Oxygen vs Nitrogen in tires

[thorin]

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........

 

[Zonechamp]

I fill with nitrogen all the time. I don't have to add for the life of the tire, no winter pressure loss. Also your pressure doesn't fluctuate as much due to temperature. If I just put regular air in, my rear tire loses about 5 psi over winter, the front maybe 2psi. It's worth doing. I have friends who claim they get better wear if they use nitrogen, but I'm sure that's because their tires are properly inflated.

 

[Speedy]

Air is 78% nitrogen. Nitrogen gas' properties for thermal expansion are about identical to air. The one and only important difference is in the moisture content. Shop air is notorious for having high water content whereas properly generated nitrogen should have no water content. The expansion of water as a gas is the culprit for pressure changes as its thermal expansion rate is vastly different than dry air or nitrogen.

The idea that the molecules of nitrogen are somehow "different" and therefore don't propagate through the tire carcass like air is used to separate you from your money as the difference is miniscule. See the first statement above and then do a little algebra. As to oxidization: What about the outside of the tire? I have never seen a tire that had worse oxidization inside than outside.

If you pump your own air and use a water separator, using nitrogen is waste of money.

 

[Blackthou]

Amen to Speedy's reply. A survey was done on the subject recently in the uK and it was found that tyre stations selling nitrogen do not produce enough good quality nitrogen to warrant the cost.

All that aside, I had nitrogen put in my car once when I changed the tyres and the pressure remained constant for many months. There was no temperature fluctuation and I thought it was the way to go until the survey was publisehd and haven't bothered since.

 

[thorin]

Well, some confusing comments here.
We got 2 folks who have used nitrogen and have experienced no pressure loss but we also have scientific data that suggests no real advantage is provided.
Blackthou, if I’m understanding you correctly, your experience was that your tires were holding pressure better with nitrogen but discontinued that practice after reading the report.
I would think your actual experience would have greater value than a published report.
Thus my confusion.....

 

[BigNorm]

I prefer a oxygen/acetylene mix. It's down right explosive.

 

[Zonechamp]

Let's not compare pure nitrogen with something you think might be nitrogen. Mine comes right out of the bottle, so it's not wet or mixed off. Once I change my tire and seat the bead, I put about 20psi nitrogen in and then bleed it off as sort of a purge. The I refill it to full pressure, I never touch it again until the tire comes off (a year to 1-1/2 years). It does not leak out. I have 2 quads, 2 bikes, 3 tandem trailers, 1 - boat trailer, 4 - 3/4 ton trucks, a Jeep and my mom's car. ALL THE SAME RESULT (only for the last 10 years anyway). If you are adding at a service station to a tire that's 1/2 full or you don't purge, your really not running nitrogen are you? I don't that much time to be chasing around with air compressors and checking tires all the time. That was my reason for starting on nitrogen in the first place. Another point, I've never had a blowout on a trailer tire since I switched. If cost is an issue, I'm not sure how much you are paying, but in Canada it's not much.

 

[Blackthou]

Ah, sorry to mislead you Thorin.

I changed the car about a year later and then didn’t bother with the Nitrogen partly due to reports and also as I didn’t need to change my tyres.

When I do go to new tyres, I’ll also go to Nitrogen because regardless of reports, I found it more stable.

Hope that helps.

 

[thorin]

Ah, sorry to mislead you Thorin.

I changed the car about a year later and then didn’t bother with the Nitrogen partly due to reports and also as I didn’t need to change my tyres.

When I do go to new tyres, I’ll also go to Nitrogen because regardless of reports, I found it more stable.

Hope that helps.

hey, it's not hard to confuse this old boy......thanks for the explanation!

 

[Willyone]

I save my summer air for the next riding season when I change over to my winter air.