My tires filled with Nitrogen

LMAO #2!

I love this forum!

 

The nitrogen topic was beat to death in the Gen II forum years ago. Bottom line, what with nitrogen already being about what ... 80% of the atmosphere, plus other elements, you're really just gettin another 18% or so. It's not like you're landing a Boing 747 or taking your Prius tires up to 40,000 feet ... where 100% would really matter.

 

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Nitrogen molecules do not expand and contract due to moderate temperature changes as much as other molecules in the atmosphere do. However, unless you are driving an indy car or top fuel dragster, it really doesn't make much of a difference.

I run nitrogen in my drag slicks to maintain pressure before and after heating them up. Specific tire pressures in drag cars are very important for getting a good launch, I suppose if you found that "perfect pressure" for fuel mileage, then nitrogen might make sense, but it seems that higher pressure=higher mileage in the prius, which would mean that regular air would be more beneficial to fuel mileage.

 

Here is a tip. If the 99 percent nitrogen holds the pressure better than the 78 percent nitrogen with 21 percent oxigen, all you need to do is overfill your tires by about 25 percent, and then, when the oxigen leaks out, you will be left with nearly 100 percent nitrogen at the proper pressure.

 

Has anyone tried mustard gas in the tires? :heh:

 

How long will that take? Will it happen before the rubber is brittle and cracking? Before my Prius battery warranty has expired? Before I have expired?

 

Doesn't Nitrogen follow the ideal gas law just like Oxygen? I would think you could barely measure any difference between pressure vs. temperature of dry Nitrogen and dry air. Now if it was dry Nitrogen from a tank vs. compressed air with significant water content, things may be different, especially as the water changes state.

Also, I've heard that Oxygen leeches out of the tire more rapidly than Nitrogen, resulting in lower leakage over time. If true, you'd end up with an ever increasing percentage of Nitrogen in your tires as you top them off, anyway.

 

Wrong, wrong, wrong. A thousand times wrong. Nitrogen is an ideal gas at normal temperature and pressure, and as such, it behaves just like all ideal gases. Air, at normal temperature and pressure, is a mixture of ideal gases and as such, also behaves as an ideal gas.

And just to head off this choice piece of misinformation, Nitrogen molecules are not bigger than "air molecules" (if there were such a thing). Nitrogen is the main component of air. Oxygen, number two at almost 21%, has molecules slightly larger than Nitrogen, and as a consequence, the diffusion rate of Oxygen is slightly lower than that of Nitrogen.

Furthermore, if it were true that Nitrogen diffused more slowly through tires (it isn't), you would end up with the same Nitrogen concentration by filling with air. The other gases would diffuse faster and leave the Nitrogen. They don't of course. Tires are very resistant to diffusion.

The only gas in air that behaves in a non-ideal fashion at normal temperatures and pressures is water vapor. Condensing water vapor can cause a small reduction in tire pressure.

Beating down this urban myth is like playing whack-a-mole.

Tom

 

I had read somewhere that tires lose Oxygen faster than Nitrogen because of the greater reactivity of Oxygen with the rubber. Could also be a myth, but I believe that was the claim as to how it was leeched out of the tire.

 

There is a tiny bit of truth to this idea. However, if this were a problem, the tires would rot from the outside first. The outside of tires are constantly exposed to fresh Oxygen, where the inside of the tires have a fixed supply which would be used up. In reality tires are highly resistant to oxidation by design.

This whole Nitrogen myth came from two places:

1) Airplanes - Airplanes use dry Nitrogen for tires for three reasons: 1) It doesn't support combustion, which is an issue when landing at high speeds; 2) By definition dry Nitrogen is dry, which prevents ice build-up inside the tires at the very cold temperatures of high altitude; and 3) It is easy to carry a large amount of Nitrogen in a tank for filling tires on the tarmac.

2) Race cars - Race cars fill tires with dry Nitrogen for similar reasons, with the exception of ice: 1) Nitrogen does not support combustion; 2) It is easy to keep a tank in the pit area; and 3) With race cars it is important to have predictable expansion for predictable tire pressures. Note that it isn't an issue of not having gas expansion in the tires, but by using a dry gas the pit crew can anticipate the rise in pressure with use. This is important when you need your tires to be within a half psi or better of a target setting. It's not the Nitrogen that allows for this, but the dryness of the gas.

Tom

 

Indeed, as I said earler. Thanks!

 

May be you should visit that website

Nitrogen in Tires : Information about Nitrogen Tire Inflation News, Benefits, Generator Dealers, Location Finder & More

Personally, I believe that there is a difference but I doubt that it worth paying extra $$ for that. We should regularly check the tire pressure of our car, especially during autumn and spring time (big temperature fluctuation). One of the advantage of filling tire with nitrogen is that it will makes the tire last longer. But so far, I always had to change my tires because the outside of them was worn.

Please, don't take that nitrogen stuff to seriously, I suggest to fill your tires with nitrous oxide and take a deep breath !

 

There's this, too-


Tires - Nitrogen air loss study: Consumer Reports Cars Blog


Nitrogen in tires - Q&A: Consumer Reports Cars Blog

 

I'm collecting my farts in a jar to fill my tires with.


Actually, I'd love to put some really stinky rotten egg stuff in the tires just before taking them in to be replaced. I'd love to watch the poor bastard's face as he dismounts tire after stinky tire from their rims. I'll explain that Japanese air normally smells like that and you just get used to it if you live there.

 

If you have tires filled with Nitrogen and they lose some pressure, is it okay to fill them back up with regular air?

 

I'd fill them with Helium 3 (a source of nuclear fusion) that could power the car.

 

You might laugh, but I fill mine with 100% nitrous oxide, N2O. The only problem I've encountered is the Prius' acceleration seems rather lethargic immediately following a tire fill-up.