noob question ...

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hi,

i want to put nitrogen in my tyres (father-in-law says its better for when we travel long distance) a few questions i have:

1. is it safe ?
2. can i top up with normal compressed air of the pressure get a bit low ?
3. are there any downsides ?

thanks in advance
 
The air that we breath is about 78% nitrogen, and only 22% oxygen ... why bother paying for pure nitrogen in the tyres? It's a gimmick, and Joe Public gets taken in every time by crap like this.
 
if you have to pay for it, then i wont bother with it...

...like the above said its more gimmicky than anything else.

and too see the full, albeit small advantage, you'd have to keep it filled with nitrogen for the life of your tyre.

and yes, you fill it up to the same pressure as your normal pressure
 
javs said:
hi,

i want to put nitrogen in my tyres (father-in-law says its better for when we travel long distance) a few questions i have:

1. is it safe ?
2. can i top up with normal compressed air of the pressure get a bit low ?
3. are there any downsides ?

thanks in advance
Click to expand...

I've got nitrogen in my tyres, haven't really noticed any real difference. Got it from TWT when I got new tyres, don't think they charged me for it, & I can go get it topped up at any branch for free.

Not too sure what happens if you top it up with normal compressed air (apart from no longer having pure nitrogen in your tyres, of course).

Can't think of any downsides.
 
am i correct in saying that notrogen doesn't heat up ? thus it helps preventing blow outs on long distance travel ?
 
Its supposed to make your tyres last longer, probably due to heating.

As to your questions:
1.) Yes
2.) Yes.
3.) Costs about R80 once-off if you keep going to the same place, e.g. twt.
 
It makes sense I think.
Tyres expand when they get hot due to the particles inside.
If nitrogen doesnt get hot that fast and your tyres dont expand then you stand a lower chance of getting a blowout?
I have Nitrogen...
 
javs said:
am i correct in saying that notrogen doesn't heat up ? thus it helps preventing blow outs on long distance travel ?
Click to expand...

No, not correct. Nitrogen, like air (which is 78% nitrogen) obeys the gas laws (Ideal Gas Law, Boyle's Law, Gay-Lussac's Law, Avogadro's Law, and Charles's Law). Any difference between nitrogen and air is not likely to be measurable with the sort of equipment one uses on a car. (In other words, nitrogen heats up just as much as air does, and volume or pressure increases correspondingly).

The major reason for using anything other than atmospheric air (Ferrari use carbon dioxide in F1, for example) is that standard compressed air contains some water vapour, and the water can expand into gas unevenly, and also (in theory) cause corrosion on wheel rims. This can be eliminated by passing air through a drier, at which point the dry air has the same results as any other gas. In practice, the amounts of water vapour are so small as no make no practical difference to road cars.
 
i'd say helium is the way to go, as it will make the car lighter.
 
Keeper said:
i'd say helium is the way to go, as it will make the car lighter.
Click to expand...

hahahahaha...maybe thats the reason you see those huge boot spoilers on some cars, as they need to keep the car grounded when the tyres are filled with heluim
 
JK8 said:
It makes sense I think.
Tyres expand when they get hot due to the particles inside.
If nitrogen doesnt get hot that fast and your tyres dont expand then you stand a lower chance of getting a blowout?
I have Nitrogen...
Click to expand...
on which cars?
 
yip it keeps tyres cool..so tyres supposed to last longer & better braking (tyres dont get HOT & therefore dont slip/slide)

*edit*

i dont have it in the tyres of my car so cant confirm this!
 
Last edited:
Ziym3 said:
yip it keeps tyres cool..so tyres supposed to last longer & better braking (tyres dont get HOT & therefore dont slip/slide)

*edit*

i dont have it in the tyres of my car so cant confirm this!
Click to expand...

Um - I thought hot tyres had better grip?
 
javs said:
hi,

i want to put nitrogen in my tyres (father-in-law says its better for when we travel long distance) a few questions i have:

1. is it safe ?
2. can i top up with normal compressed air of the pressure get a bit low ?
3. are there any downsides ?

thanks in advance
Click to expand...

The one reason I remembered using nitrogen for my tires were when I send my car to go fix it for a puncture. The guy told me it is best filling your tires with nitrogen gas after fixing a puncture because the stress level on the puncture level is much lower than with compressed gas.. Basically almost to "ride" the puncture in before it gets torn out suddenly..

Performance wise, I really didn't notice anything... nor in petrol economics
 
OMW the last 100 years or so of using tyres with air were all a stuff up, everyone panick! we should have been using Nitrogen. Oh what to do.. what to do.
/sarcasm
 
Did you see how much water/oil a compressor spits out if they do not maintain the traps and filtration properly.

The impurity problem is solved with Nitrogen.
 
Nokkie said:
The one reason I remembered using nitrogen for my tires were when I send my car to go fix it for a puncture. The guy told me it is best filling your tires with nitrogen gas after fixing a puncture because the stress level on the puncture level is much lower than with compressed gas.. Basically almost to "ride" the puncture in before it gets torn out suddenly..
Click to expand...

Heh. Sounds like he was spinning a line of BS.
 
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