03-26-2009, 04:51 PM
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#1
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Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Colorado
Posts: 317
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Is Nitrogen worth it?
I use CO2 to fill my Jeep tires on the trail and came across this interesting article on various gasses used for filling tires:
http://www.powertank.com/truth.or.hype/
Dave S.
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Dave S.
2003 Boxster S
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03-26-2009, 06:44 PM
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#2
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Chicago suburbs
Posts: 1,675
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Makes sense for track cars; otherwise, it's good bench racing talk for the rest of the folks.
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JGM
2002 Boxster S
1973 911 Green FrankenMeanie
PCA DE Instructor circa '95
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03-26-2009, 07:26 PM
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#3
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Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Du Monde
Posts: 2,199
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NO! As in Negative... not Nitrous Oxide
If it were readily available (which it's not), and if it were free (which it's not), one could argue that it is better.
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03-26-2009, 08:23 PM
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#4
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Registered User
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Santa Clara, CA
Posts: 247
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The advantage is that it is naturally dry. If you have a good dry air supply there is no difference, the hard part is getting compressed air completely dry.
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2005 987 - 112K miles PASM + 6-speed - Daily Driver
1988 944 - 240K miles- Race Car
1974 911 Targa - new project
2009 Triumph Street Triple R - 27K mi - Blazen Orange
1976 Ford F250 camper special - tow vehicle
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03-27-2009, 01:57 AM
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#5
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Use 2B NW Ohio, now NE Ohio
Posts: 563
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It is an exellent fire suppression agent. So if you foresee your tires catching on fire, I would recommend filling them with Nitrogen. That's why airlines, NASCAR and NASA use Nitrogen in their tires.... otherwise, I wouldn't pay for it. A couple of tire shops use it as part of their service, but it mainly for marketing purposes.
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My Porsche mechanic drives a Saturn.
'98 Artic Silver w/ Tip
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03-27-2009, 04:46 AM
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#6
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Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Missouri
Posts: 226
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The tire place used it (for free) when they mounted my tires last summer... since then, my car has gotten 35% better mileage, accelerates faster, the tires have shown zero wear, and twins in bikinis pop out of the front trunk whenever I drop the top.
Oh wait... there is no difference, except for the tacky "nitrogen" metal valve stem caps they used. Still need to replace those with the black plastic.
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03-27-2009, 05:02 AM
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#7
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Registered User
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Bowmanville, Ont
Posts: 295
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+1 on jmatta's comment.
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-- 02 Boxster S
-- Black/Black
-- Sideskirts/PSE
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03-27-2009, 09:10 AM
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#8
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Use 2B NW Ohio, now NE Ohio
Posts: 563
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Samson
The tire place used it (for free) when they mounted my tires last summer... since then, my car has gotten 35% better mileage, accelerates faster, the tires have shown zero wear, and twins in bikinis pop out of the front trunk whenever I drop the top.
Oh wait... there is no difference, except for the tacky "nitrogen" metal valve stem caps they used. Still need to replace those with the black plastic.
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Where did you go? I need tires like those!
Wow!! Nitrogen valve caps! Cool!
__________________
My Porsche mechanic drives a Saturn.
'98 Artic Silver w/ Tip
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03-27-2009, 10:00 AM
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#9
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Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Missouri
Posts: 226
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vath2001
Where did you go? I need tires like those!
Wow!! Nitrogen valve caps! Cool!
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I forgot to clarify: midget twins in bikinis. It's kind of a small trunk, you know...
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03-27-2009, 10:27 AM
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#10
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Guest
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In March of 2006 I paid $20 to have my tires flushed and filled with Nitrogen at Cassidy Tire. Never paid another dime since, except for a tip here & there because the guys in the shop always stop what they are doing and attend to me when I stop in for a top-up or overfill for winter hibernation.
Every Fall (mid October), for the last few drives of the year prior to winter hibernation, I usually need 1 or 2 pounds of extra pressure. Other than that, the tires never require air and are very stable over a large temperature gradient.
Just before winter hibernation, I get the tires overfilled to about 60 PSI. In the Spring, that tires are still at +55 PSI and no flatspotting. This is after +5 months of storage.
When I had new tires put on last Spring at the Porsche dealership, they used nitrogen too.
I also got 20,000 miles on my first set of Pilot Sports.
Works for me.
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03-27-2009, 11:24 AM
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#11
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: San Carlos, CA 94070
Posts: 1,450
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and here is an article from a bunch of guys who probably know more about the subject than we all together The Racer's Group (TRG):
http://theracersgroup.com/news/show.php?id=373
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I still wave at Boxsters, but they no longer wave back :-(
2002 Boxster S "Violet" (sold but not forgotten)
2009 Carrera 4S "Kelsey" (current ride)
2015 FIAT 500e "Nikki" my commuter car
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03-27-2009, 02:51 PM
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#12
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Use 2B NW Ohio, now NE Ohio
Posts: 563
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisZang
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I just read that article... wow my fours years of engineering college were a waste of time. Why did I attend those thermodynamics and fluid classes, when an article wrote by a journalist major explains it all in 5 paragraphs.
Air, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon, Hellium are all gases under pressure: PV=nRT. I will agree that compressed air will have a water content compared to a ideal gas, but we ain't talking about no rocket science when it come to filling up a tire. And a good compressed air system will dry the air removing most of the water vapor. They talk about how the Oxygen permeates the rubber... but race tires spend most of the life sitting on a shelf in normal air.... without being mounted onto a rim.
NASCAR uses Nitrogen because is doesn't "feed" a tire fire .... safety.
__________________
My Porsche mechanic drives a Saturn.
'98 Artic Silver w/ Tip
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03-27-2009, 03:18 PM
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#13
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Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Chicago suburbs
Posts: 1,675
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Received a postcard from my local dealer this week...
"Nitrogen Tire Fill Special", only $39.95...
Gee, I guess I'll rush right over! Can you throw in some snake oil while 'yer at it?
I hear that works extra well with Mobil 1 0W40...
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JGM
2002 Boxster S
1973 911 Green FrankenMeanie
PCA DE Instructor circa '95
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