Nitrogen in Tires

[grotto69]

When we bought our FR3 they filled the tires with Nitrogen. Oh no, not another tire post...

Anyone know what the benefit of this is/was? They said smoother ride, I'm not convinced. Also, if I need to top off, can I put air in now, or do I have to stick with Nitrogen.

Your thoughts are appreciated.

Grotto

[davel1971]

air filled tires change pressure with temperature change. Rule of thumb about 1psi per 10 degrees. Nitrogen pressure stays constant regardless of temp.

[MagnoliaTom]

You can add air. Nitrogen allegedly keeps pressure longer and it is drier than air preventing issues with TPM sensors. I have it in my tires and needed to add air after 3 months so I'm not really sold.

[Tiggerdad]

Nitrogen has larger molecules and won't leak down as much and that tires will run a little cooler. Problem as I see it, every time you put a gauge to the valve stem you let a tiny amount out and eventually you have to air up again. You then must find a nitrogen station which may be hard to find or use air. Using air will dilute the nitrogen. Air is 78% nitrogen. IMO, a waste of money.

[10x]

Nitrogen has a larger molecules structure. So it takes longer for it to leak out of tires and maintains pressure better. Just use air and check pressures every time you go camping.

[dezolen]

Just another gimmick to take your$$$$$$. Get 10 more miles per gallon as well........

[WFD]

and it seems a bit silly that they put nitrogen in trailer tires...a little inconvenient to haul the trailer to a tire shop to add nitrogen down the road when they will require it, eventually at some point they will...in my opinion its only beneficial for the first little while of ownership, till that top up is required... concept of nitrogen makes sense, but at least when its done on your TV tires or car tires you can wheel it into a location easily for the top up.

Rick

[davel1971]

Originally Posted by WFD

and it seems a bit silly that they put nitrogen in trailer tires...a little inconvenient to haul the trailer to a tire shop to add nitrogen down the road when they will require it, eventually at some point they will...in my opinion its only beneficial for the first little while of ownership, till that top up is required... concept of nitrogen makes sense, but at least when its done on your TV tires or car tires you can wheel it into a location easily for the top up.

Rick

I've always thought same thing. Plus, why are we wasting it in cheap Chinese tires. Keep the nitrogen and give me some quality air filled tires.

[Bobb36]

I hate when they take my black caps and put on them ugly green ones, oh and I think the nitrogen is worthless too.

[B47]

Whether nitrogen in tires is worth the hassle or not is an ongoing discussion item.

If I might, I suggest the OP do a search of the topic here as there are many points of view and opinions given. One of the threads was started on 12-2010 and there are several more.

[Mtelkman]

FYI, regular air is 78% nitrogen.

I had a talk with my dealer's service guy. He told me that he asked Forest River if, when mounting the tire new, they evacuate the existing air out of the tire and create a vacuum before filling with pure Nitrogen. The response was no. So they are adding Nitrogen to a tire already full of regular air. IMO, gimmick.

[cucamelsmd15]

Originally Posted by davel1971

air filled tires change pressure with temperature change. Rule of thumb about 1psi per 10 degrees. Nitrogen pressure stays constant regardless of temp.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooope.

PV = nRT

Cant defeat the laws of physics. And your rule of thumb actually applies to N2 filled tires. Air in tires will change about 2 psi per 10 degrees. Ive got, oh, a few gigs worth of data to back this up too.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...jsp?techid=191

Overall, nitrogen isnt worth the hassle to put in your tires unless you really enjoy a lightened wallet, or youre using it for a critical application like race tires. Full disclosure, I do use it in my race tires and vacuum them prior to filling with nitrogen simply because it is more reliable and consistent when determining pressure climb in varying conditions. Otherwise, I dont bother with it in anything else.

[TxTravelingRN]

Had it in my Nissan 350Z. Worthless IMO and switched back to air. Got low tires just as often. Supposedly the nitrogen makes the psi more constant in tires regardless of temperature. Didn't find it to live up the hype at all as I frequently had 8-10 change in psi from early cool morning to warmer afternoon.

[ChooChooMan74]

We use to put nitrogen in the race car tires. Caused less pressure buildup when they heated up keeping the stagger consistant. Of course, we had nitrogen cylinders for the air guns.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 using the FRF mobile app.

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by cucamelsmd15

Noooooooooooooooooooooooope.

PV = nRT

Cant defeat the laws of physics. And your rule of thumb actually applies to N2 filled tires. Air in tires will change about 2 psi per 10 degrees. Ive got, oh, a few gigs worth of data to back this up too.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...jsp?techid=191

Overall, nitrogen isnt worth the hassle to put in your tires unless you really enjoy a lightened wallet, or youre using it for a critical application like race tires. Full disclosure, I do use it in my race tires and vacuum them prior to filling with nitrogen simply because it is more reliable and consistent when determining pressure climb in varying conditions. Otherwise, I dont bother with it in anything else.

I'm not sure I'm following you here. The Tire Rack article states the rule of thumb that tires inflated normally, will have a pressure change of ONE psi per 10 degrees of temperature change.......as copied below:

"Tires are typically inflated with air that’s a combination of roughly 78% nitrogen (N2), 21% oxygen (O2) and 1% miscellaneous gases. And since all gasses expand when heated and contract when cooled, tire inflation pressures rise and fall with changes in temperature by about one psi (pound per square inch) for every 10° Fahrenheit change in temperature. This is one of the reasons it’s recommended that tire pressures be checked early in the morning before ambient temperatures, the sun's radiant heat, or the heat generated by driving causes the tire pressure to rise."

Were you linking to the Tire Rack article to prove or disprove your statement of 2 psi per 10 degrees?

[Oakman]

Our Silverback came with nitrogen in the tires and the first two years, including over winter storage, I never had to add air to the tires. I finally had to put a couple of pounds of air in each tire over this winter. If your RV came with nitrogen then enjoy the benefit of not having to air up the tires all the time.

[cucamelsmd15]

Originally Posted by wmtire

I'm not sure I'm following you here. The Tire Rack article states the rule of thumb that tires inflated normally, will have a pressure change of ONE psi per 10 degrees of temperature change.......as copied below:

"Tires are typically inflated with air that’s a combination of roughly 78% nitrogen (N2), 21% oxygen (O2) and 1% miscellaneous gases. And since all gasses expand when heated and contract when cooled, tire inflation pressures rise and fall with changes in temperature by about one psi (pound per square inch) for every 10° Fahrenheit change in temperature. This is one of the reasons it’s recommended that tire pressures be checked early in the morning before ambient temperatures, the sun's radiant heat, or the heat generated by driving causes the tire pressure to rise."

Were you linking to the Tire Rack article to prove or disprove your statement of 2 psi per 10 degrees?

Every publication says some form of "about 1 psi per 10 degrees". Thats fine. I have data that shows that its actually closer to two, usually between 1.7-1.8 psi per 10 degree change because those articles always assume two things:
1. Professional installation of tires
2. The air you get from professional installation or the gas station is run through a dryer and is relatively free of humidity (hint: its not, and it isnt).

I was linking to the Tire Rack article because it disproved the notion that nitrogen doesnt change pressure with temperature, and also because they (like most other organizations) think more people would be better off with a tire pressure gauge and a little common sense.

The moral of the story is to simply check the tire pressure, versus spending money on gimmicks such as nitrogen in passenger car tires.

[Herk7769]

The "Nitrogen" Myth has been debunked years ago.

It was a scam run by tire dealers to increase profits. It was SO profitable, that just about everyone now "Offers the Service."

And no, every gas obeys Boyle's Law of Gasses. Nitrogen also expands and contracts when temperatures change. Since a tire's internal volume is constant, changing the temperature will raise and lower internal pressure.


Oh, and the reason Nitrogen is used is NASCAR, Space Shuttle, and Aircraft tires is for crash purposes and no other reason. Those tires STILL explode when heated; they just don't contribute their oxygen to the fire.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by cucamelsmd15

I was linking to the tire rack article because it disproved the notion that nitrogen doesn't change pressure with temperature, and also because they (like most other organizations) think more people would be better off with a tire pressure gauge and a little common sense.

A big "amen" brother!

[youroo]

The (Nitrogen) comes up every year right after the (Daytona NASCAR Race)! Lots of Members go to the race and get the (Secret) info about the (Nitrogen) then try it for all kinds of reasons,(Speed above 65MPH, better handling out of turn 4,cooler brakes,more MPG,Ect.) The bottom line use (AIR)! Youroo!!