Nitrogen In Tires - Page 2 - Ford F150 Forum

Bobcat · 10-27-2009, 09:33 PM

Some years ago , I was in the pits at Darlington with the 23 car and watched some of the big teams filling their tires with nitrogen . According to the tire man ,the big advantage was little or no pressure change when the tire got hot , so the tire diameters stayed the same hot as they were cold . It kept them from guessing what would happen to their setup after a long run .... and Darlington got real hot in July .
I can`t see nitrogen being an advantage for the street or off road .

SFCFX4 · 10-27-2009, 10:09 PM

Mine came with nitrogen free for life, but they were trying to charge $399 for it.

SFCFX4 · 10-31-2009, 04:38 PM

I wanted to add that I got a nail in my rear passenger tire the other day. I live about 45 mins from the dealership I got my truck from which put the nitrogen in my tires. I called around and nobody in my town carried nitrogen, so I went to the nearest dealer to have them patch the tire and just put air in it to get by. They assured me that I probably wouldn't be able to tell a difference in how it drove with air in it. They were very wrong! The truck drove incredibly sloppy and the back end would jump, almost like the bump shift in the transmission that everyone has been talking about. I notice it too in mine, but not that bad. Never as bad as it felt with air in that one tire.

So I took it to my actual dealer today, went ahead and got my complimentary first oil change at 3900 miles because I noticed the mileage was slipping, and they filled the tire with nitro for free since I get it comp for life. Problem solved, truck drives like new again.

I don't know if the benefits of nitro that are being touted are true, but if it's free, I'm using it.

mustangGT90210 · 10-31-2009, 04:53 PM

If it's free, I see no reason not to use it

I think what caused your truck to get jittery and what not was the pressure difference between the Nitrogen and Oxygen. If Nitro is all it's cracked up to be, then when it warms up, it's still the same temp, whereas normal air would have expanded a bit.

Then there's also something floating in my head like this: Nitrogen is a bigger molecule, so having say 10 PSI in a nitro tire will actually be less pressure than 10 PSI of air, because the air will be more dense, due to there being more of it in there. I could be wrong, but that's how I percieve it.

Platinum_Sean · 11-01-2009, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mustangGT90210

If Nitro is all it's cracked up to be, then when it warms up, it's still the same temp, whereas normal air would have expanded a bit.

If the nitro, or air, has heated, then so has the tire. In our day to day riding, we want the air to expand as the tires do to keep the pressure relatively the same. In super-high-performance situations (race cars), tires are much hotter than ours and eventually their nitrogen heats up and expands as well.

Quote:

Then there's also something floating in my head like this: Nitrogen is a bigger molecule, so having say 10 PSI in a nitro tire will actually be less pressure than 10 PSI of air, because the air will be more dense, due to there being more of it in there. I could be wrong, but that's how I percieve it.

Pressure, like mass, is irrelevant to what is being measured. 1 pound of feathers = 1 pound of lead. 1 kPa of pure oxygen = 1 kPa pf nitrogen.

Don't forget, the air that we breathe, and put in our tires, is 78% nitrogen to begin with.

transmaster · 11-01-2009, 12:56 PM

The only place I know of where the use of nitrogen gas counts for something is in formula 1 racing cars. These fantastic cars are so touchy that a difference of just a 10th of 1 psi in tire pressure can be the difference between a car that handles well and one that is undrivable. In these car the stability of the pressure in the tires is vital. Because of the secrecy F1 team have, for all we know they could be using argon gas. The bottom line, is as has been pointed out here for our use, it is a waste of money.

They did a myth Buster show where they filled helium to see if the slightly lightera football could be thrown farther, and it made no difference.

Hiddenmickey · 11-01-2009, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Platinum_Sean

If the nitro, or air, has heated, then so has the tire. In our day to day riding, we want the air to expand as the tires do to keep the pressure relatively the same. In super-high-performance situations (race cars), tires are much hotter than ours and eventually their nitrogen heats up and expands as well.

Pressure, like mass, is irrelevant to what is being measured. 1 pound of feathers = 1 pound of lead. 1 kPa of pure oxygen = 1 kPa pf nitrogen.

Don't forget, the air that we breathe, and put in our tires, is 78% nitrogen to begin with.

Trivia: I believe it was the third person to walk upon the moon, Pete Conrad, who dropped a feather and a hammer together to prove the mass and gravitational pull etc. I believe it was first thought of by that guy Newton. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm just pulling this out of thin air.

FitchFORD28 · 11-01-2009, 08:17 PM

I bought my truck from a dealer in norther IN and they fill all there cars with Nito. I will say my Scorpions on 20's feel so much better then regular tires mybe just me, but i do think there is somthing to it.

Platinum_Sean · 11-01-2009, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FitchFORD28

I will say my Scorpions on 20's feel so much better then regular tires mybe just me, but i do think there is somthing to it.

Compared to what? Air? Air is 78% Nitrogen, are you saying you can feel the extra 22%??

Not trying to yank your chain, I am more pessimistic than maybe I should be.

Cheers.

xllxll_VIPER_llxllx · 11-01-2009, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by transmaster

The only place I know of where the use of nitrogen gas counts for something is in formula 1 racing cars. These fantastic cars are so touchy that a difference of just a 10th of 1 psi in tire pressure can be the difference between a car that handles well and one that is undrivable. In these car the stability of the pressure in the tires is vital. Because of the secrecy F1 team have, for all we know they could be using argon gas. The bottom line, is as has been pointed out here for our use, it is a waste of money.

They did a myth Buster show where they filled helium to see if the slightly lightera football could be thrown farther, and it made no difference.

i love mythbusters