Nitrogen tires

jrw1550 wrote:
Let me give the real facts related to nitrogen inflation of tires. The nitrogen atom is larger then the oxygen atom and with tire rubber being porous the oxygen atom is small enough to get through the tiny holes in the rubber. This is the cause of tire pressure going down. The solution is to use the larger nitrogen atoms only. You should be asking yourself how this is done. It is very simple if we remember that the air we breath is about 78% nitrogen so continue to use normal air to inflate and the left over 22% of space that is usually oxygen gets replaced by nitrogen. When you first fill the tire is it 78%/22% mix, the next time it is 80%/20%, then 82%/18%, etc. And yes the percentage changes by 2% each time you refill for low pressure. So in reality losing the oxygen atoms is a good thing in tires. You will know you have reached 100% nitrogen when the tire pressure remains unchanged. Of course if you remove the tires from the rims you are back to the 78%/22% ratio and back to square one in the process. Just a little 4th of July humor for everyone!!!