[Goffe]

Sorry, I meant tires. Anyone?

 

[Devious2xs]

Try the liquid version.

Never have tried it.
I have a series of moisture filters on my compressor, and going from air (78.08% nitrogen) to pure nitrogen only gains life for tires in storage or that see large temperature changes (aircraft).

My tires never seem to last very long - nothing nitrogen can help. ;D

 

[Goffe]

I was told that N doesn't leak as readily as air (or the non-N component of air) lessening the need to fill tires.

 

[cheapbastard]

My tires never seem to last very long - nothing nitrogen can help. ;D

true, never have to worry with air pressure leak'n down, the suckers don't last no time! :'(

 

[crashmasterd]

Back when I worked in the trucking industry (18 years ago?) there was an outfit down in Texas that did a test of the concept. With a fleet of 150 trucks and trailers they invested in a nitrogen system for all their tires. After a couple of years of testing they reported significantly higher miles per tire (something like 15%). They saved enough money to pay for their Nitrogen system in less than 2 years.

I don't remember actual numbers, but it was an interesting test case. Something about removing the oxygen from the inside of the tire reducing degradation of the rubber. I don't think it would make much of a difference on motorcycle tires due to their softer compounds and shorter life span, but I have nothing concrete to base this opinion on.

It was a long time ago...

 

[dr_gallup]

I'm not driving a truck. Not just apples to oranges, more like comparing submarines to airplanes. Trucks run retreads for a million miles is just one of many differences. There are a lot of links that beat this to death. Here is a good one:
http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=120996&page=1

 

[kartstar]

We use N2 in our kart racing tires - the reason in our case is that N2 doesn't expand volumetrically as much as compressed air (which is a mix of gases, O2 prominently) when heated.

Anecdotally, I recently pulled the kart out of the trailer after about 10 months, and the tires had only leaked down a couple psi each. I have run compressed air in them, and they seemed to go completely flat every couple months with just the air - of course, different sets of tires may seal differently.

If you have a bottle sitting around, it sure wouldn't hurt to try it...

 

[crashmasterd]

Actually very few big truck companies run retreads anymore (although a lot of low end owner operators do) and it's illegal to run retreads on steering axles.

I think my point was that a 15% increase in tire life if it even applied to motorcycle tires probably wouldn't be worth the effort of maintaining a nitrogen system. If you had ready cheap access to compressed nitrogen I'd say go for it: you have nothing to lose. Otherwise, why bother?

 

[Roulettetriple]

As an Engineer Technician in the Army, I've seen nitrogen used on some construction equipment. The Cat 621B Scraper uses it as a means to keep the tires from "potentially" coming apart do to expansion from heat at high speeds. But I've never heard of anything about decreased tire wear.

 

[dfib]

I just found out the local ford dealer offer the service for $10. Gonna give it a try and see if I notice any difference...

 

[barryg]

Just a way for tyre dealers to make money off a gullible public.

Cheers
Barry

 

[premier]

How about helium to make them lighter!! :bs:

 

[dr_gallup]

Just a way for tyre dealers to make money off a gullible public.

Cheers
Barry

+100

 

[f1eric]

I keep N2 on my work truck and never put it in the tires. except for that flat tire on I95. But I think the Gas Laws should cover this.
P1 V1 P2 V2
T1 T2

all readings need to be in absolute. add 14.7psia and 460deg/a for temp. :blah:

 

[dfib]

You all must be crazy! Seat of the pants dyno says 10hp easy! :smitty:

j/k

LOL! Call me the gullible public. I just paid $10 for a nice set of N2 valve caps....

 

[SP3inAZ]

How about helium to make them lighter!! :bs:

Now THAT would be a hellofa leakage rate. May as well go the full route and go to Hydrogen. At least you could manufacture that at home. :drink:

"Oh the humanity".

Mark G

 

[Willgaut]

I ran N2 in my S2000 but err well...uhh the tires had a tendency to err melt in random circle in parking lots..I never really noticed any difference

 

[tedesco886]

Think of one thing.....when using compressed air to fill tires, it has the same chemical properties as ambient air.......which is about 80% nitrogen anyways, c'mon now, you're going to tell me that the extra 20% is going to make a difference?

 

[crashmasterd]

Think of one thing.....when using compressed air to fill tires, it has the same chemical properties as ambient air.......which is about 80% nitrogen anyways, c'mon now, you're going to tell me that the extra 20% is going to make a difference?

It's not the extra nitrogen that makes the difference, but the lack of oxygen. Oxygen compounds, and particularly it's derivative Ozone, have a tendency to break down rubber leading to shorter life spans for tires. This is one of the reasons that old tires crack and blister (the other reason is UV radiation). By filtering out the oxygen from the inside, the tire deteriorates less quickly. There is also the thermal expansion benefit. Pure nitrogen expands and contracts less than the nitrogen/oxygen/C02 mixture that is normal air. Therefore you get more consistent tire pressures.

Most of this is totally irrelevant in a street motorcycle tire, or most automobile tires. However, it can make a difference for high milage commercial tires and some kinds of race tires.

 

[dfib]

Update:

I ended up putting a new front tire on last fall/winter and never got the nitrogen refilled, used compressed air instead. Over the winter I had a 12 PSI drop in the compressed air front compared to 3 PSI drop in the nitrogen filled rear. Neither conclusive or scientific, but interesting.

Gonna go ahead and have them refilled with N2 after I put a new set of tires on her.