tires and Nitrogen

[tekebird]

Sept Bus Ride:  a nice article on Nitrogen inflation

[gg04]

 At the Dallas GAT show nearly all the tire manufactures and the retread people were pushing nitrogen...and offering one version or the other of a self contained nitrogen generator...big selling point longer tire life all claiming tire deteroration was from oxygen molecules migrating through the side walls...Biggest seller this show ringtread retreads....and Michelin pushing super singles with Alcoa....

[JohnEd]

gg,
That is an excellent piece of info on the nitrogen.  I had heard nito touted years ago but the angle of less deteriation fell on my deaf ears as I was smart enuff to know that the oxidation problem was on the outside...not the inside.  This is the first I have heard about ox migrating thru the rubber and it makes sense.

Thanks again,

John

[tekebird]

mjoisture too as you almost never get dry air when you fill a tire.

One reason Equal tire ballancing powder is a problem

[Hi yo silver]

 Heck, I figure if I have fairly new tires, they will last longer than I will be driving the bus anyhow.  (I'm tellin' my age)
Dennis

[Tony LEE]

"big selling point longer tire life "

and no doubt they had hard experimental evidence to show that in the REAL world, deterioration because of oxygen was the limiting factor in tyre life. Probably not.

[wvanative]

At the Dallas GAT show nearly all the tire manufactures and the retread people were pushing nitrogen...and offering one version or the other of a self contained nitrogen generator...big selling point longer tire life all claiming tire deteroration was from oxygen molecules migrating through the side walls...Biggest seller this show ringtread retreads....and Michelin pushing super singles with Alcoa....

Yeah, self contained nitrogen generator BIG SELLING POINT and a big price I bet also. My guess the price is something only a charter out might be able to afford. But I have been wrong before LOL. It would be nice if they had some Stats to show how much longer the tire life was. Even if you got three or four years more that would be great, but at what cost $$$$$ for the generator.

WVaNative

[JackConrad]

Since the air we breathe is approx. 70% nitrogen, might be a way to make a "home brew" nitrogen generator?  Jack

[tekebird]

local tire outfit will fill at 5.00 per tire.

[JackConrad]

local tire outfit will fill at 5.00 per tire.

Just curious, do they pull a vacuum or just add the nitrogen to air(and moisture) that is already in the tire?  Jack

[DrivingMissLazy]

local tire outfit will fill at 5.00 per tire.

I have met a few antique car collectors who used nitrogen to inflate the tires on their antiques. They felt it significantly extended the life of their antique tires.

The ones I saw had their own nitrogen bottle with regulator to cut the 3,000 pound pressure down to a reasonable level. I suspect they seldom, if ever, had to refill the bottle.

Richard

[DrivingMissLazy]

local tire outfit will fill at 5.00 per tire.

Just curious, do they pull a vacuum or just add the nitrogen to air(and moisture) that is already in the tire?  Jack

The antique guys just deflated the tires initially on the first fill. After that, it was just a matter of every few months adding additional nitrogen to keep the tires inflated to the proper pressure.

Richard

[compedgemarine]

while I am sure that the lack of oxygen and more importantly the moisture in the tire would help tire life but as stated tires tend to rot from the outside in unless it is a trailer queen that never goes outside. the big benefit to nitrogen is that it is more stable and does not vary with heat. we used it in the race cars years ago only because if you put 20 pounds in a tire at room temp it would stay at nearly 20 pounds at racing temp. of course those tires never lasted long enough to know if there was a deterioration benefit.
steve

[cody]

The obvious question I have is that, like many on here, I check my tires regularily and when I find a tire that might be a little low, now I would have to find a place where they have nitrogen to bring the pressure up or have a nitrogen source with me.  I'm sure there is some benefit here somewhere but I think I'll stick with regular air until more information on the pros and cons is available.

[Stan]

Air is slightly over 78% nitrogen and almost 21% oxygen. When that oxygen escapes through the rubber and reduces your 100 PSI tire down to 79 PSI just fill it back up with the common 78% nitrogen air and you will have almost 95% nitrogen in your tire. If you have to do it a second time it will  be closer to pure nitrogen than you get from a nitrogen generator. One ad says their unit produces 98% nitrogen.

If your concern is moisture, you likely have an air dryer on your bus compressor and it is easy to put one on your shop compressor.