[xBhp Universal Thread]: Inflating Tyres with Nitrogen

[athulbenoy]

Hey guys hw much does Nitrogen Air cost and can any one tell me where i can fill nitrogen air in Kerala

[driverace]

Originally Posted by Sunnyside_up!

Without pointing fingers at anybody, it has been my observation that MANY riders top-up their tires after riding for awhile. A tire should NEVER be filled up when warm, especially true with Nitrogen as the PSI reading will be off, resulting in over inflation. (Hence the rock-hard complaint after the tire cools down)
..

Just one query here:

Say, if we ride for around 10km and go to an air-station to fill up air.
We fill in / correct the tire pressure (say for e.g.) = 30 psi
Lets assume - tire inside temp(existing) = 40 degrees.

__

Over night the tire cools and comes to Room temp = 28 degrees.

__

Now,
My guess would be, the pressure if it was 30 psi @ 40 degrees,
and the insides of the tire cool down to 28 degrees,

We should have a (comparitively) under-inflated tire say (for e.g.) like - 27 psi.

___

Can anyone please explain,
how it would result in over pressure? ( or in the R15's case - pressure going to 40 psi? )
I am also very puzzled with that happening!

___

Apart from that, My query:

Guys,

I just put a liquid sealant in my tyres ( Stock tires - Fz-16).

The brand is 'preventaflat' and its an australian brand.
The Tyre shop owner claims its reports are much better than Yam suggested 'Slime' brand.

I went with that, (and trusting my friends, who guided me to him - saying him to be a good and a proff guy.)

Any of you have any experience with similar sealants?

Also,

As I am setting up the bike for Saddlesore 1000- next weekend, I also filled Nitrogen in both tires after the sealant (F-29 and R-36) - Just to check the feedback/and test in city.
Recommended pressures are (F-28 & R-33)
Ride just feels a tad-bit bumpy.

I am used to riding the Fz with 29 and 34 (usually with the assumption, that I am compensating the heat that I put in the tyres by the time I reach the Air filling stations!)

Do I continue with same pressure, or get it down to the recommended pressure?

Thanks,

Ace.

[siddharth_ZMR]

Originally Posted by dhiraj

Advantages of Nitrogen :


[*]Nitrogen is a gas that does not support combustion, therefore in case of an extremely overheated tire catching fire, nitrogen makes for much better safety than regular air (which contains oxygen that supports combustion).

Normal air filled in tyre is not combustible even though it contains oxygen. Going on by the given explanation all metal foundaries or any high temperature place should be in vaccum.

Whatever you said is it really proved by any experiment or just a add on to the advantage list?

I am not going against you but many nitrogen filling stations give wrong information about advantages of nitrogen.

[Sarvajit]

Originally Posted by Sarvajit

I think my R15 is showing adverse effects to Nitrogen. It is losing pressure very soon-lost about 9 psi in 5 days. I was quite amazed since normal air never used to go down this soon, how can it happen with Nitrogen.
There are no rim bends, only possibility is one of the old punctures has given way slightly, but even in that case it should have gone flat in a day or two-that also hasn't happened. It is steadily losing about 1 psi from the front, which is somewhat acceptable and 2 psi per day from the rear, which is not.
Any ideas on it?

Originally Posted by Juris

I don't whether this is coincidence or something fishy. I too started facing front and rear tyre(R15) losing air pressure after switching to Nitrogen. I switched back to normal air and till date get air pressure checked and corrected twice a week. Pain but could get any solution to air pressure going low day by day.

Originally Posted by Sunnyside_up!

Without pointing fingers at anybody, it has been my observation that MANY riders top-up their tires after riding for a while. A tire should NEVER be filled up when warm, especially true with Nitrogen as the PSI reading will be off, resulting in over inflation. (Hence the rock-hard complaint after the tire cools down)

The culprit for loss of pressure after filling N2 is normally down to the quality of the Nitrogen. Filling stations use N2 from generators which actually remove the oxygen and moisture from regular air - at least in theory. These generators unfortunately do not always produce 'pure' N2 due to losses in efficiency due to lack of maintenance of the equipment, etc., Of course, another culprit could be a leaky valve or old re-opened puncture.

I have been using N2 for over 3 years , topping up about every 45 days at a reputed tire dealer in my locality in both my cars and bikes and have had ZERO complaints so far. I do not believe that our modest driving will generate so much heat that we need N2 to cool down our tires but I do feel that the single most important benefit is having properly inflated tires most of the time.

Hope this helps. Cheers!

Thanks for the inputs. I am now using Nitrogen on a regular basis too.
I would like to correct my above post-after the above incident, I found 3-4 small punctures in the rear tyre&got them fixed.
My observations now:
1. The rear tyre loses about 2psi per week, considering its age.
2. The front tyre loses about 1psi per week, same age but no punctures yet.
Generally TL tyres lose pressure faster than TT tyres, added to that I'm running on worn out tyres, so it is even worse in my case. However,
I am quite satisfied with Nitrogen, as in case of normal air I would be running to fill air every 3-4 days. Now I'm filling Nitrogen once in 15 days&am a happy man-this will suffice until I get the tyres changed!

[Sunnyside_up!]

Originally Posted by driverace

Just one query here:

Say, if we ride for around 10km and go to an air-station to fill up air.
We fill in / correct the tire pressure (say for e.g.) = 30 psi
Lets assume - tire inside temp(existing) = 40 degrees.

__

Over night the tire cools and comes to Room temp = 28 degrees.

__

Now,
My guess would be, the pressure if it was 30 psi @ 40 degrees,
and the insides of the tire cool down to 28 degrees,

We should have a (comparitively) under-inflated tire say (for e.g.) like - 27 psi.

___

Can anyone please explain,
how it would result in over pressure? ( or in the R15's case - pressure going to 40 psi? )
I am also very puzzled with that happening!



Ace.

The reason that one should not fill tyres after riding is that the rubber compound in the tyres will be softer due to heat generated while riding and therefore be likely to expand more easily. If it expands more due to heat, it will take more air to reach a certain PSI reading. Later, when the tyres cool down, this extra air will be compressed by the cooling tyre walls leading to a higher PSI reading - otherwise known as over inflation!

Hope this settles your doubt!

Regarding riding the 10 kms to fill the N2, I would say look for a closer source even though I doubt a short 10km ride will heat up the tires too much. Otherwise, you can always go old-school and pour water over the tires and wait a while to cool them off!

My personal experience with 'Slime' and other sealants is that they make the tyres feel heavy and affect the dynamics of the bike - so I don't like or use them. Prefer carrying a puncture kit.

[Sunnyside_up!]

Originally Posted by Sarvajit

Thanks for the inputs. I am now using Nitrogen on a regular basis too.
I would like to correct my above post-after the above incident, I found 3-4 small punctures in the rear tyre&got them fixed.
My observations now:
1. The rear tyre loses about 2psi per week, considering its age.
2. The front tyre loses about 1psi per week, same age but no punctures yet.
Generally TL tyres lose pressure faster than TT tyres, added to that I'm running on worn out tyres, so it is even worse in my case. However,
I am quite satisfied with Nitrogen, as in case of normal air I would be running to fill air every 3-4 days. Now I'm filling Nitrogen once in 15 days&am a happy man-this will suffice until I get the tyres changed!

Glad to hear that it worked out for you. Get yourself new tyres and watch your need to top-up lengthen to 30/45 days intervals like me. Your mileage, handling and even shocks will be better, direct result of riding with properly inflated tyres most of the time.

On a different note, I just sold my 15K KM ridden Ninja which were still riding on stock tyres and they still looked new! Compare this against most guys who changed tyres around 10-12K kms. I definitely attribute it partly to properly inflated tyres.

[Sarvajit]

Originally Posted by Sunnyside_up!

Glad to hear that it worked out for you. Get yourself new tyres and watch your need to top-up lengthen to 30/45 days intervals like me. Your mileage, handling and even shocks will be better, direct result of riding with properly inflated tyres most of the time.

On a different note, I just sold my 15K KM ridden Ninja which were still riding on stock tyres and they still looked new! Compare this against most guys who changed tyres around 10-12K kms. I definitely attribute it partly to properly inflated tyres.

Yes, the importance of having properly inflated tyres can never be over emphasized-direct impact on mileage, suspension other than tyre longevity, handling etc.
The best part is, properly inflated tyres will not allow the rim to bend if thrown into a pothole whereas there have been many cases of rim bends due to under inflated tyres!
Yes, I need to get the tyres changed. Just hope I can change the bike with stock tyres like you did!

[driverace]

Originally Posted by Sunnyside_up!

The reason that one should not fill tyres after riding is that the rubber compound in the tyres will be softer due to heat generated while riding and therefore be likely to expand more easily. If it expands more due to heat, it will take more air to reach a certain PSI reading. Later, when the tyres cool down, this extra air will be compressed by the cooling tyre walls leading to a higher PSI reading - otherwise known as over inflation!

Hope this settles your doubt!

Oh, this factor, I did not think about!
Thanks for explaining it so well!
My personal experience with 'Slime' and other sealants is that they make the tyres feel heavy and affect the dynamics of the bike - so I don't like or use them. Prefer carrying a puncture kit.

Ok,
Thanks for the input on that too!
Ya, around 200 ml of liquid (almost 200 gm of weight - free to move in the tire - sure will mean some change in dynamics)
But, then again - by what magnitude? Can't say..

care,

Ace.

[theblazerider]

At the end of the day what is the conclusion...what is the exact pressure that must be filled...m totally confused

[antz.bin]

Originally Posted by theblazerider

At the end of the day what is the conclusion...what is the exact pressure that must be filled...m totally confused

It was an OT Discussion there, but very relevant here. Do read up on this post onwards