Nitrogen in tires

[mikeflys]

Getting my trailer ready for the 1st trip of the year. I haven't checked just yet (I will soon) but camping world put nitrogen in my tires. I don't want to drag it down to camping world to get the tires pressurized. Is there any reason I can't just use my compressor?

[dodge_guy]

If you put helium in the tires it will make your trailer lighter!

[poppin_fresh]

rbtglove wrote:
We fill aircraft and race cars tires with nitrogen because it will not feed fires like air. Any other benefit is minor and just used to market tires.

Yes, race crews carry nitrogen because instead of air compressors, compressed NO2 tanks are more compact and dont require any power, but can actually produce power (ie air powered tools).

Plus NO2 is cheap and like you said wont cause a huge ball of flame.

[Ron3rd]

My trailer came with nitrogen filled tires according to a sticker on the side. I've never used anything but my air compressor for the last year. I wouldn't waste money on it.

[Drbolasky]

I use a propriety blend comprised mainly of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and trace amounts of hydrogen, helium, ozone, argon, neon, xenon, radon and a few others. : - )

[jfkmk]

downtheroad wrote:
I have nitrogen in our truck tires..Costco (free with their tires).
I can tell you that it really makes a difference, I get 50% better mileage, it added 70 ft.lbs of torque and 40 HP to our engine and it paid my kid's way through college.

Oh ya, I almost forgot. While on our last trip it mowed our lawn and re-roofed our house.

You'll get another 10% power boost if you use the green valve stem caps.

[gbopp]

If Nitrogen is good, would synthetic Nitrogen be better? :B

Nitrogen in Tires Posts

[vic46]

downtheroad wrote:
I have nitrogen in our truck tires..Costco (free with their tires).
I can tell you that it really makes a difference, I get 50% better mileage, it added 70 ft.lbs of torque and 40 HP to our engine and it paid my kid's way through college.

Oh ya, I almost forgot. While on our last trip it mowed our lawn and re-roofed our house.

And you forgot to check the windshield wipers? You should have picked up an average of 10 swipes a minute.

[mikeflys]

Wow I didn't mean to start another civil war. Pure nitrogen soldgers in grey, plane air in blue please. I'm dissapoint, my tires from Costco have never cut my lawn before. I will go check my tires tonight and fill with 78% nitro.....gen. not nitroglycerin.

[rbtglove]

We fill aircraft and race cars tires with nitrogen because it will not feed fires like air. Any other benefit is minor and just used to market tires.

[Speedogomer]

kaydeejay wrote:

Speedogomer wrote:
Nitrogen is put into tires because it's not as sensitive to temperature changes. It won't drop pressure when it's cold or raise pressure when it's hot out.

Plain WRONG! Nitrogen follows the same temperature and pressure rules ("Boyle's Law) as any other gas.
The only reasonably legitimate reason for using Nitrogen is that it is probably drier than regular air.

Maybe I should have been more specific. Nitrogen drops and raises pressure less than compressed air due to the lack of moisture in nitrogen as opposed to air.

[Gonzo42]

If one would fill tires with ordinary air, it eventually becomes only N2 with a tiny, tiny difference. It would be easy to calculate how long it would take, but the approach to nearly pure N2 is an asymptotical progression.

Just for the purpose of argument, assume that your tire lost 1 psi per day, and you refilled it each day with more air back to the original pressure. One could calculate the amount of loss comprises mostly non-N2 and is replaced with approx. 80% N2.

Of course it can't quite reach perfection but at some point it becomes negligible.

In any case it matters little, and the laborious calculations (read self-torture) gets old quickly. Have fun!

[Thsldo]

I think they need to add a "Like button" to the forums! Some replies need one!

[Dog_Folks]

Nitrogen has benefits in tires used for air craft or race cars. For a vehicle at normal speeds, it serves no practical purpose. It is a profit center for the tire seller.

If it makes you feel better, spend the money on it. It won’t hurt, but remember that it is not as easy to find 100% Nitrogen for bring tires up to pressure.

Normal air contains 78% Nitrogen, so is it worth it for an extra 22%? I think not.

The next time I tow my trailer at 200 MPH or it has the name “Boeing” on it, I will use nitrogen.

[TucsonJim]

I rotated the gasses in my tires last week. Using a garden hose, I siphoned all the nitrogen out of the left tires, and transferred it to the right tires. Then, I captured all expelled oxygen in two liter pop bottles and put it back in the left tires. When I was done, I measured the tire temperature of the tires while parked. The oxygen tires were 98 degrees, and the nitrogen filled tires were 119 degrees!

Do you think it makes any difference that the nitrogen tires were in the sun, and the oxygen tires were in the shade?

For instructions on how to do this, please send a PM to the folks posting above me.