Air or Nitrogen?

[ITSRVIBE]

Hey guys I was just wondering what you guys have in your tires.Currently I have Nitrogen in mine, came from the Dealers with it so I'm trying it out. But I'm curious to see what you guys have.

[ramenboy...]

air. nitrogen in your tires will give you negligible result, if any.as long as you didn't have to pay for the nitrogen, no big deal

[star_deceiver]

Air.... well I guess technically I have 78% Nitrogen....

[ramenboy...]

Quote, originally posted by star_deceiver »Air.... well I guess technically I have 78% Nitrogen....hahah bingo

[DressedInBlack]

i use helium because it makes my car lighter!

[djkeev]

Well, what kind of tire use do you do?IF your tires are on an airplane then by all means, fill them with Nitrogen. It helps with the temperature extremes of elevation and massive heat on touch down.If you are a race car driver, by all means use Nitrogen. The gas doesn't expand or contract as much as oxygen does so tire pressures stay more constant.If you are one that must have the lastest "fad", go for it, throw your money away. There is no need for Nitrogen on a daily use highway vehicle.The thing you should really be concerned about is the amount of moisture in your tires. Compressed air is often laden with extreme levels of moisture and you can actually have cup fulls of water inside of your tire, particularly if you ever got air from a shop that doesn't drain the moisture out of the air tanks or have water filters installed on the air lines.Know your air source!!! I know, hard to do but it is very important.If you do decide to go with the latest fad and spend the money on Nitrogen, make sure they know how to do it. The tire must be filled and bled several times to displace any residual oxygen in the system. You can spend $30 bucks a tire to have this done! I'd even go so far as to have the tire dismounted and dried on the inside by sitting in the sun for a few hours and then remounted. Personally, I'd put the money into a better tire or a product you can enjoy on a daily basis!About the only major Plus would be that there isn't any moisture inside of the tire to rust the wheel on the inside.My 2 cents.....Dave

[Old Tele man]

...uh, AIR is 21% oxygen and 78% nitrogen and 1% other...so, AIR is already 3/4ths nitrogen and it's FREE!

[djkeev]

Quote, originally posted by Old Tele man »...uh, AIR is 21% oxygen and 78% nitrogen and 1% other...so, AIR is already 3/4ths nitrogen and it's FREE!Many shops the perform this "service" have nitrogen generators that remove the oxygen from the air.As I mentioned, the oxygen is the "problem" with the air in tires along with the moisture in the air, not the natural nitrogen.Dave

[Old Tele man]

...true, oxygen is hard on rubber, but the REAL reason N2 is used in aircraft tires is for FIRE / EXPLOSION safety only, not achievement of longer tire life.

[djkeev]

Quote, originally posted by Old Tele man »...true, oxygen is hard on rubber, but the REAL reason N2 is used in aircraft tires is for FIRE / EXPLOSION safety only, not achievement of longer tire life.Yes, mandated by the government. There is a multiplicity of reasons why aircraft use nitrogen. 1. its non corrosive2. its non flammable3. it less likely to change its volume due to temp4. it is less likely to change its volume at altitude.But, it's still a waste of money in a highway car.Dave

[morbay]

Quote, originally posted by DressedInBlack »i use helium because it makes my car lighter!Beat me to it...

[djkeev]

Quote, originally posted by DressedInBlack »i use helium because it makes my car lighter!Yes, but......and it's a big but, the helium molecule is so small (which is why it floats) that it passes right through almost any container used to contain it, including rubber tires.Ever look at a latex helium balloon the morning after the party? Kind of shrunk and sagging isn't it? That's why, it can't contain the gas. The mylar takes longer but over time, it passes through.Dave