Nitrogen in tires
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Joined: May 2007
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From: Santa Maria CA
Nitrogen in tires
I recently had my tires rotated and had the guys remove the air and put in nitrogen. It rides better and the pressure doesnt increase on trips as it did. Anyone having any technical issue with Nitrogen in the tires that I am not aware of?? Thanks
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 121
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From: Atlanta Georgia
Nitrogen
It's OK, but regular air is 78% nitrogen so I don't think it's that important to go to 100% unless you are racing or concerned about unusual wheel corosion. It is true that since nitrogen has a higher molal weight it won't bleed off or change pressure with temperature variation as much as regular air, but I cannot imagine the difference to be worth the trouble.
Heel & Toe
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 16
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From: North Tustin Ca
A Recent Note About Nitrogen
Just got a flyer from Costco that has a section re tires. They apparently use nitrogen to inflate tires instead of compressed air. They are saying tires inflated with compressed air lose 1 to 2 psi of inflation pressure per month. This (according to Costco) is because"oxygen molecules in air "migrate" out of tires. Nitrogen molecules migrate out of tires 300 to 400% more slowly than O2 molecules." We're really splitting hairs here I think.
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 1,049
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From: Houston TEXAS
AWESOME!! My shop sells it.... but i put on the same shelf as snake oil. Ambient air is appx 70+% nitrogen anyway. It expands with heat like ambient air. End result... Like changing out winter air for summer air in the tires!!! 
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From: Howell Michigan
St. Jude Donor '09-'10-'11
Like many marketing ploys, nitrogen for tires was design to make you think that the tire dealer with it offers you something better then any other so you will buy from them. It's that simple, and it works.
The only real advantage the nitrogen offers is less corrosive and less moisture. But any good tire shop that had a clean dry air source is giving you about the same advantage.
Some will tell you that “aircraft tires use nitrogen so it has to be good”, but like many things, the primary reason aircraft use it is due to the high psi the tires run and the volume of gas the tires need. Many have well over 100 + psi in them, and are serviced from 3000 + psi bottles.
One other thing I get a chuckle from is the question of what percentage of the tire filled with nitrogen?
They never quote the percentage and they would have to evacuate the tire and purge it a number of times to get near 100 percent, which they never say.
Regards,
Eric D
The only real advantage the nitrogen offers is less corrosive and less moisture. But any good tire shop that had a clean dry air source is giving you about the same advantage.
Some will tell you that “aircraft tires use nitrogen so it has to be good”, but like many things, the primary reason aircraft use it is due to the high psi the tires run and the volume of gas the tires need. Many have well over 100 + psi in them, and are serviced from 3000 + psi bottles.
One other thing I get a chuckle from is the question of what percentage of the tire filled with nitrogen?
They never quote the percentage and they would have to evacuate the tire and purge it a number of times to get near 100 percent, which they never say. Regards,
Eric D
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From: Somers, CT and Clermont, FL
St. Jude Donor '09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
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Joined: Oct 2007
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From: Tulsa Oklahoma
Nitrogen in a tire has a purpose. Stock car tires are filled with nitrogen because their expansion rates are more precisely defined due to the lack of moisture content. For a street application, does it matter? Check your tires and refill with air as necessary. If you are a highly competitive race team, you are already using it.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2003
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From: Broken Arrow OK
For those looking for a technical discussion concerning the ability of nitrogen and oxygen to permeate through rubber tires, you might want to read this.
http://www.getnitrogen.org/pdf/graham.pdf
According to this article, oxygen will pass through the tire at a rate 3-4 times that of nitrogen. However, what the article doesn't say is that air is primarily nitrogen and, with time, this will tend to further concentrate the nitrogen through loss of oxygen through the tire walls. Sounds like nitrogen is not a bad idea but probably not worth the effort.
http://www.getnitrogen.org/pdf/graham.pdf
According to this article, oxygen will pass through the tire at a rate 3-4 times that of nitrogen. However, what the article doesn't say is that air is primarily nitrogen and, with time, this will tend to further concentrate the nitrogen through loss of oxygen through the tire walls. Sounds like nitrogen is not a bad idea but probably not worth the effort.
Advanced
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 92
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From: Anderson SC
The biggest gain from using 100% nitrogen is the resistance you get from corrosion to your steel cables in your belts in the tire's summit.
I'm not certain if nitrogen permeates slower than oxygen thru tires, but I do know oxygen does make its way slowly to the steel belts. Now, those steel cables are lightly coated w/ brass to enable adhesion to the rubber skim, but the ends of the cables, where the steel belt tissue is cut at the factory, are not.
Keeping oxygen away from that area helps considerably in tire durability.
I've never heard of any improvement in ride comfort when using 100% nitrogen. And if you have "zero pressure" or "run flat" tires on your car, those tire's sidewall's are so "stiff" that changing gas won't make any difference in ride quality.
I'm not certain if nitrogen permeates slower than oxygen thru tires, but I do know oxygen does make its way slowly to the steel belts. Now, those steel cables are lightly coated w/ brass to enable adhesion to the rubber skim, but the ends of the cables, where the steel belt tissue is cut at the factory, are not.
Keeping oxygen away from that area helps considerably in tire durability.
I've never heard of any improvement in ride comfort when using 100% nitrogen. And if you have "zero pressure" or "run flat" tires on your car, those tire's sidewall's are so "stiff" that changing gas won't make any difference in ride quality.
Last edited by Boodieman; Jun 15, 2008 at 05:21 PM.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jan 2007
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From: Dyer, IN
Also, how do you rotate directional wheels of different sizes?
Last edited by lucky131969; Jun 16, 2008 at 02:41 PM.