nitrogen tire inflation

[Suede]

The local Costco is now offering nitrogen tire inflation.

Do I need this?

Since when is "air" not good enough?

Does everyone else already have nitrogen filled tires, and I'm the last to know?

Suede

[632 Regal]

I dont but I found this for you....Nitrogen Instead of Air
Most of the teams remove the air from the tires and replace it with nitrogen. Compressed nitrogen contains less moisture than compressed air. When the tire heats up, moisture in the tire vaporizes and expands, causing the pressure inside the tire to increase. Even small changes in tire pressure can noticeably affect the handling of the car. By using nitrogen instead of air, the teams have more control over how much the pressure will increase when the tires heat up.

[winfred]

i got a shop supply book and there was one by the tire machines and **** it's expensive, "big money maker" for who them, said three months between pressure checks

[bahnstormer]

all the ferrari 360 challenge cars run nitrogen
it doesn't heat up and its lighter than air i think
he (the ferrari mech) told me its to prevent
expansion and blowing up tires lol...i run air. =]

[Anton CH.]

Just remember that air is composed of 80% nitrogen. So is that extra 20% really worth it (if it is in fact pure)?

[jplacson]

I'm not running N2 yet until I get a fresh set of tires...

They make a big diff in ride comfort AFAIK... since pressure change is only very slight even after long runs.

N2 loading here costs about US$2/tire will lifetime top-ups

[632 Regal]

hmm...something conspirical, I like.

[1992 BMW 535i]

You gotta be kidding right? Geez, it sounds like the time when you could buy NASGAS (103 Octane) at Unocal. Everybody was putting it into their cars and swearing that it created horsepower.

Truth was that it Didn't make a damned bit of difference unless your engine was built for it (high compression, serious advance) and for $3.43 a gallon (ten years ago!) it just didn't make sense.

Can you feel the difference with Nitrogen? I sincerely doubt it......

Marc

[JR'Z 525]

if it's good enough for them Nascar boys to put in their tars, its got to be good 'nuff for dem BMW's...right?
Seriously I don't think it would do much for street cars but would it help a wee bit for those of you who track your e-34's?
JR

[Robert K]

Just kidding! I couldn't resist.

Grace and peace,

Robert K
1991 535i

[bbg]

Personally, I prefer liquid N2. Gives the car a much firmer ride.

bg

'95 525iA
86k miles

[Luftpost]

Nitrogen is used in high performance aircraft for various reasons. One being that the low moisture content prevents any freezing of water within tires when at altitude (which could rupture the tire and ruin your whole day) where tempuratures can reach -50 deg. F. Second, the property of it being non-flamable.

Click http://www.airliquide.com/en/medias/pdf/business/gases/supply/tires_filling.pdf for an article.

Use in public transportation? Waste of money.

[Suede]

I picked up the nitrogen brochure from Costco.

The main benefit appears to be more consistent tire pressure over time. The oxygen component of "air" has smaller molecules, which escapes faster from a tire. A nitrogen fill should retain the original pressure longer, according to the brochure.

Also "air" may contain moisture which will expand and contract in relation to the temperature to a greater degree than nitrogen.

Costco will fill any member's tires with nitrogen for free, just for asking.

They will also rebalance and rotate all 4 tires for $16. Plus deflate and fill them with nitrogen. Not a bad deal.

I don't like to watch my Z rated Dunlop SP5000 tires wear hard on the front only, so I will be rotating them front to rear, noted as "doing the unthinkable" on another thread. And filling them with nitrogen.

Unless somebody talks me out of it.

Suede

[SamB]

When I raced Karts we used nitrogen for a while. Handling wise Karts are very sensitive to tire pressure and you use the tire pressure to control when and how quickly the tire comes up to temperate during a race.

Using Nitrogen didn't have any noticable effect so we didn't bother after a while. To be honest I think there are so many variables in it and that the difference is so small that it would be hard to get any conclusive results of nitrogen vs air.

I certainly wouldn't bother using it in a road cars tires....

[Tiger]

if it is free... why not!?

[New Owner 95 E34]

I don't even know if that's a word (probably not), but the PO of my car happened to be a Costco member, and had the tires filled with Nitrogen. I know that the tires of US Army helicopters are filled with the stuff so they don't explode in post-crash fires or at high altitudes, but I just can't see the stuff being worth the hassle of trying to find a place that offers the fill up, plus the cost, etc...

SO... do you think it would be fine if I just started topping off my tires with regular air at the local filling station? Like someone else already said, air is MOSTLY nitrogen, so I wouldn't think it would hurt anything to start adding air to the nitro-filled tires, but I thought I'd run it past the tech masters first!

Thanks!

[winfred]

air em up and go


SO... do you think it would be fine if I just started topping off my tires with regular air at the local filling station? Like someone else already said, air is MOSTLY nitrogen, so I wouldn't think it would hurt anything to start adding air to the nitro-filled tires, but I thought I'd run it past the tech masters first!

Thanks!

[DanDombrowski]

Guys,

People are smart enough to have noticed that air is mostly nitrogen, but what you guys missed is that nitrogen expands the same amount when heated as air (or close enough). So, yes, you're getting a 20-30% difference in O2 content (which means exactly dick since they both expand at the nearly the same rate)

What the promoters claim you're avoiding is the moisture in the tires. The moisture content is what, less than 1%? So you're trying to avoid the delta pressure between two temperatures of water vapor in a less than 1% concentration? Are you serious!?!

On top of that, an air compressor with a good filter to remove the water will do just as good of a job considering I'm sure you're not getting medial grade purity nitrogen.

Now, water vapor FREEZING in airplane tires - that can be a problem.

[zygoteer]

... Costco will fill any member's tires with nitrogen for free, just for asking. ...
Fill eh ? now thats an intriguing thought ! :)

... How do they get out all the air first without having another exit point for the air ?
maybe they have got a way of creating a perfect vacuum first (quick get a patent !) without ruining the tyre construction (quick get another patent !) ?

[Bill R.]

ingersoll rand or any other nitrogen inflation systems you'll see what they claim. First off the I/R one produces nitrogen thats dry and its 95% pure nitrogen. Medical grade is 99.0, so there's not that much difference. Electronics grade is much higher 99.999

Nitrogen molecules are larger than air molecules so the tires lose air slower than air filled tires.

This increases the average fuel efficiency because the average nimrod doesn't check his tires that often and is frequently driving around on underinflated tires. Nitrogen also transfers heat quicker than air reducing heat buildup in the tire, no rusting takes place inside the tire/wheel/valve stem. And since nitrogen is inert and there isn't any oxygen present inside the tire it increases the life of the tire.

I bought my last set of tires from Costco and used nitrogen, its free from them. They put green valve stem caps on as an identifier. The lose air much more slowly than they did in the past


And nitrogen and oxygen do expand at the same rate when heated but nitrogen and Air containing moisture do not. Moisture greatly increases the airs expansion as it heats up. Water traps in air lines on compressors only catch the liquid not the vapor for the most part. Very few shops that i've worked in have had good water traps. So in a wet area like florida you're putting quite a bit of moisture in the tires when you air up.





Guys,

People are smart enough to have noticed that air is mostly nitrogen, but what you guys missed is that nitrogen expands the same amount when heated as air (or close enough). So, yes, you're getting a 20-30% difference in O2 content (which means exactly dick since they both expand at the nearly the same rate)

What the promoters claim you're avoiding is the moisture in the tires. The moisture content is what, less than 1%? So you're trying to avoid the delta pressure between two temperatures of water vapor in a less than 1% concentration? Are you serious!?!

On top of that, an air compressor with a good filter to remove the water will do just as good of a job considering I'm sure you're not getting medial grade purity nitrogen.

Now, water vapor FREEZING in airplane tires - that can be a problem.

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

those green valve caps.

I was worried it was some kind of homosexual conspiracy or worse.

By the way I only use pure Hawaiian air the inflate my tires or tyres for the blokes out there

[Qube]

those green valve caps.

I was worried it was some kind of homosexual conspiracy or worse.

By the way I only use pure Hawaiian air the inflate my tires or tyres for the blokes out there

Ahhhh that's what they're for... but now dem rainbow colored ones that Jeff runs... hmm

[fujioko]

I purchaced a long lost and forgoton motorcycle a year ago. This bike was "brand new" 1975 Yamaha. The sucker still had 20PSI of genuine 1975 air in the tires.

[Evan]

Jeff?

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

and hide in your bathroom, cut em open and beath the air of 30 years ago ahhh..... Disco, Nixon, Ford Pinto, Carter, and the pet rock (the pet no could kill)

[Zeuk in Oz]

and the pet rock (the pet no could kill)
Only because pet rock vets are so good ! :D ;) :D