Nitrogen in Your Tires ?

[IronMick]

I picked this post at another forum. Have not heard this one before. What do ya think?

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Read a article about 6 weeks ago on the benefits of nitrogen in your tires verus oxygen written by a man with a PHD. Unlike oxygen nitrogen has no moisture and it leaks out thru rubber much slower.
But the number one reason is it runs cooler and disperses heat better than oxygen thus extending tire life. 300 Costco stores across the usa now fill your new tires that you buy from them with nitrogen. Nascar uses nitrogen and all major airlines fill their tires in their airplanes with nitrogen. So I only took a short ride and did not notice any differences but I think I will see better tire life.
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[Moved On]

Ummm....
It would be kinda odd for anyone to put oxygen in their tires. I usually put air in my tires, air is 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, the last 1% is other gases. Clicky Here (http://www.mistupid.com/chemistry/aircomp.htm)

Nitrogen molecules are bigger than oxygen, so sure it will leak slower through the rubber. Both gases will leak pretty good through a nail hole.

Helium would be pretty bad. It will leak through almost anything. I used to work for a company that made helium leak detectors. If you held the probe on your wrist and took a deep breadth of helium, about 5 seconds later the sensor would go off, because the helium was leaking out of your body right through your skin :eek:

Gazza

[gilx]

...Nitrogen molecules are bigger than oxygen, so sure it will leak slower through the rubber. Both gases will leak pretty good through a nail hole...

Here in Utah along the Wasatch front we get "inversion layers" in the winter time. A big high pressure area gets stuck over top of us preventing the smog from blowng away. After a couple weeks I swear the smog buildup makes the air half hydrocarbon. This is when I fill my tires...enough complex molecule in there not only does it not leak out, it becomes self-sealing .
:laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh :laugh

[stevo]

n
A full Nitrogen fill has some benefits but I doubt many people would be able to pick any difference on the street....


who actually bothers to check tire pressures at LEAST once a week????????????

Correct pressure will make the tires last longer too....

[toe]

I picked this post at another forum. Have not heard this one before. What do ya think?

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300 Costco stores across the usa now fill your new tires that you buy from them with nitrogen. .
>>


So how do they suck out the air that's already in the tire before they put the nitrogen in??? Otherwise you'll still have oxygen in there.........

Ed

[ted]

I used nitrogen when I was racing, tires and air shifter. Mostly for the air shifter. No moisture means the air shift parts stay clean way longer. For the tires it was the convenience of having the nitrogen bottle handy on the bike trailer. Nascar, Indy car, airplane use is for other reasons. Fast race cars heat tires up pretty good and air expands. Pressure is critical in race cars. When using nitrogen the pressure stays pretty constant regardless of tire heat. For street use, air is cheaper and just as effective.
Ted

[bubbahog]

Nitrogen would also be good if you were planning on riding in very low temperatures - like -20F.

I'll stick with the free stuff from the gas station for now.

[flathead45]

how about hydrogen?

that would make for a killer burnout ;)

[stevo]

that'd be the "Big bang" theory......:D

[flathead45]

I doub thee "the hindenberg" :):):)

[neckball]

Nitrogen is "drier" than air from a compressor. Air compressors accumulate water in them as most of you with air compressors know. Nitrogen is what's used in the race tires in NASCAR because the moisture you would get inflating tires from your run-of-the-mill air compressor would cause variations in air pressure as the temperature of the tire changed. The NASCAR teams even use an "air dryer" that's mounted in-line in the hose to try to remove any last bit of moisture.

Now, with alll that said, what benefit Costco thinks an average street tire may see from using notrogen, I have no idea. I doubt seriously that the average Joe would be able to see or recognize any difference between nitrogen and plain old air. As has been said, I'd think you'd gain more benefit from a regular check of the pressure.

[willprevale]

I've been using regular compressed air for almost 50 years with no negetaive results or experiences. My dad used the same thing in his tires. Someone would have to come up with far better reasoning than minor moisture issues for me to seriously consider anything else. Maybe nitogen has some benefits in high stress, high temp applications but I seriously doubt if the average motorist falls into that category. Just my .02 cents.

[Turbota]

Dry nitrogen is an inert gas. It is used in aircraft tires because there is no moisture in it that would have negative effects when exposed to the -50 degree F temps associated with high altitude.

Bottom line .... if you operate your Sportster above 30,000 feet, I would consider filling the tires with dry nitrogen.

[DaddyJay]

how about hydrogen?

that would make for a killer burnout ;)

All thats left of flat head after his burnout :cry1

He was a good man.

http://www.batguano.com/nuclear/tn12.jpg

[Gone]

Nitrogen isn't drier than air -- the drynes comes from the process of drying the gas after it is compresed -- normal air contains more than 85% nitrogen -- the advantage in a race car is that you are dealing with the expansion of one gas -- removes some variables and the lack of oxygen may preserve the rubber -- not really an issue in the racer. The biggest reason Nitrogen has been used in racing cars was mentioned before -- it is cheap and easy to get -- it is good on air tools and convienient when you don't have an air compressor.

[DaddyJay]

Nitrogen disperses heat a lot quicker than air. Because of this tires filled with Nitrogen stay 10-15% cooler. Also, Nitrogen has a much lower coefficient of thermal expansion than air. This means that air pressure in the tire will remain constant at elevated temperatures.

cooler tires + constant pressure = longer lasting tires

This is VERY important on a race track. Fewer stops to change tires etc...

Check out the site below for more info. A race team would use the Nitrogen generator like the one on the website. Deffinetely not cheaper than air.

http://www.gonitro.net/intro.htm

[Gone]

In all my years of racing cars and flying planes I have never seen a nitrogen generator -- bottled nitrogen is cheap --

[DaddyJay]

In all my years of racing cars and flying planes I have never seen a nitrogen generator -- bottled nitrogen is cheap --

Then you should check out the one on the link I posted. All of the prices are in Euros so I imagine all of the European F1 and GT teams use them. I'm not sure if you've ever raced those kinds of cars. The generators are expensive so unless your team has some serious sponsors, I'm not suprised you've never seen one.

But anyways, those are the reasons why race cars use Nitrogen filled tires.

[nmbillb]

I work in an automotive shop that offers nitrogen, and thought I'd give it a try in the '99 XL883c. I used to lose about 10 psi a month using air. Since I put in the Nitro approx. six months ago, I have not had to add any to keep tire at desired pressure. With a tire that has such a low volume, I'm a firm believer in using Nitro. BTW, we evacuate the tire before filling with nitro. Using a simple and relatively cheap gauge, we are getting 99%+ nitro content in the tire.
Ride Safe,
Bill

[wabiker]

GReAT...Thats ALL I freaking need..... Yet MORE shiite in the garage...!!

[VETRAN]

...most Military Aircraft use Nitrogen in their tires.

[Dana]

I have a Nitrogen bottle that I get filled at the local welding shop for about $9.50 and it will last at least half the racing season. I have to recharge my air shifter after every run and also use it in the rear tire.
Dana

[AeroSport]

What about tube type tires any benefit there, or is it just in the tubeless type tire.

[roadster]

I have a very old bike with the original air in the tires. If I change it to nitrogen will it reduce the collector value? Should I keep the original air to go with the bike if I sell it? I just need some opinions here,please help...


Also, if anyone's an Elvis collector, I have a very rare, documented fart from Elvis which has been preserved in a Mason jar since 1966. All documentation is included. Serious only,please. VERY EXPENSIVE.

Also, since them there jets are using nitrogen for the tires, I figure I'll get me some JET FUEL for my Sportster! That oughtta make it run great. Maybe an ejection seat,too...

[wabiker]

Kewlllll Elvis farts....!! Will that help my tires stay round???

[chupic]

Hey, anybody could eat fried banana and peanut butter sandwiches and fart in a jar and call it Elvis'

[CT1200]

Hey anyone try CAM2 in their tank? That might be fun. Would look really cool with a clear tank... ;-)