Oxygen vs Nitrogen in tires

Paul your kind of weird. Kind of like it but strange.

Aw shucks. That's the nicest thing anyone has said to me in a long time.

Ok if I keep filling my tyres with air and the oxygen leaks out but nitrogen doesn't do I then end up with a nitrogen filled tyre over time by default?

It seems to me that the main point of using Nitrogen is that it is dry and thereby more stable with regards to temperature and expansion and contraction.

That is why Nitrogen is used in aircraft tires and struts.

I expect any inert gas, like argon, that is dry would have the exact same effect.

If I had a source of pure Nitrogen, I'd give it a try, but not sure how I'd notice any difference?

I've been saving gas by farting in bottles and pressurizing the methane. So far my mileage is 200 farts per hour.

Rocket3Pilot said:

It seems to me that the main point of using Nitrogen is that it is dry and thereby more stable with regards to temperature and expansion and contraction.

That is why Nitrogen is used in aircraft tires and struts. I expect any inert gas, like argon, that is dry would have the exact same effect.

If I had a source of pure Nitrogen, I'd give it a try, but not sure how I'd notice any difference?

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My first job was as a chemist in a Nuclear research lab. Had they given me a job in Physics - I'd probably still be there.

Here and now I GUARANTY YOU that lab grade 100% pure (therefore dry) Nitrogen (often called OFN - Oxygen Free Nitrogen) that we used is NOT cheap.
Aircraft owners can afford it - would you?. Aircraft tyres/struts are also subjected to monstrous changes in temperature and pressure on landing.

I'll also bet the air valves on Aircraft wheels are better and checked/replaced regularly on a maintenance schedule.

How long is the hose? - When you remove the hose from the tyre valve - ambient air WILL be drawn back into most hoses - This contains water - and if the humidity is high - this could be a lot. I habitually SQUIRT air out of the garage hoses before I Use them - usually (and this is central Spain - basically a desert) - moisture squirts out. I have overheard a conversation where an attendant proudly stated their air was clean because they washed out the hoses every morning.

Inert gases - sure - but at what cost?

The use of Nitrogen in Road Tyres is "Snake Oil - Smoke and Mirrors" etc. The Tyres are made to use AIR.

thorin said:

hey all,
colder temperatures seems to result in lower tire air pressure.
i was wondering if anyone uses nitrogen instead of oxygen in their tires and if so, does that help maintain constant pressure better?
also, if nitrogen is a better gas for keeping tires at chosen inflation, do you find it harder to locate a nitrogen fill station for top-offs (on a long road trip, etc.)?
thanks for any and all opinions........

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Don’t waste your money, it’s a total con.

sonny said:

Paul your kind of weird. Kind of like it but strange.

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Oxygen vs Nitrogen in tires

Seems to me Pablo knows what he knows and is straight forward about what he don't know!!!

One of our most human traits is to extrapolate from our experiences (no offense intended here: this is an indicator of intelligence.) Works once and a while but mostly leads us down the wrong road about the physical world.

Science is a process, not a set of facts, that requires repeatability and falsifiability. Our personal experiences are almost never controlled experiments that would qualify as science. Thus statements like "I use nitrogen and my tires don't leak down." is rather immaterial. Were three or more sets of tires put on similar vehicles, air valves and wheel rims tested (variables known and controlled), and used in a similar fashion over the same period of time and then the pressures tested with quality gauges? How valid was the experiment? Was it statistically valid? Was the experiment run multiple times and also by others? Did they get the same results? Why not?

For us who live in cold climates, when the air temp is below freezing, it can "snow" inside your tire if you have moisture in the air within it. The change in volume of water from a gas to a solid is large so we can get large pressure changes from this and the reduction in air volume due to the colder temperature. While most of us don't ride our motors in weather this cold, we do drive our cages.

Another impact of moisture is corrosion of the rim bead mating surface. This is likely the largest source of all tire pressure loss. Bottled nitrogen's lower water content is its most valuable asset in regards to tire inflation. Reduce the water in your air and you get the same benefit.

A side note: Auto racers began to use nitrogen to better control tire pressures. Their tires can get very hot, small pressure changes can have a large impact on handling, and they often run much lower pressures than we do on the street. Most of us can't feel a 3 psi tire pressure change in our cages and 1 psi in our bikes on the street. Hence, checking tire pressures is a good practice and it extends tire life.