Nitrogen . . . any thoughts on this?

[Seren]

I believe the logic is that the 21% oxygen that is in the air causes oxidation of the rubber when the tires heat up when driving causing the rubber to degrade faster. Has there been studies done to prove this? None that I have ever seen, but I guess it could make some since although I would think that the wear on the outside of the tires due to the road would happen way faster then any oxidation inside the tires. Regardless, it would havd no impact on the handling of the vehicle.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[GWRam]

I believe, not sure, that airplanes use 100% nitrogen in their in their tires but I have no plans on traveling with my trailer at 32,000 feet in the air..........Don

That is true.
If filled with just normal air, the 20% that is not nitrogen contracts enough at -50*C that the rubber can unseat from rim resulting in flat tire for landing. Not a pretty sight. 100% nitrogen doesn't contract
or at least not as much at extremely cold temp.

 

[Shortest Straw]

Is the problem resolved yet? I go to Discount tires religiously. I have a few stories that would explain why but that is probably another thread. Even though I will only go there I have noticed a few things. First if they do not take the wheel weights off and balance my tires like they just put them on new, I will have a vibration no matter what. Secondly, those "automatic" machines they use to air up your tires are not reliable. I always check my tire pressure when I get home as the pressure never matches.

 

[blong]

Pulling will be alignment, vibration is Balance or Defective tire or bent rim. Last fall I ordered 6 new BF Goodrich's all terrains for my truck and had 3 of the six test out of round, tire shop had a Road force balancer and was able to confirm the bad tires right away. Sent them all back and went to Michelins LTX , all 6 balanced true no issues. According to the Tire shop, all tires have a tier rating, A is best and anything else has a higher margin of error which means more defective tires from new. Who knew? Experienced the same thing with Goodyear Pro grade Wranglers a few years back, bought 4 new and two were bad and had to be replaced, second set was better but just barely balanced within specs so had to keep them.

 

[TedS]

This from tire rack may help the discussion: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=191

 

[Lynn1130]

I don't think nitrogen has died out. My wife's 2014 Lexus came with nitrogen in the tires. I have no idea whether it is any better than plain old air from the tank.

 

[Nabo]

I also agree that nitrogen is not dying out in that the Dodge/Ram/Jeep dealership we trade with now installs nitrogen on the new vehicles and has also bought a new vacuum machine to pull out the air from any existing tires to put back nitrogen in.

 

[Bohemian]

The deviations from ideal gas law behavior for nitrogen and oxygen are about the same, thus it makes no practical difference in pressure changes in truck and trailer tires. If there is an advantage to pure N2 it is outside these pressure changes.

 

[Jim.Allison]

His report seems to say that 02 effuses where nitrogen does not, so I guess an intelligent man would realize that your tire is an nitrogen filter. Given that then your tire will collect its own nitrogen and effuse the 02. So it must not matter. Put whatever you want in you tire, it will decide for you. LOL

Let them put in what they want but don't buy it. What was the famous quote attributed to PT Barnum?

 

[Randy]

This is just my thoughts on the nitrogen filled tire issue. I am in the commercial refrigeration business in the Atlanta area. We use a lot of nitrogen
in our installation's to test our new system's for leak's. It is a great gas for that because it can be used at a very high pressure and does not affect the
atmosphere as nitrogen is 78 percent of what we breathe. There is no way that a tire store can pull a vacuum on a new tire going on a rim or I am
stupid. I want any of you to send me a link of the tire store pulling a vacuum on your tire installation. I would love to see it. The tire would have to
be seated on the rim. Then they start a vacuum and the tire would have to separate from the rim. There is no way that a vacuum can be pulled
on a tire mounting. I could fill all of my tires in our household with nitrogen but they already are at the maximum possible percentage.

 

[Manzan]

I get free nitrogen from Costco. Have them check pressure before any trips with the trailer. Trailer tires from Costco started out with nitrogen but can't get in there with the trailer. For the first few trips, three of the tires still had all nitrogen, one did not due to my error. My TST 507 tire monitors showed that tire ran hotter. Now all the tires have been topped up a number of times and they all read the same depending on sun exposure. On my third year with these tires.

 

[Jim.Allison]

How does nitrogen assist in shedding heat generated from internal friction and ambient heat? I'm not real clear on the physics of that. Especially in a 15500 lb trailer at 65 mph. And how does nitrogen affect tire longevity? Just curious. I may need to run it in my Big Country.

I get free nitrogen from Costco. Have them check pressure before any trips with the trailer. Trailer tires from Costco started out with nitrogen but can't get in there with the trailer. For the first few trips, three of the tires still had all nitrogen, one did not due to my error. My TST 507 tire monitors showed that tire ran hotter. Now all the tires have been topped up a number of times and they all read the same depending on sun exposure. On my third year with these tires.

 

[Jadatis]

I can write it all again , but better look at this link to Airstream forum, where I come in .
Then if there are still questions , you can ask them here.
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f438/nitrogen-for-tires-122522-5.html

End conclusion is that almost every selling argument can be de-mithed or relativated, and the goals you take it for are questionable if normal filling would not even be beter.
About the question why Nitrogen gives lower heat buildup , thats sertainly not true, and a little liquid water might even give better cooling of critical parts of the tire.
Temperature inside does not say all about the temperature of those critical parts

 

[Bohemian]

O2 and N2 are about the same molecular size, thus will transport through rubber at about the same rate, extremely slowly. N2 does have a slightly higher heat capacity, less than 0.1%, but not significantly so that it would transport heat more quickly. O2 is not going to oxidize the inside of the tire any more quickly than the outside.

 

[Bohemian]

If O2 diffuses out, it also diffuses in, thus totally negating any benefits of using N2.

 

[Seren]

As I mention previously, my understanding it is because of oxidation, which does not obviously occur with N2


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[shurack24]

Regardless of all the hype, the one thing which I will atest to is that from my experience Nitrogen filled tires tend to stay at 80 psi without dropping for month after month. "Regular" air always seems to weep out just a little over time, thus necessitating air-ups on a regular basis. Not a problem if you check your air pressure regularly but who does that.

 

[GWRam]

Regardless of all the hype, the one thing which I will atest to is that from my experience Nitrogen filled tires tend to stay at 80 psi without dropping for month after month. "Regular" air always seems to weep out just a little over time, thus necessitating air-ups on a regular basis. Not a problem if you check your air pressure regularly but who does that.

I've noticed that also. I set the Nitrogen pressure during summer and when fall comes around and its 40*or more cooler the pressure is still the same in the tires.

 

[porthole]

Regardless of all the hype, the one thing which I will atest to is that from my experience Nitrogen filled tires tend to stay at 80 psi without dropping for month after month. "Regular" air always seems to weep out just a little over time, thus necessitating air-ups on a regular basis. Not a problem if you check your air pressure regularly but who does that.

All snake oil as far as normal automotive and recreational use is concerned.

Pressure dropping over time? I'd say it is more a tire issue then whether you have 78% N or 92-95% N

I bought my GoodYear G-114's in August 2010, so this past spring is the 4th time I did a spring get ready and still had the same pressure I parked the trailer with 4-5 months prior.
If the trailer is parked with 115 in November, they usually have 115 in the spring.

Pulling a vacuum? Can't do it. But, proper N installation does involve evacuating the tire to some negative pressure.
Real N filling? Most of the real world experts agree that best case scenario is a final N content of 92-95%

Just doesn't make sense to us to go through the extra trouble.

Now, if you are running a NASCAR Ford or Chevy at 200+ with huge tires and and a relatively low pressure where the difference of 1/2 a PSI can mean the difference of doing the burnout at the end or going straight to the trailer - N does have it's place.

I would guess there are very few folks that actually have a pressure gauge that is accurate enough to really benefit from the whole N controversy.

 

[JohnDar]

The most I've seen my trailer tires drop over a seven month storage (during winter/off season) is 5 psi. I fill them to 110 psi with either my air nailer compressor or the Viair compressor. The Freestar G-rated tires were made in December, 2007, and are still on the rig.