230G - 8/1/2006 1:16 AM

At that time with nitrogen being thinner then air it would slowly leak out through the rubber.

Jean - 8/1/2006 2:49 PM




As far as I know, a nitrogen molecule is BIGGER than an oxygen molecule, so it should be the opposite.

The advantages of filling a tyre with nitrogen are:

1. Factor 3 less pressure loss
2. Less tyre wear [due to 1.]
3. Better fuel economy [due to 1.]
4. Less heat development [due to 1.]
5. Less risk for - don't know the word in english - a tyre exploding while driving [among other things due to 4.]
6. Nitrogen is clean, dry and inert [not ] so no corrosion of rims

All those advantages should offset the extra cost...

Jean

DUTCH - 8/1/2006 11:13 AM

Does CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) gas - as used in the Power Tank and similar systems - have any positive or detrimental effect compared to air or nitrogen as a tire filler?

Hi Dutch-


The new nitrogen (N2) craze is more hype than fact. I’ve been doing my own research. There is some truth to the rubber corrosion claim because as “air” permeates through the rubber it brings with it oxygen, a known corrosion catalyst and since N2 is inert it carries no corrosiveness through the rubber. Since CO2 vapor is also inert it also has this advantage. The question that must be asked though is, “does this matter?”. In my opinion and the opinion of other tire experts the answer is NO. Why? The amount of deterioration to the rubber brought on by the 20% of oxygen diffusing through your tire is very minute (in my opinion theoretical more than measurable). Think about all the tire failures that you’ve experienced or know about. I’ll bet they were all caused by either a nail, hitting a hard object, a blow out due to under-inflation/overheating, or plain worn through the tread. Bottom line: Unless your car sits in storage, you’ll wear a tire tread out long before it deteriorates. Tires are very well built, highly engineered, and ultra durable these days. If oxygen corrosion was an issue they would have done something about it by now. There are more severe conditions acting upon the outside of a tire like UV, ozone, dog pee, O2, that the inside of the tire never sees yet people don’t think to worry about them.


Conclusion: Nitrogen is good, air is good, and CO2 is good for tires. Nitrogen is especially good for the nitrogen companies because they can now sell it to people that don’t need it.


Oh, and about the “nitrogen doesn’t expand” claim, in my tests over a 116˚F temperature change air and CO2 vapor expanded the same amount as N2 with a start pressure of 40 PSI.


Pic 1-2 show bottles at -11degreesF

Pic 3 shows bottles at 105 degreesF

Notice how little difference there is in pressure from one gas to the other.


Steve Sasaki

230G - 8/3/2006 8:21 AM

Dutch Wins

-UG- - 8/3/2006 9:12 AM

Funny topic. Most on this forum are proudly explaining to us and others how they chose G because of its off-road capabilities etc. We hate H2's for being busses that only look like they can off-road. The practise of off-roading includes frequent dropping of air pressure in the tire to avoid cutting the tires and to increase the performace.

Wouldn't it be really dum to pump some "air for dummies" stuff to the tires for all the brilliant but questionable reasons, if you are about to let it out couple of days later?

If you are looking for fuel economy, changing the air in the tires of the G will not save your budget. You need to change the vehicle...

-UG-

-UG- - 8/3/2006 3:12 AM

If you are looking for fuel economy, changing the air in the tires of the G will not save your budget. You need to change the vehicle...

-UG-