Nitrogen in tires

[b0son]

Heaps of info on the pros and cons of Nitrogen in tyres

Of all the info, the only bit that has any appreciable impact is the water content.

Compressed air is.. compressed... air... air contains moisture. They do use driers to reduce this, but never get rid of all of it. The thing about the moisture is that is is sprayed out of the compressor as droplets. When the tyre heats, they MASSIVELY increase in volume as they turn from liquid to gas (eg. 18ml of water becomes >30L of gas, 18ml of gas becomes 23ml ... you can see the problem).

Nitrogen OTOH, is a purified gas... and the equipment to purify it is far better than the crappy refrigerating drier the air compressor has. It contains only a tiny fraction of the moisture.

All the arguments about molecule size etc are a furphy. You could pick almost any other gas, provided it was purified to the same extent the nitrogen was.

[Preen59]

I couldn't find what got you banned, figure it was cleaned up, can we have an action replay?!

I told swallowtail and maverick I didn't agree with the way they questioned me.. Although I used different wording. Hahaha.

[ralp2dam]

I'm sorry but it keeps annoying me tires is spelt tyres here in Australia, unless I'm mistaken.

Anyway, my two cents is; I considered getting nitrogen but for some reason I experience OCD checking tyre pressures and with the compressed air I can readily adjust it without having to go somewhere that sells nitrogen. We are all some form of car enthusiast here and nitrogen in your tyres is a relatively small price if it makes you feel better in my opinion.

[Gene]

I assume that you didn't maintain your last tyres and check the tyre pressures on a regular basis? This is why you have noticed an increase in fuel economy.

Nitrogen in car tyres is a waste of money, there have been a number of threads on here that have gone into detail as to why but;
- Air consists of 78% nitrogen, oxygen is what permeates out of the tyre so when you refill with air each time you end up with an increasing volume of nitrogen.
- The losses over time between nitrogen filled tyres and air filled is minimal.

The only benefit is that you can get some moisture in the air at the service stations which can cause corrosion under some rare circumstances (well the other benefit is that you make the shops that sell this rich).

Better to check your tyre pressures on a regular basis and invents in a direct TPMS system.

Volkswagen Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
Fitting a direct Tyre Pressure Management System (TPMS)

Well... every couple of months I do check the tyre pressures. But the indirect TPMS doesnt pick it up unless the pressure goes below 25% and thats quite abit! But thanks for the info mav. I always thought that the TPMS was real-time.

Well it only cost an extra 30 bucks ... not much damage done if it was worthless...

[Gene]

So I guess my conclusion is:

1) If you are lazy and dont check your tyre pressure that often, get nitrogen.

2) Unless you are racing, nitrogen is useless. Like most of us, our cars are road cars so we will not notice any advantage.

3) Whatever the salesman said was all bull-crap.

Thanks!

[Banzai]

Fortunately I get my nitrogen for free. Haven't bothered putting it in the VW yet.

[wai]

Anyone have experince of nitrogen in their tyres instead of air?

Essentially, air is 77% nitrogen and 22% oxygen with the majority of the remaining 1% being argon (these are general rounded values).

Nitrogen is used in aircraft tyres because the oxygen can oxidise the aluminium over time from the inside. Naturally air can attack the wheels from the outside. Then again, you can't park an aircraft in the air, so you can say there is some advantage to be gained in using nitrogen in aircraft tyres.

The advantage of nitrogen over air is that if the source of the compressed air is not dry, you can get moisture introduced as well. Then again, even when tyres are filled using nitrogen, the air is not first purged from the system so there is air and moisture in the tyre anyway.

In all honesty, for normal everyday use, there is little advantage in using nitrogen over air. All it will do is cost you when you use it.

I have driven over 500,000 km over the past 35 years, and the only tyre failures I have had have been where penetration has occurred from the outside, so nitrogen would not have helped at all.

[Corey_R]

I'm off the opposite opinion.... I had nitrogen in my tyres, and they didn't need a top up for 3 years...

[kimmik]

Essentially, air is 77% nitrogen and 22% oxygen with the majority of the remaining 1% being argon (these are general rounded values).

Nitrogen is used in aircraft tyres because the oxygen can oxidise the aluminium over time from the inside. Naturally air can attack the wheels from the outside. Then again, you can't park an aircraft in the air, so you can say there is some advantage to be gained in using nitrogen in aircraft tyres.

The advantage of nitrogen over air is that if the source of the compressed air is not dry, you can get moisture introduced as well. Then again, even when tyres are filled using nitrogen, the air is not first purged from the system so there is air and moisture in the tyre anyway.

In all honesty, for normal everyday use, there is little advantage in using nitrogen over air. All it will do is cost you when you use it.

I have driven over 500,000 km over the past 35 years, and the only tyre failures I have had have been where penetration has occurred from the outside, so nitrogen would not have helped at all.

someone who speaks with more sense than opinion, the world needs more of you.

[Corey_R]

Wouldn't it be better than people talk in "facts" than either opinion OR sense?