Inflating Tyres with Nitrogen

[Raccoon]

I don't think its a placebo. I drove a friends car a few days back and I immediately noticed something different about how it felt planted on the road especially around turns when pushed hard. It seemed like you were leaning a bit on some invisible shoulder - something different. Its very perceptible. He said he recently filled the "N" gas in it

I think its a worth trying it out. Good research by Saif..

Have you test driven the car when air was filled and pressure was checked with an ACCURATE gauge? And then tested again with N, again using a accurate gauge??

If not, then....

There is no scientific test that says N will be superior to air for street vehicles.

[saif71184]

Woooww!! Finally There is a thread for it, to end my curosity about Nitrogen in tyres..Actualy,and Basically What the thread starter is saying is absolutely correct..The performance changes in a drastic way,also the handling becomes easier...also there is not much variation in the tyre temprature which can be easily noticed in the normal tyres..

Thanks L.P., From what i gather reading your posts you are quite the "Tyre Expert", and yourself approving N is quite a positive thing i'd say .

[Aryan]

@LP: Have you "discovered" the benefits of nitrogen yourself by using it on your Discover or is it just some theoretical knowledge speaking?

[Mindgrinder]

ok I dunno about mileage yet, but yes tyre feels much better i tried putting brakes hard today but almost no wobbling, also i touched tyre it was much cooler, i really do not think performance can be increased buy tyre, but yes i was feeling a little drag with normal air, which i think has reduced, but yes i can take more sharper turns with ease now.

bike is in run in period so cant really say if performance i feel more air.

[shadez]

strange what an extra 20% can do!
anyways, my questions:

1. tyre pressure - well if you check the li'l sticker of tyre pressure stuck in your bike, it says something like 25-front and 30/32-rear.
in most petrol pumps i observe they set it to 26-front and 36-rear and fill.
now, would this change in pressure settings, combined with nitrogen, give any negative/positive effects?

2. air is but 80% nitrogen. so does it actually do any good to 'bikes' (car tyres are ofcourse bigger and the effect of all 4 on road is far different from the comparitively 2 puny ones of bikes)? i mean, is the effect so drastically better for shelling out 25-30rs when normal air comes for free/1-2rs?

3. anyways air has to be put in to maintain tyre pressure. so how many times of air filling can the 'nitrogen effect' actually hold?

[Raccoon]

You said it yourself - you are anyway filling 80% nitrogen for free, when you fill ordinary air. Nitrogen is all about placebo effct!! Save you money for something worthwhile!

Whats more imp. is that you fill the recommended air in your tyres using an accurate gauge! ACCURATE is the magic word... as most gauges at fuel bunks/puncture wallas are NOT accurate. Also most people fill after they have ridden the bike some distance. Many also fill while sitting on the bike!!

Fill it right, and you wont see any difference with nitrogen... car or bike!

[shadez]

yeah i know i did. but did want to know if there is something i missed out or if something genuine does happen. with bikes ie. cars i am unsure. they have more surface area and i kinda trust sandeep with his comments.

now, where would you find an accurate gauge? how do you identify one? ideally aam admi thinking is if its new then it would be good. so is that it?

how does sitting/not sitting on a bike actually matter? doesnt shocks and putting your leg down minimize effect of pressure on tyres? or, if i am 75kgs and i increase/decrease 1ps then would that be enough?

[Mindgrinder]

You said it yourself - you are anyway filling 80% nitrogen for free, when you fill ordinary air. Nitrogen is all about placebo effct!! Save you money for something worthwhile!

Whats more imp. is that you fill the recommended air in your tyres using an accurate gauge! ACCURATE is the magic word... as most gauges at fuel bunks/puncture wallas are NOT accurate. Also most people fill after they have ridden the bike some distance. Many also fill while sitting on the bike!!

Fill it right, and you wont see any difference with nitrogen... car or bike!

its 79% nitrogen, and you cannot say that always, that's an ideal air condition. Area around you if industrial will have less nitrogen and more carbon content, the air you fill depends on various factors.

If normal air is so good why does inert nitrogen has less seepage, well it has its advantages. Normal air does have some oxygen atleast leading to oxidation. I am happy if i increase life of my tyres even by a quarter.

And yes i feel bike is more planted now, although i do not even think about tyres its just pushes more easily.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On the other note that nitrogen machine was quite accurate, it automatically filled more air less air and all the calibration before ending the process. The guy removed the valve and filled air and then again attached the valve and filled rest or air.

[Raccoon]

You can imagine all kinds of benifits due to Nitrogen and nobody can stop you... after all its your money and your imagination!

Fact is that there is zero scientific evidence to support usage of Nitrogen in street vehicles.

Nor is there a single test that has shown that nitrogen is retained longer in tyres. Theory does not support it either!

As for tyres lasting more with Nitrogen... even if we assume that there is oxidation... how long do you use your tyres? Do you plan to use them for like 100 years?? Your tyres will very likely wear out way before you will see any effect of oxygen on them. And remember, the outer side of your tyres will always be in contact with oxygen... and much nastier stuff.

And no, new air guage definitely does not mean its accurate. Actually, finding an accurate air guage in india is almost like finding a lottery! You cound try and find an imported guage. I managed to find out myself a few years ago... its of the pencil type... where a graduated stick pops out and you can read the pressure off it. It also matches perfectly with the gauges of a Shell bunk here and a BP CoCo outlet and also the Michelin gauges (analog) used by my tyre dealer. Also, I can tell thru the ride quality...

You also get digital guages from Michelin. But they are very expensive.

And yes, when filling ordinary air, moisture content can be a small issue. But if you fill up on a nice dry day, you should be fine.

[Mindgrinder]

You can imagine all kinds of benifits due to Nitrogen and nobody can stop you... after all its your money and your imagination!

Fact is that there is zero scientific evidence to support usage of Nitrogen in street vehicles.

Nor is there a single test that has shown that nitrogen is retained longer in tyres. Theory does not support it either!

As for tyres lasting more with Nitrogen... even if we assume that there is oxidation... how long do you use your tyres? Do you plan to use them for like 100 years?? Your tyres will very likely wear out way before you will see any effect of oxygen on them. And remember, the outer side of your tyres will always be in contact with oxygen... and much nastier stuff.

And no, new air guage definitely does not mean its accurate. Actually, finding an accurate air guage in india is almost like finding a lottery! You cound try and find an imported guage. I managed to find out myself a few years ago... its of the pencil type... where a graduated stick pops out and you can read the pressure off it. It also matches perfectly with the gauges of a Shell bunk here and a BP CoCo outlet and also the Michelin gauges (analog) used by my tyre dealer. Also, I can tell thru the ride quality...

You also get digital guages from Michelin. But they are very expensive.

And yes, when filling ordinary air, moisture content can be a small issue. But if you fill up on a nice dry day, you should be fine.

some evidences for reference, dupont, jay leno

Nitrogen in Tires : Information about Nitrogen Tire Inflation News, Benefits, Generator Dealers, Location Finder & More
Pros and cons of inflating tires with nitrogen - by Douglas Black - Helium
Tires: Nitrogen in Tires, nitrogen in tires, inflating tires

[shadez]

@mindgrinder: agree agree. i went through those too.
but check out all thats mentioned for cars, SUV's, trucks, NASCAR mentioned somewhere...
what i wanted to know was WRT 'BIKES'.
peace!

[Mindgrinder]

@mindgrinder: agree agree. i went through those too.
but check out all thats mentioned for cars, SUV's, trucks, NASCAR mentioned somewhere...
what i wanted to know was WRT 'BIKES'.
peace!

may be we can ask somebody who owns SBK

[shadez]

^ yeah akhil maybe...

[shadez]

thanks to Anuj (Mindgrinder), i visited the shop in JC road to check out what is it actually. the 'keeda' in me was restless for quite sometime...

i was surprised with the equipment and freshness of that place. was expecting a much more sober outlet actually.
the sales officer did explain to me the whole funda behind the system. he explained the process, the steps involved, how the machine works, what all needs to be done, etc. was kinda stunned with the politeness and openness. business strategy maybe. but what the heck, am happy !
in the end he did ask me a strange question ofcourse; about 10 bikes have come to his place this week. why the sudden flooding of bikes? and all i could give him was a smile!
i wouldnt get into details because it is posted much much in detail by Saif. i still need to check it out, with my friends cars possibly. but for all those who are interested, here are the details (i recommend checking it out in person to know more; cars/bikes alike):

Unit - Tyre Park
Cherry agencies pvt. ltd.
Opp Punjab & Sind Bank, 39/1, JC Road, Bangalore
Ph: 080 41226803
Cell: 99725 77134
Sales Officer: Vijaykumar

thats about 100-200 mtrs ahead of MRF showroom/ further ahead of arjun motors/ near castrol bikezone.
they also deal with pirelli, bridgestone, cooper, jk, goodyear tyres...

thanks again Anuj.

[L.P.]

the 'keeda' in me was restless for quite sometime...

Plastic Wala...