Nitrogen vs compressed air in tyres tested

[Jan]

Nitrogen in tyres tested — with disappointing results

The debate around filling tyres with nitrogen instead of compressed air is fast and furious, but we noticed no difference during our testing.

Many garages and tyre retailers will encourage the use of nitrogen, even charging extra for it, touting benefits such as reduced wear, less heating, and even less pressure change due to heat.

 

[rietrot]

Uhm 3°C difference on the max temp on front tires. 40°C is pretty hot.

Definitely seems like a valid use case in more sporty softer rubber tires.

The most wear would happen at the extremes not at the average. Like most engine wear happen at startup when engine is cold.

 

[Smugs]

Air is 78% nitrogen anyway...

 

[Jan]

Uhm 3°C difference on the max temp on front tires. 40°C is pretty hot.

It was the nitrogen-filled tyre that got hotter, though...

 

[r00igev@@r]

Scam

 

[Jan]

Scam

If @r00igev@@r says it's a scam...

 

[rietrot]

It was the nitrogen-filled tyre that got hotter, though...

Okay. Then nitrogen is garbage.

 

[r00igev@@r]

If @r00igev@@r says it's a scam...

If you get 3 of your friends to fill their tyres with nitrogen you will get a free pomp coin.

 

[rietrot]

We need CO2 to fill tires.

 

[r00igev@@r]

The new Seffrikan crypto coin, the Pomp. Endorsed by both Elon Musk and Steve Hofmeyr as they know how to pomp.

 

[ArmatageShanks]

Technically, its nothing, negligible at best.

As a sales gimmiuc though, brilliant.

 

[r00igev@@r]

We need CO2 to fill tires.

A bomb will cost about R100 and can be used as a fire extinguisher in an emergency. Maybe not a bad idea!

 

[Lupus]

Air is 78% nitrogen anyway...

Yup, scary that we breathe more nitrogen instead of oxygen

 

[rietrot]

A bomb will cost about R100 and can be used as a fire extinguisher in an emergency. Maybe not a bad idea!

You get them for cheaper(or used to). Is one enough for a car tire? I used it on bicycles before.

 

[rietrot]

Why Are Formula One Tyres Filled With Nitrogen?

You might know that Formula one tyres are made of special coumpounds but do you know why they are filled with nitrogen instead or normal air ?

www.tyreplex.com

F1 guys use it for consistency.

I geuss zero benefit to the average guy doing less than 300km/h

 

[GMAN03]

Most of the benefits of Nitrogen (in aerospace and racing applications) comes from the Nitrogen being dry (little to no moisture content). The Nitrogen that tyre retailers supply is often not dry and can in some cases have higher moisture content than compressed air.

 

[garyc]

Tried nitrogen in the tires at my local Tiger Wheels. They used long hoses that stretch across a significant part of the shop. To fill with nitrogen they unplug a hose from an air point and plug it into a nitrogen point without any subsequent purging. This meant that I was getting mainly the existing air in the line. The next guy getting air probably got my nitrogen.

I also tried monitoring the temperature with a FLIR camera after getting off the motorway. This measures the temperature of the tire itself rather than the gas inside, but the conclusion was the same as the article (because I probably had air in the tires). The biggest difference seemed to come from getting the right inflation pressure, with checking it against a calibrated gauge. Some petrol stations have gauges that are significantly in error.

 

[r00igev@@r]

You get them for cheaper(or used to). Is one enough for a car tire? I used it on bicycles before.

No, the bike ones are way too small. You need one about at least 8x the size of the big mountain bike ones.

 

[OhYeah84]

Biggest waste of money. I think I got an extra 10km on my tank of diesel in my double cab. Never again.
Money-making racket at the very least.

 

[R13...]

Yup, scary that we breathe more nitrogen instead of oxygen

We evolved to work that way, if the air turned 100% O2 we wouldn't survive. Would probably burn to death before suffocation, which may be the same thing in the end.