Nitrogen v. Air

[busa senior]

A local tire and service center has an ad that reads:  Nitrogen V. Air:

Better gas milage
Better handling
Better braking
Reduces tire failure
Reduces tire leakage.
I am not familiar with the use of nitrogen.

Has anyone tried nitrogen in their tires in lieu of air?

Gary

 

[Sloto200]

I know most new cars, especially Hondas are coming with nitrogen in the tires vs air. Helps keep the tire at a constant pressure and doesnt mess with the Tire Pressure Monitoring System. I dont see an advantage in it for a bike riden on the street though as i'd rather keep a constant eye on them myself and change my pressures accordingly. I asked them about if i needed a refill on my nitrogen on my car tires when i was in the dealer a few weeks ago and it was expensive to keep up with it so i opted out of the nitrogen.

 

[BusBear]

Good day all. My personal experience with nitrogen in the bike tyre is that your tyres don't warm up to operating temp and the adhesion levels are then lower. Maybe good for tin cans with four wheels but not for bikes

 

[FastBusa]

Air = 78% nitrogen, 20% oxygen & 2% other gasses. Don't see how this will help?

 

[hillbilly]

Compressed bottled nitrogen is a very dry gas containing less than 0.5 ppm h2o. As I understand it water vapor in compressed air can be as high as 5% volume. Water vapor is said to expand more with temperature than nitrogen causing tire pressures to increase.
Nitrogen is used in aircraft tires because it does not support combustion.
The reduced leakage is due to the oxygen molecule being smaller than the nitrogen molecule. The other claimed benefit is reduced corrosion of a steel wheel.
I can see that nitrogen might be necessary to prevent problems with tire pressure sensors but the other claimed benefits don't seem to be enough to make using it worthwhile.
I have access to free nitrogen and don't bother using it. Anyway that's my 2 cents worth of knowledge on the subject.

 

[mzrsq]

Those claims mean nothing if you properly service your tires with air. The problem is, the average driver never checks their tire pressure.

My local news just did a report on the Nitrogen vs Air. They walked through the news stations parking lot randomly checking auto tire pressures. Almost every single tire was below manufacturers recommendations. So the real advantage is the fact the Nitrogen leaves the tire more slowly, leaving us lazy americans with a properly inflated tire longer instead of waiting for one of our buds to go "dude, that tire looks low"

 

[Blazing-Saddle]

I have a tank of compressed nitrogen so I do use it in my tires but I haven't seen any real benefit vs air...

 

[Commuta_Busa]

Compressed bottled nitrogen is a very dry gas containing less than 0.5 ppm h2o. As I understand it water vapor in compressed air can be as high as 5% volume. Water vapor is said to expand more with temperature than nitrogen causing tire pressures to increase.
Nitrogen is used in aircraft tires because it does not support combustion.
The reduced leakage is due to the oxygen molecule being smaller than the nitrogen molecule. The other claimed benefit is reduced corrosion of a steel wheel.

+1

also you may want to soften your compression settings if you run nitrogen at the same pressure levels. In my experiences, it makes the ride "harder". I can feel the road and cracks more through the suspension system. There seems to be less flex in the tire.

a big benefit is if you're concerned with tire growth. It keeps the tire pressures nice and stable (very little H2o). Once you get your tires to temp it can hold the temps longer and stayes more stable.

There are other gas combos you can try but the benefits just are that much better over just nitrogen. It's a good compromise IF you have to steer away from "wet air".

 

[busajack2]

Question,how do ya get all the air out so that you get 100% nitrogen back in. Its a rip.

 

[mzrsq]

Actually, I believe they try to achieve 95% Nitro..........It would simply be impossible to remove every bit of compressed air.

 

[DaCol.]

I think  

if you do any touring vs just cruising, it would be a real PAIN  

in the ASP to fine

 Nitrogen. Even if you could

,  which I doubt.