intercooler.

Question:  What is the ideal CryO2 installation?
Answer:  Every vehicle with a combustion engine benefits from a cooler denser air and fuel temperatures.  That is where our Cryogenic systems come in handy.  The system can be set up in any firing order as long as the Intercooler sprayer is the last component in the series.  Most installations start with an air intake segment leading to a fuel bar and eventually venting to the atmosphere through an intercooler sprayer.  Utilizing all three components will greatly lower a vehicles air and fuel temperatures. But not every vehicle is equipped with forced induction or an intercooler so here lies the beauty of our system, our system can be pieced together to fit your needs and your budget with ability to be expanded at will.  Our customer installs rang form mild to wild.  Some customers utilize just one component and others use the entire system and included multiple or each component to maximize the cooling power of the system.  Lately our system has a new addition being our purge kits.  The purge kit is a must for any installation as either a vent for the CO2 or to just grab attention by blasting CO2 out of a desired location on a vehicle. 

Question:  What CryO2 components do you need to run the Purge Valve separately? 
Answer:  DEI does offer a complete purge system that includes everything that is needed for a basic installation.  Some additional components are needed for different styles of installation.  I recommend adding a separate push button switch (part # 080232) to have a separate activation button to activate the second purge solenoid individually and also allow for the solenoid valve to be disabled.  Some applications may require addition braided lines to have the purge valve reach the desired location. 

Question:  Can I use the just the purge assembly and not the complete purge kit?
Answer: Yes, you can use just the purge assembly with out the complete kit.  If your installation does not include an intercooler sprayer a purge valve can be used as a vent for when the CryO2 system is activated.  This installation will eliminate the vent cap and an additional section of braided line may be needed.  This is a very popular way to vent the CO2 because to not only vents the CO2 to the furthest point, but it also supplies the dramatic and much desired purge effect.  Many people have used just the tank and installation kit with just the purge assembly to achieve the purge for show and attention.  These installations can easily be upgraded when the customers is ready to add components. 

Question:  Won’t CO2 deprive the engine of Oxygen and stall the engine?
Answer:  Yes it will, but we are not injecting the CO2 into the air stream.  We are harnessing the cryogenic power of the CO2 to charge various heat sinks to cool the air and fuel charge. This does bring up an excellent point…when venting the system you need to make certain the air intake is not picking up the venting CO2.  The same is true if you’re using the Intercooler Sprayer, make certain the air intake is away from the intercooler or it could stall the motor. The Air Intake Segment and the Fuel Bars come complete with connection/venting hose.  This hose either connects to the next component or enables you to decide where you want the CO2 to exit. And YES it does look like a nitrous purge when it is venting…very cool.

Question:  How does it work?
Answer:  The Air Intake Segment and the Fuel Bar work on the premise that gases that expand get cold.  We have expansion chambers in the various components that allow this freezing to occur.  From there they act as heat sinks, actually removing heat from the air and fuel.  The intercooler sprayer simply vents the CO2 on the intercooler to enhance the heat transfer.

Question:  Can I use more than one of the same component?
Answer:  Yes, we have not found a limit to the number of components that can be charged at one time.  To use multiple Intercooler Sprayers a “Y” fitting and additional hoses will be needed. Some of the Turbo crowd has had great success using multiple Air Intake Segments- one before the turbo, one between the turbo and intercooler and one after the intercooler before the throttle body.  They can still go to a fuel bar (or two, or three, etc.) and finally to the Intercooler Sprayer. 

Question:  Does the air intake segment restrict air flow?
Answer:  When our CryO2 air intake is installed properly air flow restriction in nothing to worry about.  Our Patented Cryogenic Bulb is aerodynamically shaped to eliminate any drag that could cause restriction.   

Question:  Will it fit my car?
Answer:  The CryO2 system is designed to be universal in nature.  The Air Intake segments come in diameters of 2.5” and 3” so your air intake will need to match that diameter or you will need to use reducers or expander sleeves to make it fit properly. DEI does offer our CryO2 intake bulb along with its connecting legs separately for custom applications that are over 3” in diameter. The Fuel Bars simply fits inline with your fuel system attaching anywhere on your fuel line that you are able to fit it.  They come in AN6 and AN10 sizes.  Our Fuel Bars have 2 female openings in the selected size, one at each end.  You will need to buy fuel fittings to complete the installation. There were just too many options and applications to provide fittings for every vehicle on the road.  The Intercooler Sprayer is very universal; simply find the size that best fits the face of your intercooler and mount it on…it’s that simple.

Question:  What kind of Horsepower does it make?
Answer: That is a tricky question for this system because of the many variables involved in the physics of the system - Base horsepower, altitude, ambient air temp, humidity, intake system, MASS airflow sensor and intercooler efficiency can all affect the performance of the system.   We tested a naturally aspirated civic with 110base HP on an 85degree day with 72% humidity using just one air intake segment and found a 9% increase in horsepower. In this example we saw an intake temperature of 38 degrees and that is just with an air intake segment. Other tests have produced horsepower increases in excess of 40+ from a heat soaked conditions utilizing our cryogenic components.  I can’t think of one racer that could not use 40 horsepower. Think about how your car performs on a nice cold fall morning…it feels more responsive and powerful. As the engine heats up it loses horsepower and becomes a little sluggish…What we have created is a way to give you that cold fall morning on demand and eliminate power robbing heat soak!!  

Question:  How do you activate the system?
Answer:  The Tank and Installation Kit comes with 3 switches.  The toggle switch arms the system to where you can activate the solenoid with either the push button or the full wide open switch.  Some people simply activate the solenoid directly to the toggle switch and activate the system going into the staging lights and let it flow until the end of the pass at the drag strip. The latest way to utilize the CryO2 system is with our Cryogenic Timer Switch. This switch allows the user to set the on and off time the system will be charged with each duration between two and 20 seconds. With a 10lbs. bottle the system could pulse for up to one hour with the proper on/off durations. You can use the activation method that best suits your needs and style of racing.

Question:  In what type of racing would a Timer Switch be most effective?
Answer:  Our Adjustable Timer Switch is used in many types of racing where the driver does not want to worry about controlling the flow of the CO2 manually.  Many racers from all different aspects including road racing, tracker pulling all the way to off shore racing make use of the CryO2 timer switch to help aid the cooling of their racer.  Any time where a racer would have difficulty accessing a button, or you are not continually using WOT when the system is needed, the timer switch will do the work for you at a duration you dial in.

Question:  Is this like Nitrous?
Answer:  No, nitrous oxide is an oxidizer which actually adds oxygen into the intake charge.  We are simply cooling the intake charge to help reduce the effects of heat soak and provide a denser intake charge.  Since we are only cooling the air, this system is much less likely to do serious harm to your motor.

Question:  I have Nitrous, turbo, supercharger, etc. can I still use CryO2?
Answer:  YES, the system is compatible with all of the above.  Think of it this way; is your car compatible with a cold winter morning?

Question:  Can I use my old nitrous bottle with this system?
Answer:   The bottle is very similar but the nitrous valve is different from the CO2 valve and the filling station will not be able to fill with CO2.  If you want to use nitrous to charge the system that will work fine, just make sure the bottle has a siphon tube in place so the liquid nitrous is drawn up.

Question:  Is CO2 safe?
Answer:  CO2 is an asphyxiate, which means you can suffocate if you inhale it for an extended period…so don’t do it!  Just make sure it is not venting into the driver compartment. Other than that it is very safe, in fact CO2 is used in many fire extinguisher systems.

Question:  How long does the bottle last?
Answer:  It will last between 2 and 3 minutes if you just sat there with your finger on the button but that would not be good for the solenoid valve.  This is a drag racing technology right now and we regularly get 7 or 8 passes out of a bottle of CO2.

Question:  How much does CO2 cost?
Answer:  CO2 can be filled for around $15.00 per bottle. 

Question:  Where do I get my tank filled?
Answer:  Welding gas or medical gas suppliers are a great source as they have pumps and can get the bottles full.  Paintball shops usually carry CO2 but usually charge more for it and hardly ever use pumps to fill so your tank will not get as full and not last as long.  It has also been reported to us that beverage distributors fill CO2 tanks because that is what charges beverage dispensing machines but we have never explored it ourselves.  NOTE: If you freeze your bottle before having it filled it will accept more CO2.

top of page