The Great Nitrogen Scam

[ChrisRs]

Ever put Nitrogen in your tyres?

Wondered if you should?

Want to know more?

 

Watch this Video

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bCnWvMleVD0

[Llanigraham]

Of course it is a con.

Air comprises:

78% nitrogen

20% oxygen

2% argon, carbon dioxide and other gases.

[Ally_bassman]

I would never pay extra to get it put in.

 

I never have, but my chosen tyre place pride themselves of using nitrogen to inflate tyres that they fit. 

[Lady Elanore]

I've been banging on about this scam for a few years (included on Brisky).

 

I was told by a tyre fitter that I wouldn't lose pressure with nitrogen, so I pointed out that, as the only stuff that could leak out was the 'none-Nitrogen' gases then when I filled up with air again I would be adding normal air to a Nitrogen rich, but slightly under inflated' tyre. So after a few tops ups, I would have accidently replace much of the nasty 22% of 'bad gas' with good Nitrogen. It's a sort of self healing way of your tyre filling itself with Nitrogen. Put it this way, if you left your tyre for many years and all the bad gas permeated out, you would be left with a flattish tyre that was around 100% pure Nitrogen (at least according to their rubbish) left in it. Then you fill up with air and replace the (roughly for the man maths) 20% of total gas that has gone AWOL. So you have now got the totals of 

 

80% Nitrogen (gas left in tyre after permeation) + 16% Nitrogen (the amount of Nitrogen that come in with the 'Air' top up - 20% 'top up' of which 80% is nitrogen) meaning your tyre now has 96% Nitrogen in it for free.

 

OK it's an extreme example, but if you top your tyres up regularly, then you tending towards this solution. The tyre fitter didn't understand what I was saying and told me Nitrogen was still better than air. :(

[ChrisRs]

I don't disagree either..Highlights what I supected

I have never thought it made any difference at all

Just a way that some tyre fitters can charge more money to the ignorant motorist

[Lady Elanore]

I bought some Snowtrac tyres about 7 years ago and the fitters filled them with Nitrogen for free. The difference was spectacular. I had bragging rights in the pub when we talked about the gases in our tyres. I felt like the 'Empress of inflationary tyre gases' for the night.

[ChrisRs]

The 'placebo' effect its called isn't it?...LOL

[999pooch]

I've got bags of this nitrogen stuff for sale if you would like some. £2 per bag

It comes flat packed. You inflate at your own convenience & get 22% of other gases completely free.

[Breezy_Pete]

I love a straight-talking Aussie. 

 

"They're busily dry-humping your leg, to get you to spend..."

 

[fordfan]

Just stick 22% more air in the tyre, when that leaks out you'll be left with a correctly inflated tyre containing pure Nitrogen.

[lol-lol]

Ever put Nitrogen in your tyres?

Wondered if you should?

Want to know more?

Watch this Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bCnWvMleVD0

 

The reason for using pure nitrogen is that is a closer to performing like a perfect gas. http://www.britannica.com/science/perfect-gas

 

Filling your tyres with air (which has not be dried) means you are putting air with water in it which will affect the rising of the pressure as the tyre and air inside gets warmer.

 

Charles law applies for a perfect gas and temperature is in degrees Kelvin (0 C=-273 K) so only if you are driving hard enough to raise your tyre temperature by tens of degrees would it really make a difference.

 

Driving the Fabia VRS flat out, huge amounts of braking and accelerating,  I reckon the tyres got to 60C or so, did not have an optical pyrometer with me we use for doing such things sometimes.  Or driving the Octavia VRS at 140-150, like you can on German roads, I would prefer to have nitrogen in my tyres rather than ordinary air so the air pressure does not past the tyre maximum.

 

The Fabia VRS would have taken more MSA speed-distance records if the tyres have not overheated and delaminated.  I would not both in the Dacia or even the S type Jag (unless popping over to Germany) and I tend to set the tyres near the 5 person loaded pressure ie around 40 psi, so when hot after a bit of a run could be around 45 psi, like driving on stone tyres.

 

I would use Helium if the sold it !

 

I only pay a pound for the fill on the VRSs for each tyre which I thought was reasonable.  In F1 they can use nitrogren or dry air.  

[Ootohere]

There used to be some really crap compressors used to inflate tyres, and people never bothered or just forgot to drain the water trap 

or change filter, lots of H20 was coming out along with the air.

[Chriswright03]

So a tyre that has been run on a car at high speed would be full of hot air.  So much the same as 'some' of the threads in this place then.

[Richf]

We used to use "dry air " for the tyres when we were drag racing, much more consistency which is very important when you only run 5-8 psi

[Breezy_Pete]

Watch the video. All good science as far as I can judge. All 'gains' are either insignificant or non-existent.

[ChrisRs]

Absolutely. Watch it and then comment if necessary..LOL

[Lady Elanore]

Just stick 22% more air in the tyre, when that leaks out you'll be left with a correctly inflated tyre containing pure Nitrogen.

You didn't read my post did you. Naughty boy. You will only have around 80% of your extra 22% 'fill-up' air left as pure nitrogen (approx. 17.6% by tyre max volume).

Edited 19 September, 2015 by Lady Elanore

[lol-lol]

So a tyre that has been run on a car at high speed would be full of hot air.  So much the same as 'some' of the threads in this place then.

 

Hotter air and possibly some steam if the tyre was filled with humid compressed air rather than dry air or nitrogen or another inert and semi-perfect, perfect acting gas.

[Breezy_Pete]

Watch the video.

[Chriswright03]

Whoosh!!!

[Lady Elanore]

Hang on, if we are removing all the Nitrogen from the air and putting it into tyres, aren't we going to starve all the plants and make everything catch fire and burn in the oxygen rich atmosphere.

 

 

My God!!! We need to stop this evil weapon of mass destruction now. NO MORE NITROGEN IN TYRES!!!!!

[lol-lol]

Watch the video.

 

I watched the first few minutes and the guy came across as a know-naught so did not bother with the rest.

 

If you hear that nitrogen is used circuit racing, drag racing and people like myself with honour degrees in science specializing in thermodynamic say we do it then if you chose to ignore that and listen to some unsubstantiated and unqualified Ozzie good luck and if you ever do have a high performance vehicle and use it like it can be used (somewhere legal like the autobahns or the ring) and get a tyre going pop thorugh over-pressure you might reconsider.  Darwin rules.      

[Breezy_Pete]

Lol.

[Lady Elanore]

I watched the first few minutes and the guy came across as a know-naught so did not bother with the rest.

 

If you hear that nitrogen is used circuit racing, drag racing and people like myself with honour degrees in science specializing in thermodynamic say we do it then if you chose to ignore that and listen to some unsubstantiated and unqualified Ozzie good luck and if you ever do have a high performance vehicle and use it like it can be used (somewhere legal like the autobahns or the ring) and get a tyre going pop thorugh over-pressure you might reconsider.  Darwin rules.      

if my hair spontaneously combusts and my pet cactus dies, I'm blaming you! Stop taking all our Nitrogen

[mac11irl]

Okay... in some specialised areas such as drag racing circuit and the like where the tyres aint normal road tyres and things need to be very consistent at all times i can maybe see the point re nitrogen.

but for 99% of normal day to day driving imthe effect is goig to be non existent.

lol lol, say in your last post about having a tyre going pop due to over pressurising due to normal air but said previously you inflate your tyres to a level which, when they get hot, will have that much close to blowing due to the pressure ?????