Nitrous in Tires???

[walleyemaniac]

Heard a couple guys talking today about filling their vehicle tires with nitrous.

$3/tire at most places

Suppose to help with milage and traction in cold weather.

First time I've heard anything of the sort!

Any truth to it, has anyone else heard of this.

I could see where nitrous might keep the tires cooler and maybe not melt down into the snow and ice as much, but with regular vehicles there's not that much load on the tires to get them to heat up. Any info, if any, would be appreciated.

[LightningBG]

Air is 80% nitrogen. And PV=NRT so the pressure vrs temperature response of air and nitrogen is identical anyway.

There is conceivably some reason for nitrogen over air but I'm not sure what it is. Control fire?

[delcecchi]

The outside of the tires is exposed to air and it doesn't seem to hurt them appreciably. (uv from sunlight is another story)

Nitrogen to keep some dingbat from filling your tires with quarts!! of water? That is pretty far fetched to me. How about, drain the compressor. Or run the air through some Calcium Chloride? I have never heard of anyone's wheel rusting out either.

The fact that PV/T is a constant is from physics class. If V volume is also a constant, P/T is a constant, no matter what kind of gas it is. (Boyle's law). Yeah it is for an ideal gas etc. but it holds for steady state.

I am unconvinced. Sounds like a scam, like paint sealer.

[Macgyver55]

I have never heard of anyone's wheel rusting out either.

Probably havent changed many tires if you've never seen a rusted wheel inside the tire. Cleaning the rim and bead seat area of rust and corrosion is possibly the most important part of a good tire mounting job. Thats the part most people never see.

[delcecchi]

Yeah you are right, I haven't changed many. How often does it cause a problem? The only wheels I ever had trouble with were the aluminum ones on my explorer.

[Macgyver55]

I couldnt possibly come up with a frequency without guessing but it does happen often. Thats not to say I'm all for nitrogen because I'm not sure the cost really outweighs the benefit.

Quote:

The only wheels I ever had trouble with were the aluminum ones on my explorer.

The aluminum wheels are affected by the moisture too, only they get pitted and leak possibly even sooner than steel ones do. The more you change tires, and/or fill them, the more chances you have to get moisture in them and the more subject to corrosion they are. You rarely know how a shop maintains their compressor and I've changed many a tire that had a puddle of water or ice in it when dismounted.

As I said earlier, for what they charge at some places its no deal, where I buy tires its free, so I say you bet.

[delcecchi]

For free, it's a deal. you betcha.

[jt24]

I just change from summer air to winter air when it gets cold!