MovieChat Forums > My Science Project (1985) Discussion > What did the blower switch on the car do

What did the blower switch on the car do


I don't know much about cars. When they are in the car going really fast and racing the power lines, what does the "blower" switch he hits on the car do. It made a noise and seemed to make the car go faster. Can anyone explain what this is or what happened?

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It's been years since I've seen this movie, so I don't remember that scene.

What you are describing sounds like the car was modified to operate like a car powered by a nitrous oxide engine, which is legal in some classes of auto racing. Rather than relying on air for combustion, these engines use nitrous oxide (N2O), which burns hotter and at a higher pressure, giving the engine more power output. The switch probably activated an injection of N2O into the oxygen/fuel mixture, giving the car a burst of speed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrous_oxide_engine

He probably used a kit similar to one of these: https://www.summitracing.com/search/part-type/nitrous-oxide-systems

This is just my guess. As I said, it's been years since I've seen this film.

Anyone else have some ideas?

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"Anyone else have some ideas?"

yeah , "Blower" is shorthand for supercharger , which is the big chrome bit sitting on top of a V8 with a belt attached it , the belt enables it to compress the air ,similar to a turbo , and get more air/fuel in , so more GO occurs.

usually , at least when these things come as standard in production cars they are on all the time , so no "blower switch" .
I guess if you want your blower to be off & onnable you fit a clutch mechanism in the pully so that the belt isnt driving it all the time.

Trivia:
Mad max had the same setup , but they faked the blower ,it didnt actually work.



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Cool. Thanks for the info.

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