Nitrogen Filled Tires

[Porsche_monkey]

Anyone using nitrogen rather than compressed air? Parker Hannafin claim less leakage, less rim corrosion and longer tire life.

Who's tried it?

[axl911]

What about helium? It's lighter than air, so it saves weight.

That and the carbon fiber e-brake handle translate to more hp.



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anthony

[Porsche_monkey]

I think the molecules are too small, would leak more than air, wouldn't it?

[Porsche_monkey]

The danger of nitrogen is...?

[IROC]

Air is over 70% nitrogen anyway, so you're already using nitrogen in your tires. :>) I think controlling the amount of moisture in whatever gas fills your tires would be more important.

Helium would leak like crazy.

Mike

[island911]

AIR is a mixture of nitrogen and O2. Air also contains water-vapor.

The water vapor can, more drastically, add to the pressure swings, due to tire temp changes.

If you're worried about rim corrosion, you're likely running steel rims. (?) . . .in which case the water and O2 can cause problems.

FWIW, at a service station, most of the water in the compressed air has condensed out, and is laying at the bottom of the tank. If you fill your tires with a pump (directly) the air you get may be extra wet. (it's a dew-point thing)

[304065]

I think Mike has it: the moisture content is responsible for variations in tire pressure due to heat.

Another reason is that air jacks and impact wrenches for center-lock wheels all run off N2. Something like 400 PSI is used for the air jacks, why run a compressor when you can just change the regulator and fill the tires?

[Jim Sims]

LOL, air is 78.1% Nitrogen and 20.9 % Oxygen. Tires on large transport and bomber aircraft were sometimes filled with pure Nitrogen to save weight (it adds up when one has a lot of tires), reduce fire hazard and corrosion. Agricultual tractor tires are filled with "chloride" (saturated salt solution) to increase weight. Hardly, worth it on ground vehicle tires unless it's an application where one can't easily check or refill the tire inflation gas. Jim

[surflvr911sc]

I use Nitrogen on aircraft tires and all pneumatic systems. The biggest issue is moisture, weight savings is negligible, even at that level. The lack of moisture contributes to more stable pressures during temp swings and less corrosion & contaminates. Nitrogen is great, but I do not think it would be worth the expense and hassle to use it on your car tires.

If you have a cheap and convenient source, go for it. Be aware that the biggest hazard with nitrogen is, of course, the lack of oxygen. If you bleed off nitrogen in an enclosed area, it will displace/dilute the O2 and asphyxiation can occur, so use it in a well ventilated area.

[Porsche_monkey]

Welding cylinders, or die spring re-chargers, either one is a good source.

[82Euro]

Didn't Porsche use nitrogen in racing tires because it was more stable than regular air in the tires as far as pressures go? Seems like I've read that somewhere.

[Quicksilver]

It used to be a common practice to use a nitrogen bottle to run impact tools in the better funded pits. It was an obvious choice to fill the tires with.

Mostly the nitrogen in the tires bit is mostly a wives tail. If you are really worried about pressure change then I would just run a decent quality line drier.

Putting a car in a nitrogen filled bubble is sometimes done to prevent any sort of deterioration on a concours car but most people just use the filtered air bubbles.

Helpful hint -> If you want to see how much rust you can form inside of an impact wrench, just try using CO2 to run it for a while.

[Milu]

It's used quite a lot in Italy especially on bikes. Biggest advantage is that tyre pressures are supposed to be more stable. I think what is used is actually a mix of inert gases rather than just nitrogen.

[briankeithsmith]

I put Nitrogen in my 930's tires. When I take my tires to have them mounted, I come home, pull the Schrader valves out and drain all of the air out,and let the tire/wheel sit for a while and then I fill it full of Nitrogen.

At the track, it makes the pressures much more stable. My pressures do not fluctuate as much from the beginning of a session to the end of a session. With normal air I was getting as much as 10-12psi increase in the tires.

With Nitrogen I see about 4-5 maybe 6 on a really hot day.

[Randy Webb]

"at a service station, most of the water in the compressed air has condensed out, and is laying at the bottom of the tank."

- The air will be at the saturation point for that temperature and pressure. This means there will be considerable water vapor in the air. Whether that's a problem or not is another question entirely. Water vapor in an air parcel is different from actual water "droplets' in the air these droplets are microscopic, much smaller than a "drop" of water.)

[Porsche_monkey]

Plus, most gas stations don't even use tanks anymore. You get your air direct from a crappy little $20 compressor.

[on-ramp]

how about Hydrogen? It worked for the Hindenberg

Hydrogen is also by far the most abundant element in the universe and makes up about about 90% of the universe by weight.

[Porsche_monkey]

Molecule size, worse than helium. It's that atomic number thingy.

[Zeke]

Originally posted by Quicksilver
It used to be a common practice to use a nitrogen bottle to run impact tools in the better funded pits. It was an obvious choice to fill the tires with.

Mostly the nitrogen in the tires bit is mostly a wives tail. If you are really worried about pressure change then I would just run a decent quality line drier.



Helpful hint -> If you want to see how much rust you can form inside of an impact wrench, just try using CO2 to run it for a while.

If it doesn't freeze in your hand first.

Wives tale? I don't think so. Nitrogen is used in the pits for both the reasons listed above, it is stable and it is already there for the air tools.

I have N2 in my race car tires and in my Boxster tires. On the Boxster, this is mostly due to the tire shop's preferrence. However, the guy who does my tires is renowned for his balancing work on Bonneville LSR cars. He states a convincing case for the use of N2.

[slakjaw]

CO2 will form rust?

i thought that you needed oxygen for rust to form?