I have a track car. For track day, I have time to warm the tires up then it make no different to fill Nitrogen or air. And I usually fill my tires with air. After 2 laps when tires warm up, I can push the car to its limit.

However, sometime when I went to a real race. Some of the race did not give me a chance to warm up my tires. Then it would be great advantage to fill tires with Nitrogen. Of corse, with 4-5 PSI (not 0.5 PSI) more than the cold pressure of air so tires are at the right pressure at the grid start. This would be a great advantage over my competitors who fill tires with air on the first 2 laps and that means a lot.

So on dairy drive or even going to track day. There is no need for Nitrogen. But in some specific race, Nitrogen really help.

 

Great discussion. I don't track it and I don't take it to 10,000 feet a few times a day so I use air and I have a air / water separator on my air pump.

ChuckJ

 

...so, I was returning from a funeral (yet another bit of positive reinforcement regarding my decision to purchase the Porsche) and pulled into a Costco store, drove up to the tire center and asked if they would install nitrogen in the tires. Although I am a member, the employee did not even ask for my card; he "installed" N into the N spec tires and I am pleased to report most significant changes as follows:

- Within 10 miles I lost that last 7 pounds I have been trying to drop;
- Within 15 miles hair started to regrow on my scalp; and
- Within 25 miles soreness in my legs from the weekend bike ride subsided.

I am sad to report that I noticed no changes during the remaining 15 miles and as the weather will be particularly bad beginning tomorrow until the weekend, I will not be able to follow up until then.

Rest assured, I am keeping detailed notes.

 

Congratulation, rnl on your most effective purchase!!!

ChuckJ
PS You have to give it a week for the hair to grow in.

 

[QUOTE=rnl;3786022]...so, I was returning from a funeral (yet another bit of positive reinforcement regarding my decision to purchase the Porsche) and pulled into a Costco store, drove up to the tire center and asked if they would install nitrogen in the tires. Although I am a member, the employee did not even ask for my card; he "installed" N into the N spec tires and I am pleased to report most significant changes as follows:

- Within 10 miles I lost that last 7 pounds I have been trying to drop;
- Within 15 miles hair started to regrow on my scalp; and
- Within 25 miles soreness in my legs from the weekend bike ride subsided. QUOTE]


it is simply amazing the things i learn on 6sol!

also point well taken on the carpe diem comment. no guarantees in life, best to just enjoy responsibly (ok a 100k+ car isn't that responsible!)

 

I asked workshop mgr about this on the day of the delivery...Porsche doesn't recommend nitrogen - air (with over 70% nitrogen) is good enough

 

I don't use nitrogen, but do use only certified German air in my tires. I also rotate the air every 3 months .

 

I fart into my tires. Nature's best. A little uncomfortable though in the winter. Say no to the nitrogen atom.

 

I wonder how you get all the air out when you put nitrogen in? What percent of air remains?

ChuckJ

 

How can it makes you go faster! its nitrogen not nitrous

 

Hmmm . . . . A guy with his pants around his ankles sitting on a valve stem. There's a visual I could have done without.

 

Here's an interesting article from Popular Mechanics:

"February 1, 2009 12:00 AM


Q: Is there any advantage to using nitrogen instead of compressed air in tires? Will I notice improved fuel economy or a smoother ride? Will my tires last longer?

A: Sort of. From the top: Air is 78 percent nitrogen, just under 21 percent oxygen, and the rest is water vapor, CO2 and small concentrations of noble gases such as neon and argon. We can ignore the other gases.

There are several compelling reasons to use pure nitrogen in tires.

First is that nitrogen is less likely to migrate through tire rubber than is oxygen, which means that your tire pressures will remain more stable over the long term. Racers figured out pretty quickly that tires filled with nitrogen rather than air also exhibit less pressure change with temperature swings. That means more consistent inflation pressures during a race as the tires heat up. And when you're tweaking a race car's handling with half-psi changes, that's important.

Passenger cars can also benefit from the more stable pressures. But there's more: Humidity (water) is a Bad Thing to have inside a tire. Water, present as a vapor or even as a liquid in a tire, causes more of a pressure change with temperature swings than dry air does. It also promotes corrosion of the steel or aluminum rim.

If I ever need to top off a tire when I'm out on the road, I'll always briefly depress the tire chuck's valve with my thumbnail and vent some air. If my thumb gets wet, there's water in the line. Some gas stations don't do a very good job of keeping the humidity out of their air system. I don't even like to use a water-based tire-mounting lubricant unless I can let the tire bake in the sun for a couple of hours before I air it up and seat the bead. I've dismounted tires (not mine) that had several quarts of water inside—probably from a compressed-air hose that collected water and was never purged properly.

How is water relevant to a nitrogen discussion? Any system that delivers pure nitrogen is also going to deliver dry nitrogen. Filling tires with nitrogen involves filling and purging several times in succession, serially diluting the concentration of oxygen in the tire. This will also remove any water.

It's certainly simple, although time-consuming, for a tire technician to fill and bleed tires. But most shops use a machine that not only generates almost pure nitrogen by straining the oxygen out of shop-compressed air, but will also automatically go through several purge cycles unattended. Some shops have been charging as much as $30 per tire for this service. I think that's too much. If you're buying a new tire, it should be far less. Still, the nitrogen generator, filling system and technician's time aren't free—the dealer is entitled to some return for that.

So, to answer your specific questions: With nitrogen, your tire pressures will remain more constant, saving you a small amount in fuel and tire-maintenance costs. There will be less moisture inside your tires, meaning less corrosion on your wheels. You will not be able to feel any difference in the ride or handling or braking, unless your tire pressures were seriously out of spec and changing to nitrogen brought them back to the proper numbers.


Read more: Nitrogen vs Air In Tires - Why Nitrogen in Tires - Popular Mechanics "

 

I only have nitrogen in my tires because of 2 reasons:

#1 It is free for every car, nitrogen provided by dealership
#2 When I track, my pressures seem less affected (more stable)

I don't track often anymore, and this is really the only reason I would do it.

Any dealer actually charging for nitrogen is just ridiculous. I thought we've moved past this (in general).

 

Excellent post!

Even if you're not delivering or shipping milk/cheese products, nitrogen is not that important for most driving conditions.

 

Any gas a shop has to have brought in would be a chargeable item. Free? We're dealing with repair shops, remember?