Nitrogen for run flats?
#2
Race Director
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No issues other than a waste of time and money.
#3
Le Mans Master
#5
I'm Batman..
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Tech Contributor
78.08% to be exact.
The question is does 100% nitrogen have any noticeable effect. It does make sense that it -could- as nitrogen molecules are larger than oxygen making it harder to leak out of tires. Plus, air tends to hold a higher temperature then pure nitrogen. This can help with tire wear by keeping the tires slightly cooler. Is it enough to actually make a difference? I dont know for sure.. But I'd like to think it could..
The question is does 100% nitrogen have any noticeable effect. It does make sense that it -could- as nitrogen molecules are larger than oxygen making it harder to leak out of tires. Plus, air tends to hold a higher temperature then pure nitrogen. This can help with tire wear by keeping the tires slightly cooler. Is it enough to actually make a difference? I dont know for sure.. But I'd like to think it could..
#6
Melting Slicks
I found a article in The Tire Rack that explained why use nitrogen.
Just Google "why use nitrogen to fill tires" and you will find a number of articles. Here is one:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...run-flats.html
Just Google "why use nitrogen to fill tires" and you will find a number of articles. Here is one:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...run-flats.html
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judges4u (05-01-2016)
#7
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The biggest advantage with Nitrogen is it is dry. Air out of an air compressor can have a significant amount of moisture in it depending on the humidity. Moisture can cause issues with tire pressure since it's characteristics are different than air. I had a track tire that was running 44 psi hot, I would pit in and a friend would check the pressure and bleed 5 psi out of the tire. I would run a few more laps and the pressure would be back above 40. After doing this three times we took the car to the garage and pulled the valve core out of the valve and let all the air out of the tire and refilled it. After that it behaved properly.
The moisture can also cause problems with tire pressure sensors.
You could get most of the advantages of Nitrogen just by using dry air.
Bill
The moisture can also cause problems with tire pressure sensors.
You could get most of the advantages of Nitrogen just by using dry air.
Bill
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John Micheal Henry (10-28-2015)
#9
Safety Car
78.08% to be exact.
The question is does 100% nitrogen have any noticeable effect. It does make sense that it -could- as nitrogen molecules are larger than oxygen making it harder to leak out of tires. Plus, air tends to hold a higher temperature then pure nitrogen. This can help with tire wear by keeping the tires slightly cooler. Is it enough to actually make a difference? I dont know for sure.. But I'd like to think it could..
The question is does 100% nitrogen have any noticeable effect. It does make sense that it -could- as nitrogen molecules are larger than oxygen making it harder to leak out of tires. Plus, air tends to hold a higher temperature then pure nitrogen. This can help with tire wear by keeping the tires slightly cooler. Is it enough to actually make a difference? I dont know for sure.. But I'd like to think it could..
Racers run nitrogen because it's dry, so the pressure rise with temperature can be predicted more accurately. The moisture content of POA (Plain old "air") varies with local conditions, and moisture content affects pressure rise.
To the OP: There's no problem with adding nitrogen, but understand that unless the shop evacuates the tires before refilling, your tires will still have about 50% "air" in them. Even if it does evacuate the tires, it can't drop them to zero pressure, so there will always be some "air" in there. If one can get bottled nitrogen for free, great, other than the hassle of having to go somewhere else to add gas when needed. On the street, however, there isn't any real advantage to make it worth paying for.
Last edited by meyerweb; 11-02-2015 at 11:08 PM.
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only9balls (04-11-2016)
#11
If you switch to nitrogen you can't go back to air or the seals will leak.
Last edited by juanvaldez; 11-03-2015 at 10:24 AM.
#12
Drifting
No issues , mine came from the dealer with nitrogen.
#13
Or green caps.
#16
Pro
The nitrogen fill machines achieve only 98% nitrogen. They cannot fill 100% nitrogen.
#17
See, this is why its so hard to find shops with nitrogen anymore; people foofoo'ing it without any real understanding. Nitrogen doesn't expand and contract with heat as much as plain old atmosphere. I loaded some Duratracs with it before I hauled a car and trailer cross country from FL to LA. My tire temps in the truck and the trailer never varied more than 2 pounds from 100 degrees ambient down to 20f. If you've ever done any hauling, this is an amazing thing. When they put nitrogen in they inflate/deflate several times to get as much of the O2 out as possible. If your application is something that requires consistency or specific pressure, nitrogen is worth every penny.
#18
The placebo effect at work. Dry air contracts and expands at the same rate as nitrogen.
#19
Google is your friend;
Will my tire pressure fluctuate while driving if I use nitrogen?
You will still see pressure changes with nitrogen while driving, but overall your tires will run cooler and at a more consistent pressure than if they were filled with air. Nitrogen does not contain the moisture and other contaminants found in compressed air, so nitrogen filled tires will fluctuate less in temperature and pressure than air filled tires under driving conditions, even at high speed and at high temps.
You will still see pressure changes with nitrogen while driving, but overall your tires will run cooler and at a more consistent pressure than if they were filled with air. Nitrogen does not contain the moisture and other contaminants found in compressed air, so nitrogen filled tires will fluctuate less in temperature and pressure than air filled tires under driving conditions, even at high speed and at high temps.
Last edited by StreetLegalH2R; 04-11-2016 at 11:11 AM.
#20
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Bill