Weight of air vs. Nitrogen
So I made an amazing discovery today. I got my new Sailuns partially installed today (so far). When I took the old tires and rims to Discount Tire, they were easy to lift and move into my truck. Wh...
Forum Discussion
Here is one example of the massive loss of weight:
The weight difference between oxygen and nitrogen is less than 3%, but let’s take the full 3%.
One 255/40/17 summer tire holds approximately 13.88 liters (0.5 cu.ft.) of air at 2 bar (29.4 psi).
One liter of air is roughly equal to 1 gram so there are roughly 13.88 grams of air per tire, 55.52 grams in all 4 tires. Nitrogen is 3% lighter than oxygen, but there’s only 22% oxygen in air, so the difference in weight from all 4 tires is 0.3664 grams, that’s a whopping one third of a gram!
Here’s the math: 55.52 gr x 0.03 x 0.22 = 0.3664 gr
To put it in perspective, one official ping pong ball weighs 2.7 grams.
The weight difference between oxygen and nitrogen is less than 3%, but let’s take the full 3%.
One 255/40/17 summer tire holds approximately 13.88 liters (0.5 cu.ft.) of air at 2 bar (29.4 psi).
One liter of air is roughly equal to 1 gram so there are roughly 13.88 grams of air per tire, 55.52 grams in all 4 tires. Nitrogen is 3% lighter than oxygen, but there’s only 22% oxygen in air, so the difference in weight from all 4 tires is 0.3664 grams, that’s a whopping one third of a gram!
Here’s the math: 55.52 gr x 0.03 x 0.22 = 0.3664 gr
To put it in perspective, one official ping pong ball weighs 2.7 grams.
