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Felix
12-12-2005, 04:24 PM
Whats peoples opinions
Is Nitrogen in your tyres a good or bad thing?
Just thourght iŽd ask because i got new tyres and they charged me $20 to put nitrogen in the tyres, they were saying that its really good for the longevity of the tyre and that it will help in the case of a small / slow leek puncture. Dont know if its just a scam by the tyre people or if its truely better..

kenshin
12-12-2005, 04:28 PM
today tonight / ACA did some consumer reviews awhile back... not sure if anyone remembers... but from memory it was worth it...

helped with tire life and fuel economy...

Domokun SPL
12-12-2005, 04:56 PM
Nitrogen is more inert then Air and also has less change with temperature. Air is a lot of different crap, so its not too easy to predict.

Ive heard that its good, but i wouldnt really bother unless i was going to do track days and didnt want to have changing tyre pressures.

v3ctourist
12-12-2005, 06:24 PM
As said Nitrogen is used to achieve more consistent tyre pressures when track racing, as air is affected by heat and compression moreso than Nitrogen. It's also slightly lighter to fill with nitrogen than air, the advantage of which would only be considered for very highly tuned cars (competition racing etc)

Obviously this sort of option wouldn't be terribly noticable on the street, and have very very minimal advantages. So IMO not worth worrying about.

Limbo
13-12-2005, 04:00 PM
I heard it was a wrought as it did not last that long in tyres. It had a tendecy to escape, and then you were back to normal air.

steve
14-12-2005, 04:16 PM
basically, the air in your tyres expands as it heats up therefore increasing pressure inside your tyres, how much extra pressure depends on how hard your tyres are working, so, in a hard driving/ track situation the front tyres will end up being alot more pressurised than the rear changing handling characteristics.
This does not occur with nitrogen
So i guess on the street/track you will know that you will always have optimum tyre pressure all the time :)

Domokun SPL
15-12-2005, 11:06 PM
I think its incorrect to tell people that it doesnt change pressure at all, however it would be better to say that it is much more inert then air when it comes to changes in temperature.

Every gas isvolumetrically increases in pressure with increase in temperature, just nitrogen has a much lower gradient in comparison to "air", therefore maintaining a smaller overall change.

kousoku
15-12-2005, 11:08 PM
are you all fools?!?!

74% of air is nitrogen any way.

talk about a scam.
if your buying good tires anyway they can handle a large ranging amount of pressure and will last a long time if u keep tyre pressure up to recommended levels.

Sypherg
15-12-2005, 11:23 PM
Advantages of inflating tyres with nitrogen rather than compressed air.

1. Slower rate of pressure loss. The rubber used for tubes & inner liners in tubeless tyres is not 100% impermeable, therefore some pressure loss can be expected over time. This is one reason why regular pressure checks are necessary. Due to its molecular structure, nitrogen bleeds through the inner liner or tube at a slower rate than regular compressed air. This advantage applies to all tyres filled with nitrogen. Regular pressure checks are still recommended, as tyres often lose pressure due to slow leaks caused by punctures or valve leaks. Regular pressure checks may indicate a tyre has a slow leak and needs an internal inspection and repair or valve replacement.

3. Reduced pressure build-up. This is why nitrogen inflation is very common in tyres used for circuit racing. Running a tyre produces heat, this heat will cause an increase in pressure or pressure build-up. The amount of pressure increase will depend upon the amount of heat produced. Pressure build-up would be considerable. In circuit racing applications, the high levels of grip provided by race tyres produce considerable heat. The heat produced by this friction, as well as the flexing of the tyre, will produce a large amount of pressure build-up. In race tyres the pressure build-up can represent up to 50% of the cold inflation pressure. With nitrogen inflation there is less pressure build-up due to heat. Increasing a tyre's inflation pressure has the affect of reducing the size of its contact patch. Reducing the size of a tyre's contact patch reduces its maximum grip levels. In circuit racing applications the pressure build-up experienced when tyres are inflated with compressed air means that grip levels will drop as the tyres heat-up. Reduced grip levels will produce slower lap times. There is some pressure build-up when circuit race tyres are inflated with nitrogen, but the amount is low compared with tyres that are inflated with compressed air.

4. Reduced amount of oxidisation of wheels. Oxidisation (rusting) of wheels is a common problem in many mining and truck applications. Rusting will only occur in the presence of water & oxygen. In theory nitrogen inflation should prevent rusting of rims as there is no water vapour or oxygen present.

Disadvantages of inflating tyres with nitrogen rather than compressed air.

1. Cost.Inflating tyres with nitrogen is considerably more expensive than compressed air. The cost effectiveness of nitrogen inflation will depend on the specific application.

2. Pressure adjustments. To maintain the advantages of nitrogen inflation, nitrogen must be used to adjust inflation pressures when this is necessary. Adding even a small amount of compressed air to a tyre inflated with nitrogen will negate the advantages of nitrogen inflation.

Inflating tyres with dry air compared to nitrogen.
All conditions being the same, the difference in tyre running temperatures when comparing nitrogen with compressed air for tyre inflation is due to the presence of water in compressed air more than any other factor. As a tyre is run, flexing of the sidewalls and tread, as well as the friction between the tread and the road surface produces heat regardless of what gas is used to inflate the tyre. The water molecules in the compressed air behave quite differently compared to nitrogen molecules when exposed to the heat produced by the running of a tyre. Water molecules become much more "excited" by the heat generated by the running of a tyre, creating more heat & pressure build-up compared to a nitrogen inflated tyre. Pressure build-up is explained in advantage 3. Compressed air, less the water vapour (i.e. "dry air") will provide cooler tyre running temperatures compared to normal compressed air. Compressed air that is completely free of water vapour will provide very similar levels of reduced running temperatures & reduced pressure build-up compared to normal compressed air inflation. Dry air will bleed through inner liners & tubes at the same rate as normal compressed air.


Source: http://www.toyo.com.au/tech_info11.html

steve
16-12-2005, 04:27 PM
I think its incorrect to tell people that it doesnt change pressure at all, however it would be better to say that it is much more inert then air when it comes to changes in temperature.

Every gas isvolumetrically increases in pressure with increase in temperature, just nitrogen has a much lower gradient in comparison to "air", therefore maintaining a smaller overall change.

To a much lesser degree, then
At the temps experienced by our tyres the pressure difference between hot and cold would be waaay less then 'air'

Felix
20-12-2005, 08:22 AM
are you all fools?!?!

74% of air is nitrogen any way.



This is what i thourght. But i guess haveing say 98% nitrogen is better then haveing 74% nitrogen.

EuroDude
28-04-2006, 08:55 PM
wtf some ferrari owners are even filling tyres with happy gas and hydrogen...
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=103314

Tigger
28-04-2006, 09:56 PM
For all you know, they could be taking your 20 bucks and filling your tyres with regular free compressed air.

How would you know the difference???

Actually, that would make a good scam... sell 'nitrogen' for your tyres at a special price of $10 for all 4 tyres! Half price!

EuroDude
28-04-2006, 10:32 PM
pfft yea wouldnt be suprised

And their argument would be, yeah we did put Nitrogen in, 76% Nitrogen (air) - thats why it was half price! :zip:

aaronng
29-04-2006, 12:27 AM
pfft yea wouldnt be suprised

And their argument would be, yeah we did put Nitrogen in, 76% Nitrogen (air) - thats why it was half price! :zip:
Winnah!!!!!


Seriously, there's no point putting nitrogen in. And if you need to top up your tyre pressure, how are you going to do so without a nitrogen source? Air is good enough unless you are racing on the track for big money where that last 0.5% can mean the difference between winning or losing.

EZZY
29-04-2006, 02:17 AM
would make much difference with daily city/traffic driving.

had that done on one of my previous cars..... couldnt tell much, becuase i wasnt doing enough freeway/motorway/trackday drive to see the difference...

Shitscared
30-04-2006, 08:14 AM
Our loacal Beaurepaires had a sign out front for a bout a week. "Free Nitrogen, 78% pure."

aznsiko
30-04-2006, 08:28 AM
you guys are whacked! lol.. man nitrogen suppose to be good but oh well what would i know.. it gives 20KW more at the wheels man...

DomenEK
04-05-2006, 11:11 AM
Normal air permeates through the tyre walls, reducing the pressure at a rate of about 2 pounds per month, or something like that (I read this somewhere). Nitrogen, being an inert gas, has a smaller increase in volume when heated, meaning that tyre pressures stay more consistent. It also permeates through the tyres at a slower rate than air.

However, as said by a few here already, there is no real benefit from filling your tyres with nitrogen for use on the street, unless you track your car often. It's just an extra cost when checking your tyres regularly (i.e. weekly) can give the same results for street use, and this costs nothing.