Nitro

Nitro, also known as Adrenaline mode, is a fundamental aspect of the Asphalt series. It has appeared in every game so far. The nitro aspect draws heavily from Bandai Namco Entertainment's Ridge Racer series of racing games, as well as the nitro/turbo system in the Need for Speed series and the boost system in the Burnout series.

Nitro is a reference to nitrous oxide, which racers sometimes pump into their vehicles' engines to make their engine produce more power due to more oxygen being present in combustion.

Nitro boosts the player's vehicle's speed for a limited period of time. It can be triggered whenever the nitro gauge has nitro.

Asphalt Legends (formerly Asphalt 9: Legends)[]

In Asphalt 9, there are 4 levels of nitro, and 2 for Security vehicles in Takedown and Team Pursuit (note that all give the same speed boost, except on some cars such as the Vanda or Sián):

Normal Nitro: Gives a small boost to acceleration, but going over rough terrain such as grass or sidewalks will still slow the car down.
Perfect Nitro: Triggered in the same way as in Asphalt 8. Gives a slightly better boost in acceleration, and is best used around turns and rough terrain in order to keep speed.
Explosive Nitro: Triggered by firing nitro outside of the blue zone. This nitro gives a large acceleration boost and should be used in midair to get up to a higher airspeed.
Nitro Shockwave: Equivalent of Adrenaline Mode, this nitro is only available when the nitro gauge is full. It is activated by firing nitro in the purple zone. Gives the best acceleration boost and can be used in multiplayer as a shield against knockdowns. Should always be used in the air, or after drifting around a turn. In multiplayer, after getting knocked down the player's nitro bar will instantly fill up, allowing them to shockwave instantly.
Security Nitro: Exclusive to Security vehicles in Takedown and Team Pursuit. Gives same boost as Normal Nitro, though with a really short duration. Charges up continuously, cannot be used while charging, and extra nitro cannot be added by anything.
Security Nitro Shockwave: Exclusive to Security vehicles in Takedown and Team Pursuit. Available when in range of a Syndicate vehicle, the nitro bar and security icon will turn red, and on activation will boost the Security vehicle directly onto the Syndicate.

Some cars have a buffed Perfect Nitro, such that it gives even more top speed than the other nitro types. The extra top speed can vary between cars, for the list of these cars, see here.

However, with the advent of EVO Tuning, select EVO-tunable cars can get a higher top speed from Shockwaves than any other nitro.

Asphalt Street Storm Racing[]

Terminology[]

Asphalt Street Storm Racing uses the term NOS instead of "Nitro". NOS stands for "Nitrous Oxide Systems" which is actually the name of one of the pioneering companies in the development of nitrous oxide injection systems, and the initials NOS have become a genericized trademark. Nitro bottles are referred to as "N2O Bottles", with "N2O" (correctly N₂O) being the chemical formula for nitrous oxide.

Installation[]

The big nitro bottle button during a race

Vehicles in Asphalt Streetstorm are not automatically equipped with NOS. To activate it, players have to install stock-stage N₂O Bottles in the NOS upgrade section. This unlocks the Nitro bottle button during races which enables players to trigger the Nitro injection. Installing N₂O Bottles also unlocks the Valve and Solenoid upgrades in the NOS section.

Upgrading any NOS parameter does not increase the car rating, so it does not affect Multiplayer matchmaking. Upgrades increase NOS torque (which results in speed inrease) and NOS time (the Nitro duration), but also the damage a car accumulates per race. N₂O Bottles additionally increase a car's weight.

Usage[]

Race results screen: Although the player's car has NOS equipped, the bottle appears red because it was not activated. The opponent did activate it, therefore the bottle is white.

Nitro can only be fired once during a race. Like in real life, it cannot be replenished.

In the lobby of Multiplayer and Champions Clash, it is not possible to see beforehand if a potential opponent has NOS equipped or not.

After a race, the results screen shows a white bottle if NOS was activated during the race, and a red bottle if it was not used.

Caution: A red bottle does not mean that the opponent has no NOS equipped. Some opponents use this as a trick by not activating NOS during the first race and losing on purpose. After this, they challenge the player again who may be tempted to raise the bet, believing that the opponent does not have NOS. Players who allow themselves to be pulled into such a "betting fight", face a very high risk of losing the next race and their Cash.

Asphalt Xtreme[]

In Asphalt Xtreme, there are now three small nitro gauges. Perfect Nitro has been replaced with Long Nitro, which can be triggered by activating the nitro when the gauge hits the red zone. A Long Nitro will only last for 1 gauge unless fired again and is not locked into it, allowing for an "All-In" nitro to still be fired. The nitro gauges now fill up after the small white bar below them has been filled up. In Infected, green nitro bottles will cause an infection but the race mode no longer has the 'Infection Overload' wreck. Nitro now remains active even if the vehicle is drifting or in the air and can also be activated when airborne.

Asphalt Nitro[]

Nitro in Asphalt Nitro works exactly the same as in Asphalt 8: Airborne, but with major graphical differences.

The only mechanical difference between Nitro and Airborne is when attempting to perform a Perfect Nitro if the nitrous bar is low, it won't activate. The game is strictly locked to the mechanic of when performing a Perfect Nitro, the player must hit the nitro button during the red zone. Any hit outside the red zone will activate the Level 2 nitro instead.

Asphalt Overdrive[]

In Asphalt Overdrive, if the nitro is used when the gauge is full, a larger boost will be given.

Nitro can be earned by:

Blue / pink nitro bottles
Performing ramp stunts
Performing near-misses
Performing takedowns

Upgrading a vehicle's nitro aspect will result in more nitro being earned from a single action. All vehicles start at a 100% nitro rate (referred to in-game as "Basic") with starting tier vehicles being upgradable to 150%, while mid and high tier vehicles being upgradable to 200%.

Asphalt 8: Airborne[]

In Asphalt 8: Airborne, there are three levels of nitro which substitute Adrenaline mode from previous games:

Level 1: Smallest nitro boost but lasts the longest
Level 2: Triggered by firing nitro outside of the red zone. Larger boost but with a shorter duration.
Level 3: Triggered by firing nitro again after triggering Level 2 nitro. Largest boost, but has the shortest duration.
Perfect Nitro: Has the duration of Level 2 nitro with the boost of Level 3 nitro. Triggered by firing the nitro once it hits the red zone. It is also worth noting that the screen brightens up and becomes very slightly blurry to emphasize the Perfect Nitro effect. On high-end iOS devices running iOS 8 or higher, Windows 10 (with the "Extreme" graphics setting), or high-end Android devices (with capable hardware), the vehicle's wheels leave behind trails of flames, similar to the turbo effect from Hot Wheels: Velocity X.
Infected: Only available in Infected mode when the player has been infected. This nitro can be used infinitely and has the largest boost of any nitro level.

In the Career Mode Season races, there are multiple Perfect Nitro Triggered bonus stars to be achieved. This bonus objective also appears in Research & Development, Enduro Double Down, and Championships.

During loading screens, the game may occasionally state that firing nitro during a drift may help handle dangerous curves. This is commonly referred to as drift boosting and punch drifting.

The Nitro gauge can be replenished during a race in various ways, namely by:

Collecting blue (+25% Nitro power-up) or yellow (+50% Nitro power-up) nitro bottles
Drifting
Doing short mini-drifts side to side also known as "wiggling"
Air time
Performing barrel rolls or flat spins
Perfect runs
Knocking down opponents
Controlling / Traffic Downs or performing Near Misses
Urban/city havoc/destruction (destroying obstacles)

Asphalt 7: Heat / Asphalt Injection / Asphalt 6: Adrenaline[]

In Asphalt 6: Adrenaline, Asphalt Injection and Asphalt 7: Heat, if the nitro gauge is full, the player can trigger Adrenaline mode, granting invincibility status and a significantly larger boost, with the ability to knock down racers with light body contact. Despite the advantages it seems to merit, it is also more dangerous, as it makes the car go a lot faster than normal, making cornering harder.