Design Engineering, Inc.'s CryO2 System

DEI's CryO2 system is the coolest thing we've ever
seen… literally. A three-part modular system that resembles a nitrous setup, the CryO2 was designed to reduce the temperature of your air and fuel intake charge with liquid carbon dioxide. In 2003 it won a SEMA Best New Product award and DEI's products, including the CryO2 system, is distributed and used by the well-respected David Buschur of Buschur Racing. Being one of the first of its kind, the CryO2 system invariably sparks debate among tuners about its purpose and contribution to a vehicle's overall performance.

While a cooler, denser air/fuel charge is undoubtedly a good thing, many question if a dedicated system like this is warranted or even worth the trouble. Some CryO2 faithful will point out the system?s contribution to increasing power, but we see its real value in lowering the operating temperature of a tuned engine, specifically an engine with forced induction, into a range that ensures durable and reliable performance. Read on to learn more about how the system works and let us know if you think the CryO2 system should be a hit or if it?s just hype.

The liquid CO2 is stored in a bottle, much like nitrous, that feeds a line up to a solenoid near the engine. From the solenoid the ice cold CO2 will travel to one or all three of the CryO2 components. The first is a billet aluminum fuel bar extension that goes in the fuel line. The liquid CO2 freezes the bar through which the fuel passes to a balmy -80 degrees fahrenheit. The cold stuff then moves to an aerodynamically designed bulb with a cryo chamber installed in a 4-inch section of the air intake. Heat is removed when air passes over the bulb, reducing the incoming air temperature by 50 degrees fahrenheit and creating a denser more powerful charge. The final part of the CryO2 system is an intercooler sprayer that vents the liquid CO2 directly onto the intercooler?s fins. I?ve seen this last part of the process actually produce ice on an intercooler.


We?re also pretty keen on D.E.I.?s Adjustable Timer
Switch that lets the user control the on and off duration of the CryO2 system. Imagine an SCCA race in which your CryO2 system was coming on every few minutes for a short duration, thus keeping your engine running at an optimal temperature during the race and letting the horsepower get to the road rather than be lost through heat.
 

It would be unfair of me not to mention that Nitrous Express has a similar system called the N-tercooler. This system comes only as an intercooler sprayer that?s able to spray either CO2 or NO2. NX claims that the system added an additional 52 horsepower to a turbocharged Honda engine during a dyno run. Likely story. D.E.I. makes no such claims about increased horsepower. It would be great, however, to see a dyno run from an engine with a CryO2 system installed, so let us know if you?ve got one. In the meantime, we?re interested in whether you think the CryO2 is the stuff of fluff or a legitimate performance system.