Nitrogen tires

Canadian Rainbirds wrote:
Many aircraft tires use nitrogen, but they also use special rims with 2 valves. When first filling with N the second valve is used to purge the tire of air.

A friend who owns a tire shop tells me that using Nitrogen in road vehicle tires is an excellent way for him to improve his bottom line.

Aircraft use nitrogen as a safety measure so that a tire will not provide oxygen to to hot landing gear in the event of a malfunction. A Mexicana 727 was lost years ago due to air in the tires. There was a hung brake that overheated and when the gear was raised. The wheel/tire assembly got hot and a reaction occurred between the tire and air contained within.....the tire exploded, mortally wounding the plane.

The only reason they use nitrogen for pressure stability is that the fill lacks humidity. It has nothing to do with the lack of oxygen and due to its bottled source is easier to work with then a large forklift sized air dryer needed for standard compressed air. Plus at most races involving changing tires, including nascar, a couple of large nitrogen tanks run the pnumatics rather then trying to setup a large high volume multistage compressor running off a gas engine or a 220v 30A circuit.

OK.... I tried to not comment on this ridiculous thread, but......
How does water evaporate from inside a sealed tire? :h

CapriRacer wrote:
Just an FYI:

Yes, it's possible to introduce water (in liquid form) into the tire during the initial inflation, but that water will eventually evaporate.

Just an FYI:

Most gases closely follow what is known as the "Ideal Gas Law": PV = nRT, where P = pressure, V = Volume, n = number of moles (the amount of molecules of the gas - for a tire, this is a constant), R = gas constant, T = temperature.

As gasses, nitrogen, oxygen, and even water vapor closely follow this formula. There is plenty of data to support this.

So, - No!! - using nitrogen in your tires doesn't stop pressure buildup. It doesn't change the pressure buildup. It has absolutely no affect on pressure or pressure buildup.

The only affect it has is nitrogen reduces the possibility of water condensing inside the tire - and if you use pressurized air out of a tank, the water should have already been condensed. Yes, it's possible to introduce water (in liquid form) into the tire during the initial inflation, but that water will eventually evaporate.

I've written up a web page on the subject of nitrogen inflation:

Barry's Tire Tech - Nitrogen Inflation

Allworth wrote:
How does this BS survive year after year??

It is because we have FARTS: Fear Around R exploding Tires Syndrome

My new 2013 Toyota corolla, has nitrogen too, well, humm it will stay in there until by adding air it replenishes with full O2. I don't think the advantage is worth the hassle of hunting down nitrogen for the tires.

Allworth wrote:
How does this BS survive year after year??

I'll take "a sucker born every minute, Alex, for $400"

Dennis M M wrote:
If you can feel a half pound difference in your car or RV then you might need nitrogen.

I know a guy who can. I was in his pits once, and he came in complaining about being 1/2 pound too high on the right front. They let out some, and he was consistantly a 1/10th faster.. I thought he was BSing me. lol. He uses nitrogen. I don't laugh at him. I laugh at people whose times are all over the place (like me), thinking that nitrogen will help.

There is some benefit to remove moisture from the air in your tires. Higher moisture content results in larger pressure increases as tire temperature increases.

Pure Nitrogen is dry. If you can somehow get dry air in your tires you get the same benefit.

It's not a big deal usually, but when your tires heat up from being used, the pressure of the tire increases. The more water vapor in your tires, the higher the pressure will rise as the tire heats up. Apparently this is a big deal for racing conditions. But I don't race with my TT.

My TT has a "nitro-filled tires" sticker on it. I've never put Nitrogen in them myself - just pump air in them. I guess you could try to air up your tires on days with low humidity.

Ed

More than you ever wanted to know about nitrogen in tires.

The quick answer: don't waste your money.

BTW race cars use it for pressure stability, as in "take a half pound out of the right rear" If you can feel a half pound difference in your car or RV then you might need nitrogen.

Aircraft use it due to extreme temp and altitude changes and combustion concerns on landing. If your car or RV can fly you might need nitrogen.