Seen a huge rise in the number of places offering nitrogen for tyre inflation.

Anyone using it instead of air? What are the pro's and cons?

Iirc It is not affected by heat like air is so your pressures remain constant. And it doesn't cause corosion inside your wheel.

I have a friend who owns a bus/coach company and he uses Nitrogen. He says the blurb claimed better mpg too, but he isn’t convinced.

What about general inflation loss/porous alloys? Isnt nitrogen thinner than air so any loss greater?

Also, how much do they sting you for checking pressures?

No side effects , my local tyre fitter uses it , maintains a constant prssure for a lot longer , and yes less corrosion and better for Hot and Cold running . Would recomend .

I must admit I found the whole thing a bit odd as if I remember my ‘O’ level Biology, the atmosphere has around 80% Nitrogen in it to start with.

:tempted:

Might have a look into this then.

Any idea of what is a good/common price as a benchmark? Dont want to pay over the odds as I know some fitters will charge silly money.

Aye. 78% I think. And nitrogen still expands when heated and contracts when cooled. Possibly less so than air, but I can't see there really being much in it.

It's a fair bit more dangerous than air to work with too.

Nitrogen as a Tyre Inflation media or not

In conclusion Nitrogen may offer some small advantages over air, but in everyday usage of tyres the effect would be extremely difficult to measure and any benefit marginal. Users would have the added complication, of having to return to their specialist tyre dealer to have tyre pressures adjusted, as the use of airlines at local garages would nullify any advantage that is offered by nitrogen.

But elsewhere :confused:

Drivers urged to consider nitrogen for tyres-Motoring News

and again - against

TYRESAVE: Tyre Inflation with Nitrogen

and nitrogen is relatively inert so 'why would it be more dangerous to work with' ? :confused::confused::confused:

Pure Nitrogen has larger molecule size than regular atmospheric air and due to this it is reported to have less seepage through the tyre incase of porosity etc.

SWMBO works for an industrial gas company so I have a bottle lined up and ready to use but I halted when I saw the price of an accurate tyre inflater :eek:

Just my twopenneth ..

Going 100% N2 may be slightly more beneficial for racing around a circuit but IMHO unless you drive like a lunatic all the time on the road the effects on heat buildup wil be negligable going from 78% N to 100%

To be honest the gas permeation rates will be insignificant when you consider that you'll loose far more pressure from the tyre as the tyre beading rocks back and forth in its seating when cornering etc.

From a corrosion point of view the volatiles emmited from the tyre compound itself , especially as it gets cycled between hot and cold will be more significant on their effects on metal alloys than the presence of oxygen. Some metals , like aluminium, actually benefit from the presence of oxygen as they form a protective oxidative layer on their surface preventing further corrosion from taking place.

ps. I have some snake oil if anyone wants some?

:iagree: - Dry N2 has slight benefits for racing, but isn't worth the cost and effort for road vehicles.

and nitrogen is relatively inert so 'why would it be more dangerous to work with' ? :confused::confused::confused:

Because it's surprisingly easy to flood the room with it by accident. Your body has no mechanism for detecting this (you can detect high carbon dioxide though), so the first you know is when you pass out because all the oxygen has been displaced.

Lady Bertie McHobnobs, my best beloved, works with liquid nitrogen on a regular basis. The common misconception is that the primary risk is from burns because of the low temperature; in fact it's the gaseous nitrogen boiling off that's the most dangerous aspect. You never work with it alone, you have a personal oxygen monitor, the room has its own monitor and there's a forced-air ventilation system too.

If you do it somewhere large enough and properly ventilated then it shouldn't be a big risk, but why bother? If someone accidentally knocks the valve off the cylinder the room can flood very quickly indeed - unlikely but possible and serious.

Because it's surprisingly easy to flood the room with it by accident. Your body has no mechanism for detecting this (you can detect high carbon dioxide though), so the first you know is when you pass out.

Lady Bertie McHobnobs, my best beloved, works with liquid nitrogen on a regular basis. The common misconception is that the primary risk is from burns because of the low temperature; in fact it's the gaseous nitrogen boiling off that's the most dangerous aspect. You never work with it alone, you have a personal oxygen monitor, the room has its own monitor and there's a forced-air ventilation system too.

If you do it somewhere large enough and properly ventilated then it shouldn't be a big risk, but why bother?

Ah, OK

Taa for that.

No probs - I understand that it does sound silly given that air is almost 80% nitrogen anyways.

Because it's surprisingly easy to flood the room with it by accident. Your body has no mechanism for detecting this (you can detect high carbon dioxide though), so the first you know is when you pass out because all the oxygen has been displaced.

Lady Bertie McHobnobs, my best beloved, works with liquid nitrogen on a regular basis. The common misconception is that the primary risk is from burns because of the low temperature; in fact it's the gaseous nitrogen boiling off that's the most dangerous aspect. You never work with it alone, you have a personal oxygen monitor, the room has its own monitor and there's a forced-air ventilation system too.

If you do it somewhere large enough and properly ventilated then it shouldn't be a big risk, but why bother? If someone accidentally knocks the valve off the cylinder the room can flood very quickly indeed - unlikely but possible and serious.

and it usually comes in 5 ft tall , 230 bar cylinders !!

Used to have to regularly trolley one of these babies up two flights of fire escape stairs to get them into the lab...that was until the time I dropped one back down the steps again.... funnily enough, after the clang was heard around the entire factory they provided me with a winch.........

.... which now gives you an electric shock when its raining....

Apart from helping to reduce the corrosion of your wheels it really doesn'y do much for your average man in thstreet.

Like other have said its a racing thing really as it results in a more constant trye pressure.

funnily enough, after the clang was heard around the entire factory they provided me with a winch.........

.... which now gives you an electric shock when its raining....

In't Health & Safety marvellous.

Because it's surprisingly easy to flood the room with it by accident. Your body has no mechanism for detecting this (you can detect high carbon dioxide though), so the first you know is when you pass out because all the oxygen has been displaced.

Hmm, just given me ideas

:(

I'd best go check her Insurance 1st, though :eek:

See also

Inflating tyres with.... Nitrogen? - BRISKODA - The Skoda Forum and Community

and

http://briskoda.net/forums/general-car-chat/nitrogen-filled-tyres-why/33163/

and then some...

Just wondering... nitrogen's heavier than air, right? So your wheels are heavier if you fill nitro - won't this give a decrease in mpg? (OK, hardly noticeable but still). I've understood that one of the arguments for alloys (especially on heavy vehicles) are that they reduce fuel consumption due to reduced vehicle weight.

In't Health & Safety marvellous.

Health and what? ..sorry you've lost me there..?

All comercial aircraft employed in pax/cargo use have to have nitrogen in the tyres. But on 747 there are shed loads of wheels/tyres anyway (16 central undercarriage) and each tyre comes in at about £4500. I am told that as confirmed here at 37000 ft there is no change in the tyre pressure. Lastly if the aircraft were to be parked up for weeks / months the tyres rtetain their shape, the part in touch with the ground does not bottom out too much. Thank you for choosing to fly with us today, yet another wet dat at LHR.

Hmm, just given me ideas

:(

I'd best go check her Insurance 1st, though :eek:

I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be the first to try it...