Topic: Nitrogen fill

[austexstang]

Has any one here used nitrogen instead of regular compressed air to fill bias-ply tires?  Yes, I know radial tires are "better"but I'm a glutton for the old-school driving experience.
Thanks 

[Brian Conway]

I have heard that the sole purpose of using Nitrogen is to deter rust.  Brian

[austexstang]

I had not heard of that.  I'm hoping that the tire temp would  be reduced with a nitrogen fill.  Thanks 

[J_Speegle]

Has any one here used nitrogen instead of regular compressed air to fill bias-ply tires?  Yes, I know radial tires are "better"but I'm a glutton for the old-school driving experience.
Thanks

Haven't found any reason to try it. Would eliminate me filling or topping tires off at home and its not like they get allot of high speed long drives these days.

Just me

[67gta289]

I heard that the reason for 100% nitrogen fill is that it handles wide temp swings (like we can have here with say a -10 degree F day in winter and a 100 degree F day in summer). 

Since air is 78 percent nitrogen, topping a nitrogen filled tire poses no harm.  You are introducing a very small amount of O2.

[Hawkeye]

I've been using Nitrous in my Jeep's tires for years.  The pressure is steady, and stays in the tires much longer.  I think I've gone 6 months without having to worry about adding more to them.  Planning on getting it done to the Mustang, just have to get it to the only place in town that has the Nitro-fill.

[austexstang]

Thank you gentlemen; good info as always.  I work at a dealership and can get it done for free.  Just didn't know if it was worth the effort.

[midlife]

I've been using Nitrous in my Jeep's tires for years.  The pressure is steady, and stays in the tires much longer.  I think I've gone 6 months without having to worry about adding more to them.  Planning on getting it done to the Mustang, just have to get it to the only place in town that has the Nitro-fill.

Nitrous?  Isn't that flammable?  If so, I would not recommend that for inflating tires.

[Bob Gaines]

Nitrous?  Isn't that flammable?  If so, I would not recommend that for inflating tires.

nitrogen not nitrous oxide

[WT8095]

I heard that the reason for 100% nitrogen fill is that it handles wide temp swings (like we can have here with say a -10 degree F day in winter and a 100 degree F day in summer). 

Air, nitrogen, and oxygen are rather effective insulators, with poor thermal conductivity. If you look at this partial chart, air is a tiny bit more conductive than pure nitrogen (rightmost column). So nitrogen will conduct LESS heat (not that you would be able to measure the difference anyway). Note that styrofoam is actually more thermally conductive! So this is just another bogus claim to try to pry money out of people's wallets, like putting magnets around your gas line to improve mileage. On the plus side, there's no actual harm to using pure N2. But there's no benefit, either.

Table from http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/tables/thrcn.html

[dave6768]

My understanding is that nitrogen molecules are larger than oxygen and therefore are harder to escape.  Primary reason NASCAR uses nitrogen for tires and the air wrenches is no fire hazard.

[jimhib]

Nitrogen molecules do not expand when heated as compressed air does. Drive your newer vehicle with tire pressure sensors and watch the pressure rise on a warm summer day. This does not happen with Nitrogen, the very reason all Nascar teams use it. Constant tire pressure for their application is paramount whereas your passenger car its not that critical. Of course if you're driving the in summer air pressure can increase by as much as ten pounds during a long days driving.

[WT8095]

Nitrogen molecules do not expand when heated as compressed air does.

Wrong. Nitrogen, like all other gases, obeys the laws of physics. Charles' Law specifically describes expansion related to temperature: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles%27s_law, and the Ideal Gas Law describes the relationship between pressure, temperature, and volume: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ideal_gas_law

Primary reason NASCAR uses nitrogen for tires and the air wrenches is no fire hazard.

Now if NASCAR could eliminate the oxygen outside their tires and hoses - that would be a substantial reduction to the fire hazard! 

[dave6768]

What I meant was no fire hazard from the nitrogen.

I agree...everything expands when it gets hot.

NASCAR - NASCAR teams use nitrogen because it allows them to more accurately predict tire pressure fluctuation. Nitrogen fluctuates with temperature change, but it does so less than when water vapor is present. Read On... In addition, higher nitrogen levels eliminate the explosive properties of oxygen (oxygen loses its explosive properties at around 9% or less) Read On... NASCAR uses bottled nitrogen for portability. The bottles are delivered to the track by Praxair. Read On...

[Hawkeye]

Nitrous?  Isn't that flammable?  If so, I would not recommend that for inflating tires.

Ah, meant nitrogen, just didn't want to type the extra letters.  Nitrous is also laughing gas, but what's a few oxygen molecules among friends.