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Lets travel · 07-13-2014, 08:49 PM

Has anyone used Nitrogen in their tires to reduce wear and heat build up.

perryg114 · 07-13-2014, 08:56 PM

Nitrogen and air are identical as far as properties go. Most tires rot from the outside in, not the other way around. My engineering opinion is that it is a gimmick. You could use Argon in your tires as well if you want to be even more cool.

Perry

bwoodtx · 07-13-2014, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by perryg114

Nitrogen and air are identical as far as properties go.
Perry

While I do not disagree that this could be a gimmick. Race cars use nitrogen to stabilize pressures and heat build up.

I do disagree with the statement that nitrogen and air are identical. If this was true then we could breathe pure nitrogen, however our blood can not synthesize pure nitrogen, hence the bends.

Lets travel · 07-13-2014, 09:27 PM

Nitrogen is a stable gas under high temperatures, it does not expand like air. The expansion of the tire is why tires heat up, with nitrogen you minimize that.

dwightdi · 07-13-2014, 09:27 PM

Air is 80% nitrogen. and 20% oxygen. The two gases have quite similar thermal and physical properties. They both expand at the same rate when heated up. The heat capacity of the two gases are similar, so that is not a reason to change. Oxygen is corrosive to most rubber and plastic. I have never gone to the trouble of finding a nitrogen source to fill my tires.

TG Twinkie · 07-13-2014, 11:05 PM

Who on earth pulls their trailer at race car speeds?
I just don't see the need for anything other than air in the tires. How many gas stations or tire shops have anything other than air to fill a tire?
What do you do if you have a flat and don't have nitrogen to fill the tire?

TerraYacht · 07-13-2014, 11:12 PM

It is, and isn't a gimmick. Race cars have a critical need for stable tire pressure. The big problem is not the other gases in compressed air, but the moisture. If you just compress air and don't have a drier after the compressor you are introducing moisture into the tire which will expand with heat and could cause corrosion.

However, sine we usually don't get our tires heated up like a race does there is much less issue on city streets, or even on I-5 at 85mph for hours.

UV exposure and ozone are bad for rubber but this is an external issue, so if the tire shop offers N2 at no charge then it is worth the price. Costco just inflated my seven new 19.5's with nitrogen and it may have some small benefit because the tires will be (I hope) in service for about 5 years. In that time line it may have some small benefit.

It is getting late, and I am tired and full on air and moisture...

CapriRacer · 07-14-2014, 04:42 AM

Barry's Tire Tech

Sorry, but nitrogen inflation appears to be a gimmick. At the temperatures and pressures street cars deal with, for practical purposes, there is no difference.

perryg114 · 07-14-2014, 05:48 AM

In racing applications it may reduce fire hazards and the effect of Oxygen on rubber at high temperatures maybe greater than it is in car tires. Race cars will use something that gives them even a slight edge at the edges of the performance envelope. For Harry Car Owner nitrogen is a gimmick. If you own a fancy expensive high maintenance German tow vehicle, it maybe just the added cool factor you need to feel good.

From an engineering standpoint the properties of the N2 are almost identical to air. This would be things like Gamma the ratio of the specific heats and the perfect gas constant. These are facts, not hype you read is a tire brochure.

Perry

RangerJay · 07-14-2014, 05:54 AM

The only difference I noticed is that you pay for nitrogen ...... and if you need it while on the road ..... it's not there to be had .....

Jay

dznf0g · 07-14-2014, 06:23 AM

Nitrogen is a well paying gimmick for passenger cars and trailers. In racing, where 1/4 pound difference in pressure can cause a loose or tight condition while pushing the envelope at 160mph, nitrogen can make the difference between winning and first loser. Not in street cars.

featherbedder · 07-14-2014, 07:16 AM

If tire has air all ready in it nitrogen is wasted, only put nitrogen in new tires then inflate with n2 if you are going to use it. I use n2 in race tires shocks struts on airplanes etc. but use air in my road tires if need air on road n2 is ruined when putting in air I have n2 & special regulator in my shop. maybe if hot states n2 would be better as tire failure in these states most times caused by heat build up.

TG Twinkie · 07-14-2014, 07:38 AM

How do you evacuate the air in a new tire before you fill it with nitrogen? When a tire is mounted there is a certain amount of air inside. Even at zero pressure.

kscherzi · 07-14-2014, 08:41 AM

I use a custom blend of roughly 78% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.038% carbon dioxide, trace amounts of other gases, and a variable amount (average around 1%) of water vapor in my tires.

dznf0g · 07-14-2014, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kscherzi

I use a custom blend of roughly 78% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.038% carbon dioxide, trace amounts of other gases, and a variable amount (average around 1%) of water vapor in my tires.

Good Call!!! that's exactly what I use. I have found the availability to be rather good and the cost reasonable.

**GCinSC2** · 07-14-2014, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dznf0g

Good Call!!! that's exactly what I use. I have found the availability to be rather good and the cost reasonable.

I get my supply of it online and they deliver it with a drone to my shop.

Is it time for my meds? They just took my crayons and coloring book.

Aage · 07-14-2014, 10:49 AM

And here are their results:

We conducted a year-long test of the effects of nitrogen in tires and the results show nitrogen does reduce pressure loss over time, but the reduction is only a 1.3 psi difference from air-filled tires. The average loss of air-filled tires was just 3.5 psi from the initial 30 pressure setting. Nitrogen-filled tires lost an average of 2.2 psi from the initial 30 psi setting.

They bought a consumer-type system that generates nitrogen in order to do this.

So you still need to check your tires frequently...

Aage · 07-14-2014, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kscherzi

I use a custom blend of roughly 78% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.038% carbon dioxide, trace amounts of other gases, and a variable amount (average around 1%) of water vapor in my tires.

Since that is the makeup of standard air, I find a lot of people up here doing that, too. ;D

dznf0g · 07-14-2014, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GCinSC2

I get my supply of it online and they deliver it with a drone to my shop.

Is it time for my meds? They just took my crayons and coloring book.

The infrastructure is in place for global distribution, however sometimes it comes in a very cold dense state and sometimes in a hot less dense state. Care to share your meds?

golopogos · 07-14-2014, 11:15 AM

I use it since it was offered on new tires. If I need a fill up I can stop at any t.o. haas and have them topped off for free. If at some point I need to add air to them while traveling and there is not a t.o. haas around I will use the other free stuff. I would not go out of my way too far to keep nitrogen in them.