nitrogen filed tires ?

[whoopy-do]

$75 ..jesus

thats one hell of a rip off, we use OFN (oxigen free nitrogen) everyday for pressure testing refrigerant systems due to it being a inert gas (well not totally inert) you dont have to worry about expansion due to changes in heat etc so a constant pressure can be held for long periods of time, as for not having moisture in your tyre then this is enevitable unless he pulls a vacumm in there first before filling with OFN, were talking about formula 1 sort of performance gains here though, as the previous poster said if their air drier is working correctly then this shouldnt pose a problem..

$75 worth of OFN would do about 30/40 cars!


if my dealer offered me this i would go down and personally punch the dealer principle in the head ...twice ..maybe three times...

[Craig]

Yeah, like someone else said, Costco does this free when you buy tires from them. Not worth it...

Craig

[Awdnut]

[/QUOTE]you dont have to worry about expansion due to changes in heat etc [/QUOTE]

Even dry Nitrogen still expand and contract with Temp change. The fact that it is dry reduce this effect since water expand more than Nitrogen as an effect of temperature rise.

As a matter of fact, I cannot honestly notice the difference in tire pressure change between N2 and just regular air.

I have 1600psi N2 tank in my garage for all my tire inflating and air blowing needs but the main reason for me is more of convenience. The tank is on a cart that I can wheel around my garage and my driveway. I have 5 cars and 2 motorcycles and I checked and adjust my tires pressure religiously.

I just use a regulator valve on the tank so I can adjust the outlet pressure down to about 150 psi. When the N2 is gone I simply exchange it with a full tank.

[Denalio]

The only real benifit I can see is the alloy wheels not coroding as quickly.

[Penguin]

> The only real benifit I can see is the alloy wheels not coroding as quickly.

Theoretically this could be an advantage, since many air compressors do not have proper moisture control, but practically speaking, has anyone ever had any personal experience with a wheel corrosion problem inside the wheel?

In all my years I never have seen this. All the corrosion problems I have seen have been due to external winter salt/slush starting at the outside of the bead, not the inside.

[Brisbane]

Nitorgen does help- if you have a dedicated track car and really need to keep temps as consistent as possible. Many professional race teams use it for just that reason.

For the street I think it's a waste of time and money. $75 is disgusting.

[superiorgadgets]

Originally Posted by chris609

hi everyone, being a long time mb owner of various models including last gen. ml, I was split between the x5 and the ml320cdi.After reading a lot of inputs in this forum as well as the benz forum ,test drove both and I finally took the plunge and ordered the 3.0 in space gray with saddle brown, fully optioned except dvd and active steering (my first bmw, hopefully I will not regret it). It should be here in the 3rd week in Feb.Here is my question: the sa asked me if I wanted nitrogen in my tires(19 inch RF) for $75 claiming that it will give me a more consistant /even pressure within the tire and therefore better contact with the road . Has anyone heard anything about this or its just a waste of money on air ?

The Tire Depot (if you are in GTA) will do it for you for 35 dollars within probably 5 minutes, as long as they are not busy.

I have it in my X5 4.4. It drives little bit differently on the hwy and for sure keeps the pressure in tires better.

Paul

[lemans4.8]

Nitrogen filled tires take longer to heat up (good for hot places) When pure nitrogen is used, the longevity of the tire can improve up to 75%, since there is no oxygen, moisture, etc. to ware the rubber.... you also get a more even tread ware since it's a pure gas. Though our air is 78% nitrogen, those other elements make all the difference.... Just like adding a little bit of salt to boiling water! If you live near a costco, they usually keep an airhose outside of the garage hooked up to a nitrogen tank so people can fill up with n2 rather than putting normal air (normal air mixed with n2 will cause an imbalance in the tire, so it's mandatory they leave the hose out) So go get some N2 for free!! Just go afterhours!

[Penguin]

> you also get a more even tread ware since it's a pure gas.

Please explain the mechanism behind this.

> the longevity of the tire can improve up to 75%, since there is no oxygen, moisture, etc. to ware the rubber

Virtually all the limitations on tire longenvity are due to rotting, cracking, and hardening on the outside of the tire from UV and other environmental factors, not the inside of the tire.

[JCL]

Penguin: Could you use the quote feature? It makes the posts easier to read. Thanks in advance.

Lemans4.8: That post reads like an advertisement by the nitrogen sales rep. It isn't logical to worry about the effects of air on the inside, since the tire has the same surface area on the outside and is exposed to, you guessed it, air. As Penguin noted above, UV is the problem, not air.

I don't understand how nitrogen-filled tires take longer to heat up. Guess we have to pull out some thermodynamic tables. Are you suggesting that tires never come up to operating temperature? That doesn't sound like a good thing.

Tread wear depends on inflation pressure, not the nature of the gas that is holdling that pressure.

I don't understand how nitrogen and air mixed can cause an imbalance, since air and nitrogen mixed is exactly what air is.

It all comes back to the predictability of the tire pressure as temperatures rise. Even pressures result in even wear. If the tire is the correct pressure, it doesn't give a damn what is inside holding it there, air, nitrogen, or whatever.