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Nitrogen for your tires

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by TeamUSA, Oct 26, 2007.

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  1. TeamUSA

    TeamUSA Member

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    http://www.getnitrogen.org/

    When I bought my new car, it had NIT in it and now after having a tire roation and balancing, discounttire put Oxy instead of Nit and it really look diffrent now, it's like there's less air pressure but when I checked it, it was normal. I also feel the handling is a bit sluggish.

    Who's using NIT?
     
  2. Apollo Creed

    Apollo Creed Contributing Member

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    Question: Will it blow up?
     
  3. TeamUSA

    TeamUSA Member

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    Nitrogen In Your Tires: Safety First

    You and your family will be safer when you’re riding on nitrogen.

    Every day – as you drive to and from work, drop the kids at daycare or soccer practice, buy groceries – air is constantly escaping through the walls of your tires. Oxygen molecules, which are smaller than nitrogen molecules, seep through three to four times faster. A tire filled with “plain old air” will lose 1.5 psi in less than a month; with nitrogen, this can take six months or longer.

    If you’re not constantly watching your tire pressure, escaping oxygen leads to under-inflated tires.

    According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) at the U.S. Department of Transportation, approximately 41,730 people were killed and 3,031,000 were injured on the nation's public roads and highways in the year 2001. NHTSA estimates that proper tire inflation could help save 50 to 80 lives and prevent 6,600 to 10,600 injuries each year.

    With nitrogen in your tires, they will maintain proper pressure longer. Properly inflated tires not only reduce the chance of a blowout, they also ensure that the recommended “contact patch” is on the road. That improves your vehicle’s handling so you can react more quickly and decisively in potentially dangerous road conditions and situations.
     
  4. Royals Ego

    Royals Ego Member

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    does nitrogen expand when its hot?
     
  5. bladeage

    bladeage Member

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    yep, just like Ballpark weenies.
     
  6. heypartner

    heypartner Member

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    I expand when I get hot.
     
  7. TeamUSA

    TeamUSA Member

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    Hve you seen any NASCAR cars blow up because of it?
     
  8. WildSweet&Cool

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    If the tires are encountering the same amount of pressure (no matter what gas is in the tire), and if the tires have the same amount of ability to leak a gas (no matter what gas is in the tire), then how can they claim that nitrogen will maintain proper pressure longer?
     
  9. Castor27

    Castor27 Moderator
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    From the above article:
     
  10. TeamUSA

    TeamUSA Member

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    maybe because the tire with NIT is cooler. just my 2cents.

    One thing that i like most is that when my car was using nitrogen, i feel like it wa smore agile, and responsive.
     
  11. ndnguy85

    ndnguy85 Contributing Member

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    basic chemistry man. size of the molecule.

    if u have a hole that leaks out something thats the size of a golf ball, then wouldnt a baseball take a lil longer to leak through?
     
  12. WildSweet&Cool

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    Okay.. yeah... somehow I missed that.
     
  13. TeamUSA

    TeamUSA Member

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    1. Why does oxygen migrate out of tires quicker than nitrogen?
    2. Why does nitrogen not expand and contract as much as air?

    Answers:
    1. Oxygen migrates out quicker than nitrogen, because:

    a. Permeability coefficients measured for oxygen, P O2 , are higher than the
    values for nitrogen, P N2 , in all known rubbers (elastomers), including those
    typical of tires. The ratio of the permeability coefficients, P O2 divided by P
    N2 , is between 3 and 4 depending on the particular rubber. This means that
    oxygen permeates 3 to 4 times faster through rubber than does nitrogen, other conditions being equal;

    b. oxygen is a smaller molecule than nitrogen (as determined by a wide variety of
    measurements of molecular size); this is true despite the fact that molecular
    weight of O2 (32) is greater than that of N2 (28), which might suggest that
    oxygen is larger than nitrogen;
    c. relative permeabilities for oxygen and nitrogen are dominated by the difference in size of the molecules.

    2. There is no significant difference in expansion and contraction characteristics of nitrogen, compared to air, when moisture is absent.

    a. Expansion or contraction of either air or nitrogen occurs to very similar extent, in response to changes in temperature, in the commonly encountered range of temperatures and pressures relevant to discussion of tire inflation.

    b. There is no practical difference as long as the gases are dry, with respect to the effect of temperature on pressure in an essentially fixed volume container, such as in a tire.

    c. Water is usually present in the case for conventional compressed air. At lower temperatures, as a liquid, water occupies very little volume. However, as temperature increases, liquid water vaporizes to become a gas and its volume expands, causing total pressure to be higher in the tire, than would be the case with dry gas. Thus, the presence of water in a tire contributes to pressure variations as temperatures change.
     
  14. tested911

    tested911 Member

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    Well the size of my Nitrogen molecules is 3 to 5 times bigger than your Oxygen molecules.. :D

    Yes Size does Matter!
     
  15. meggoleggo

    meggoleggo Member

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    If the FAA requires airplane tires to be filled with Nitrogen, I'd say probably NOT.
     
  16. updawg

    updawg Member

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    for some reason I think costco uses it
     
  17. TeamUSA

    TeamUSA Member

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    yeah. i just called them and they said they don't sell it. they only give it free if you buy tires from them, not even if you're a member there. sucks!
     
  18. tigermission1

    tigermission1 Member

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    Yeah, the problem is I don't think any of the local chains offer it as an alternative to "just plain air"...at least not at Discount Tire Co.
     
  19. Cannonball

    Cannonball Member

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    OK, so where do you get the nitrogen to put into your tires? How much more does it cost?
     
  20. KingCheetah

    KingCheetah Atomic Playboy
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    Do people actually think that tire dealers are using compressed oxygen to fill tires?

    Compressed air is 78% nitrogen.
     

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