Blowers and nitrous systems are very similar in the way they produce extra HP.
Both increase the amount of oxygen in the cylinders. Blowers force feed air into the engine and more oxygen means a bigger combustion. I have heard that some supercharges can create lag at the starting line then kick in when the turbine starts spinning.
Nitrous oxide injection is very much like a supercharger or a compression ratio increase in that, during combustion, it can dramatically increase the dynamic cylinder pressure in the engine.
What a lot of people don’t know is that No2 is a non-flammable gas. The tanks can explode if placed in a very high heat source. This is a result of the gas expanding and cracking the tank not because of the No2.
No2 reaches a certain temperature, I believe it is around 500 degrees, and the oxygen and nitrogen separate making an extremely rich oxygen mixture. A cubic foot of nitrous oxide contains around 2 or 3 times as much oxygen as a cubic foot of air. This means more oxygen in the cylinders.
There are wet, dry and direct port nitrous systems on the market today. Check around and see what kind fits your driving style.
I agree with Swavedave that you should have forged crank, forged pistons, and rods and many other upgrades to be safe.
I have seen many people blow head gaskets, fry rings and seals and total engines using blowers and No2.
If you only need the extra HP every once in a while, I would go with a Nitrous system. A 20 pound tank only last a few minutes, so the chances that you will hurt your engine drop because it is used only in bursts and doesn’t last long. But if you run through tanks left and right your engine will be hurting.
Get a professional install. A bad install will kill your engine faster than you can say “cat in the hat”
Hope this helps,
basecorvette