Nitrogen in tires...

[autoque]

Originally Posted by ard

As if you can feel any particular level of moisture

Go to the bathroom, close the door, and fill the bathtub with hot water and tell me your skin doesn't feel anything different.

[Jordo]

Originally Posted by FSETH

Say what you will about nitrogen, but I had my previous set of Toyo Proxes filled with it on installation and not even once in 3 years (40,000+ miles) did I ever have to fill or remove any nitrogen to keep the pressure levels accurate. They were literally filled on installation and never touched throughout the life of the tires because pressure remained constant for over 3 years. I can not say the same for any regular "air" filled tires I have ever owned. The pressures with notrogen were surprisingly constant over this time period. This alone makes it a much safer bet for anyone (especially SUV owners) who may not check their pressures as much as they should. It does have it's benefits, regardless of what many have to say, imo.

Agreed.

[Harley Monster]

Ask anyone who spray paints they know how much moisture is in compressed air, they call it CAH (Compressed air humidity) and it greatly affects the performance of paint. Most compressed air systems don't have very good water removing systems and only rely on draining the storage tank occasionally.

That being said most of the benefits of running Nitrogen in your tires is not measureable in the way we use our cars, i.e. NASCAR runs only Nitrogen where as little as one half pound affects their performance, they use it because it is dry and more stable.

The main benefit I see and I run it in all my cars, have my own bottle and regulator, is that you almost never have to service the pressure in your tires and it is because the Nitrogen molecule does not pass through the tire as easily as compressed air. I know this from using it for years...before COSTCO made it popular.

I did a bit on Internet research and this is apparently because of the shape of the Nitrogen molecule. The article I read said most people get the molecular weight of Nitrogen vs Oxygen confused with the shape of the molecules. Even though the Oxygen molecule has a lower molecular the shape of the Nitrogen molecule is larger and does not permeate the rubber as easily as the Oxygen molecule. They gave a lot of scientific terms explaining this but this is the bottom line.

The real bottom line is if you want to run Nitrogen run it, if you don't then don't and what difference does it make to you?

I am a satisfied user that is all I can say. My X5 kept pressure for over 3 years without being serviced...try that with compressed air.

[Noodle555]

High altitude aircraft use nitrogen in tires as it is dry, deviod of moisture. The last thing you want is ice forming in the bottom part of the tire at high altitude as this will throw off the balance when landing. Althoigh the vibrations caused from this may be nominal, over a period of time the damage could be significant.

No reason to use nitorgen on your regular road vehicles. Perhaps if you live in the arctic though.

[FSETH]

Originally Posted by Noodle555

No reason to use nitorgen on your regular road vehicles.

Yes there is. It keeps pressure much more constant over a longer period of time than regular air does. How is that not a reason? If a person doesn't check their pressure as much as they should, it can actually be a lifesaver.

I can't even count how many times having notrogen saved me the 10 or 15 minutes it takes to get out my air compressor, fill all tires to the proper level and then drain and put away my portable compressor.

There are benefits of using it on road cars. Whether it is worth it you you personally is another matter, but to say there is no reason to use it on road vehicles is just wrong.

[Penguin]

Perhaps one of the better articles on the pros and cons of Nitrogen:

Tire Tech Information - Clearing the Air About Nitrogen Tire Inflation

[JCL]

Originally Posted by FSETH

Yes there is. It keeps pressure much more constant over a longer period of time than regular air does. How is that not a reason? If a person doesn't check their pressure as much as they should, it can actually be a lifesaver.

If you are seeing constant tire pressure over a period of several years, then it also is implied that you have a constant ambient temperature throughout the year, and over those same several years. If you had seasonal temperature variations (as many of us do in North America) you would need to adjust your tires every few months whatever is inside of them.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by Noodle555

No reason to use nitrogen on your regular road vehicles. Perhaps if you live in the arctic though.

While I agree with the sentiment, the arctic is actually pretty dry. It is humid climates that are a challenge. The problem with aircraft is that tires are filled on the ground, and shortly after it can be -50. Not so common with cars, we tend to fill the tires and drive in similar temperatures.

[FSETH]

Originally Posted by JCL

If you are seeing constant tire pressure over a period of several years, then it also is implied that you have a constant ambient temperature throughout the year, and over those same several years. If you had seasonal temperature variations (as many of us do in North America) you would need to adjust your tires every few months whatever is inside of them.

I would think that fluctuations in ambient temperature from about 15F to 100F would be big enough to warrant changes in pressures over time. I have never in my life gone 3 years without adjusting regular air pressures before and I did with nitrogen. I am not implying that you will never have to adjust pressures, but it seems to be common knowledge that a nitrogen filled tire will require less adjustment over it's life than a traditional air filled tire if all else is equal.

[motordavid]

I actually had a good anecdotal experience with N in tires: the CEO's old pos Honda CR-V got N installed, (for "free), on her last set of new tires, a couple years ago.

I must admit that the tire pressure stayed at the 32 psi cold, all around, for a loonnng time. Maybe it was just better tire/rim sealing, better/new valve stems, etc.

But my comment above, and about 90% of the posts in this thread, have all been done in that repeat topic link I posted; that was my point. It's like "what oil to use",
Turboboosters, K&N filters, et al, and on and on and on: same old tune on the Juke Box.

I suspect a quality N fill, with the larger molecules, is the deal with less "change" or depletion, over time, for some drivers, anecdotally. ...
GL, mD Mr 78% N