Nitrogen in tires

[dlhoulton]

How does everyone feel about having nitrogen put into tires. I have it in my truck tires and they don't seem to loose pressure with temp change. Now only check them when I have my oil changed. Now more local dealers and Quick oil change places are starting to cary nitrogen. One local Custom Cycle shop here also will put nitrogen in MC tires!!! Any feedback or thought on this.

[Eck]

many pros & cons and personal opinions on this subject...

 

 

my 2 cents:

I had it put in my new bike tires three weeks ago (free for trying it out of course)...and I personally do not notice one ioda of a difference.

Yes the bike handles like a new bike but dont they all when you put new tires on them...??

I feel its $$$ making scam based on the assumsion that “nitrogen filled tires don’t loose pressure as fast as air and nitrogen doesn’t oxidize the inside of the tire as fast.”

 

isnt AIR already 78% nitrogen???

 

The atmosphere begins at sea level, and its first layer, the troposphere, extends from 8 to 16 km (5 and 10 mi) from Earth’s surface. The air in the troposphere consists of the following proportions of gases: 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen, 0.9 percent argon, 0.03 percent carbon dioxide, and the remaining 0.07 percent is a mixture of hydrogen, water, ozone, neon, helium, krypton, xenon, and other trace components.

 

 

So...for $7.00 per bike tire to get 22% more pure nitrogen added to what is already in the tire I think is very expenssive..and I personally do not believe that one would be able to tell any difference in handling..

 

 

 

Oh, here is where I read up on nitrogen filled tires when I got it put in my tires:

http://ahotcupofjoe.wordpress.com/2008/07/05/nitrogen-filled-tires-a-scam/

[whozleft]

I saw a test by an independant lab on the internet concerning noitrogen inflated tires. The bottom line was that there was no difference between a tire inflated with nitrogen as opposed to one inflated with regular air.

 

I personally think it's just a well thought out sales tactic. I do know about the density of air versus nitrogen, but according to the test it just doesn't hold up to testing.

 

I had googled it and found the article so you can probably search it out.

[N3FOL]

I don't personally want the idea of paying extra or just simply have Nitrogen in my tires. For peace of mind, I would rather keep on checking my tire pressure every now and then for safety, good fuel economy, and longer tire life. FWIW, Nitrogen is slightly lighter than Oxygen...does this means your motorcycle will go faster?

[KiteSquid]

I think it actually helps in racing applicatins.

 

 

I use a very expenive, and hard to obtain, high tech gas mix in all my tires.

 

Nitrogen 780,840 ppmv

Oxygen 209,460 ppmv

Argon 9,340 ppmv

Water vapor ~4,000 ppmv

Carbon dioxide 383 ppmv

Neon 18.18 ppmv

Helium 5.24 ppmv

Methane 1.745 ppmv

Krypton 1.14 ppmv

Hydrogen 0.55 ppmv

nitrous oxide 0.3 ppmv

xenon 0.09 ppmv

ozone 0.0 to 0.07 ppmv

nitrogen dioxide 0.02 ppmv

iodine 0.01 ppmv

Oh, and trace amounts of carbon monoxide and ammonia

[Squeeze]

I think it actually helps in racing applicatins.

 

 

I use a very expenive, and hard to obtain, high tech gas mix in all my tires.

 

Nitrogen 780,840 ppmv

Oxygen 209,460 ppmv

Argon 9,340 ppmv

Water vapor ~4,000 ppmv

Carbon dioxide 383 ppmv

Neon 18.18 ppmv

Helium 5.24 ppmv

Methane 1.745 ppmv

Krypton 1.14 ppmv

Hydrogen 0.55 ppmv

nitrous oxide 0.3 ppmv

xenon 0.09 ppmv

ozone 0.0 to 0.07 ppmv

nitrogen dioxide 0.02 ppmv

iodine 0.01 ppmv

Oh, and trace amounts of carbon monoxide and ammonia

 

 

From the Listing, it looks like just plain Air to me ...

[gunboat]

hi folks

i would not use it myself, no advantage for the price you pay. nitrogen is used in aircraft tires at least in comerrical a/c that is. this is due to the hidh landing speeds and the weight of landing a/c. a/c tires get HOT really fast, with the airlines trying to save fuel they apply the brakes faster and try to use the thurst reversers less. this heat can stay in the hub / tire/ and brake assy's for more that 3 hours. this excessive heat could blow up a a/c tire if your were using plain old oxygen instead nitrogen. now i feel that i can keep up with the best of them, but i'am never going to see landing speeds of a ( 150 + mph ) on my rsv.

 

just my

best reguards

[geresti]

I've had nitrogen in my 2000 silverado for the entire time the tires were on and got over 80,000 miles. I had the tires rotated only once so they may have refilled them but checking them usually during the season changes and there never was a change in pressure. The tires wore great and not until I developed a slow leak in one tire about 4 months ago did the pressure change but only in that tire. I don't think I got better gas mileage but the hassle free maintenance of not worrying about pressure is great. Costco will fill my tires for $4 each which I can afford and I'll see if that works the same as my P/U.

Bob

Edited October 28, 2008 by geresti

[BigBoyinMS]

I was working at a Nissan dealer 6-8 months ago and had them fill the Avons on my Road Star. I've been checking the pressure and have not had to add any air yet. Don't know if it's because of the N or not.

[Steve S]

I have a question about the nitrogen filled tires. Prior to putting the nitrogen in, does the installer pull a vaccum on the tire??? If he doesn't then you do not have a pure nitrogen enviroment. There will be some "air" allowed in when the tire is installed. I realize this is a small amount, but still, it would not be pure nitrogen. Wouldn't this be enough to dilute the nitrogen and cause it to seep out???

 

 

Personally I feel this is just a marketing gimmic to increase profits. If a person properly maintains their bike, you will get the same results with regular compressed air.

[frogmaster]

If you can get it for FREE go for it, but never pay for it. Kinda like S*x LOL

[Eck]

 

I have a question about the nitrogen filled tires. Prior to putting the nitrogen in, does the installer pull a vaccum on the tire???

 

 

YES,,,,they do pull a vaccum first........

[Billet]

When I put new tires on last spring, I took the the wheels to Costco and they were happy to "nitroginize" them, N/C.

I thought I was doing something really high tec and cool.

Maybe it reduces the hot tire pressure increase by a pound or two but it probably wasn't worth the trouble:confused24:

[dr_bar]

At the shop where I buy my tires, they have a sign that actually says that Nitrogen is more effective in Car, ATV and Truck tires, but not as effective in Motorcycle tires. Even though this sign is there, just about every bike they mount a tire on, has Nitrogen...

[Wildgoose]

I have some friends that race oval track (cars) and they run it so that their tires maintain a constant pressure as the tires heat up. Other than that I can't see the real need for it. I personally have a small nitrogen cylinder that I use from time to time to fill tires away from home. (keep it in my truck toolbox) The only reason I use the nitrogen for this application is that it is $2 cheaper than compressed air when I swap bottles. I find THAT a little strange but it must be a bi-product or something. Compressed air is about $20 and nitrogen is $18 for a refilled cylinder

 

my .02

[hillrider]

My understanding -

Nitrogen runs cooler than air (we don't care)

 

But - the Nitro molecule is larger than an o2 molecule and is less likely to induce a slow leak. Big leak (ie hole) it don't matter. But a poor seat to the rim or a flakey Schrader valve and it will reduce the pressure loss. But if your having to pay for it - - better to get on the ground occaisionally.

 

Is also has more stability as far as temp change goes. No pressure change between seasons.

 

If your getting it for free (Costco) great. Otherwise - - - -

[N3FOL]

...it is your $ that you are spending.

[Dark Wolf]

 

I have a question about the nitrogen filled tires. Prior to putting the nitrogen in, does the installer pull a vaccum on the tire???

 

 

YES,,,,they do pull a vaccum first........

If they pull a vaccum how do they keep the tire on the bead.

[BigBoyinMS]

If they pull a vaccum how do they keep the tire on the bead.

 

Can't speak for all systems, but the one they used where I worked just allows the air to escape then it filters out the oxygen as it refills the tire. This is done twice and a gauge shows the percentage of Nitrogen in the tire. Doing it that way supposedly got it to 98% Nitrogen. The only way to get 100% would be to pull a vacuum and refill with pure Nitrogen from a tank.

[Ivan]

Well, the SR71 uses nitrogen in the tires because it doesn't expand as much at high altitudes like regular air does and prevents tires from blowing out. Also does better with the change in temperature created by the friction of the air at mach 4.

 

So if you plan on riding mach 4 at 85,000 MSL you should probably get the nitrogen.

[N3FOL]

So with Nitrogen, I would not be surprised if Formula 1, Indy cars, and Nascar has already adapted the idea of adding Nitrogen on race car tires.

[tazmocycle]

well, we use nitrogen to charge up a/c system to test for leaks because it doesn't contain any moisture, it's a dry gas. it does expand and contract with temperture but not a lot. i would guess it's the moisture that would cause tires to rot that would be the best reason to use it. i have a funny story about air in tires. my ex-sister-in-law had a 74 bettle bug and over a month's time had 3 flat on it. the 3rd time it happen, a friend of our went to help her out, and he was always pulling pranks on everybody he could. when her picked her up, he asked her if she had been keeping the air in her tires changed regularly, because if she didn't it would make the tires rot and start going flat. she told him she hadn't been doing it and didn't know she was suppose to do it, he kept it going with her for sometime about it, till we told her it was a joke!! she was sooo gullivle!!!

[Rottdoglover]

Nitrogen Schmitrogen!!! I'm gonna run HELIUM. It's lighter than air so I figure if I can get about 269 psi in my tires, my 800 pound scoot will then be a 300 pounder. With less than 1/2 the weight to pull, fuel economy should go from 42 mpg to about 142. RIGHT???!!!

 

[cmiles3]

Nitrogen sheds heat a little faster than oxygen. In racing tires that only last a few laps, that's a good thing. In your touring tire, if it's heating up enough to have any effect, you're doing something wrong.

 

At best, you're only getting 20% more cooling. In a tire that shouldn't need any more cooling.

[SaltyDawg]

So with Nitrogen, I would not be surprised if Formula 1, Indy cars, and Nascar has already adapted the idea of adding Nitrogen on race car tires.

 

NASCAR has been running Nitrogen in their tires at least since the mid 90's. That's why they can get away with adding 1/4lb of pressure. Nitrogen is predictable because it doesn't have humidity in it that compressed air does. So when they put a certain amount in the tire they know what it will expand to.

 

Nitrogen does expand as does compressed air, it's just more predictable. If you watch the beginning of a tire run in NASCAR they always talk about how the cars are hard to handle until the pressures come up in the tires. Changing the tire pressure is just like changing the spring rate of the car.

 

I'm sure the other racing series use Nitrogen also. D'em rednecks couldn't have figgured that out on their own.