NOS

Brian O'Conner celebrates his win by tapping on canisters of NOS

"He's got nitrous oxide in his blood and a gas tank for a brain. Do not turn your back on him."

―Tanner to Brian O'Conner

Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is a gas commonly referred to as "nitrous" or simply NOS in The Fast and the Furious series.

Notable uses of NOS in the series

• Brian O'Conner uses NOS during his very first street race in The Fast and the Furious. He has his friend Harry install two big containers of NOS into his car. Before the race itself, Edwin even mentions how he has enough NOS to blow himself up. Brian most likely had all that NOS installed as to give him a big advantage over the others; should he find himself lacking behind, he could use up both tanks to gain the lead. However, after Brian successfully uses one tank to gain ahead of Edwin and Danny, he begins to approach Dominic Toretto, who is leading the race in his '93 Mazda RX-7. Brian uses his NOS again; however, this causes the engine and intake manifold to overheat, as well as causing the passenger side floor to fall apart, causing Brian to spin out and lose the race. Dominic also uses NOS in his RX-7 to prevent Brian from passing him.
• During Race Wars, Letty Ortiz is pit against a male racer who immediately believes she shouldn't be racing because she is female. However, Letty convinces him to put his money where his mouth is and they both race. Although the male racer is gleeful as he seems to be winning, Letty activates her NOS and easily surpasses him, the other racer unable to catch up due to him not having any NOS.
• While racing Johnny Tran and his Honda S2000 for slips at Race Wars, Jesse prematurely uses NOS early on during the quarter mile race. Tran, however, activates his NOS, which is far more plentiful and powerful in his car, allowing Tran to easily win.
• While racing Dom and his 1970 Dodge Charger R/T near the end of the first film, Brian's 1994 Toyota Supra Mark IV is unable to compete against the Charger's sheer raw power. Brian uses NOS just to catch up to the Charger. Just as they are about to reach the railroad tracks, where the quarter mile finishes, Dom's Charger begins to malfunction; however, as there is a train approaching, Dom floors it anyways, and Brian uses what is left of his NOS, both of them managing to smash the barrier as well as barely miss the train by inches, successfully completing the quarter mile.
• In 2 Fast 2 Furious, during the very first race, Slap Jack uses NOS in his Toyota Supra once he realizes there is a bridge jump, and uses it to give him the boost he needs to go over the bridge. While Brian and Suki use their NOS to jump the bridge as well, Slap Jack manages to crash and is unable to finish the race, while Brian and Suki come in #1 & #2 respectively.
• Brian and Roman both use NOS during their race against Korpi and Darden, Brian's NOS enabling him to barely beat Korpi.
• Half empty bottles of nitrous oxide are fitted under the passenger seats of Brian's '69 Yenko & Roman's '70 Challenger as to serve as ejector seats. However, only Roman's seat works, while Brian's does not, because the engine is turned off.
• During Arturo Braga's audition race in Koreatown in Fast & Furious, Dom uses NOS just as he and Brian approach the last quarter mile; Brian uses NOS in his 2002 Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R in order to finally beat Dom, but Dom, who wants to win the race in order to secure the spot and avenge Letty's death, bumps into Brian's car, causing the NOS-fueled car to spin out.
• After completing their tunnel run, Dominic turns the cap on a container of NOS, as well as turning on the cigarette lighter in his 1970 Chevelle SS. This causes all the cars next to it, including Brian's Skyline, to explode, giving the distraction Dom and Brian need to escape.
• In Fast Five, after unhooking Brian from the vault, Dom spins the car around on the highway in order to get rid of all the cops following them. Because he cannot pull the vault by himself (hence why they needed 2 drivers) he uses several containers of NOS inside his Charger to give him the power and speed he needs.
• As Letty races Dom in the streets of London in Fast & Furious 6, she uses NOS inside her Jensen to take the lead. Although she uses it too early, Dom activates and uses his NOS in his Charger Daytona to take the lead and win the race.
• In Furious 7, after Dom's street fight with Deckard Shaw on top of a parking garage in Los Angeles, Dom uses NOS in his 1970 Dodge Charger R/T, to jump a ramp at full speed made from the debris of the collapsing building, using it to eliminate Mose Jakande and his crew in his helicopter. The Charger grinds against the helicopter in mid air, and crashes among the debris of the building. As Jakande notices the bag of grenades Dom attached to the helicopter from Shaw's car, Luke Hobbs immediately shoots and detonates the bag, blowing up the helicopter and killing him.
• During his race with Raldo, Dominic Toretto uses Cuban NOS in the 1950 Chevrolet Fleetline he is driving to gain speed on Raldo. NOS is also featured again later on by Letty Ortiz, who uses it to speed away from the ice chunks formed by the underwater submarine's sudden eruption.