Does anyone know where I can get my tires filled with nitrogen? I'm tired of having to refill them everytime the temps drop over night.

tia

 

Curry's can do it.

 

Switching to Nitrogen will have no effect on morning pressure differences. Your tires are already filled with 78% nitrogen.
Avogadro's Law states that ALL gasses expand and contract at the same rate when heated or cooled. There is a tiny difference due to the partial pressure of water vapor in compressed air, but it can barely be detected.
Save your money.

 

Pooky's Law states that ALL cheap *** ****'s will say f*@k it, air pump it! Save yo $$ for da honey!

 

Has anyone noticed a difference with nitrogen in the snow?

 

In a race car nitrogen is more stable in pressure fluctuation as a function heat increase so when you have a delta of 10 psi from cold to hot during 1 heat cycle using air your delta of pressure is comparitivel less w nitrogen. I don't know that there would be an advantage of using nitrogen vs air in a street car or standard road vehicle that will never see such drastic heat differentials effecting pressure stability.

 

Charles Law and Avogadro's Law make it very clear that ALL gasses expand at EXACTLY the same rate (Hydrogen, Oxygen, Helium, Nitrogen, whatever) when heated. It is only the small partial pressure of the water vapor that can make a tiny difference. This difference in compressed air is about Four Tenths PSI (.4) when a tire filled with compressed air is heated from 20 Celcius to 100 Celcius, compared to a tire filled with "Pure" Nitrogen. Remember, compressed air is 78% Nitrogen anyway.
If the compressed air has been put through a dryer, common in commercial compressed air systems, then the difference will be close to zero.
Commercially, "Pure Nitrogen" is actually about 95-96% nitrogen, not 100% nitrogen.
The installation process to get a 100% Nitrogen fill would also be critical. You would need some kind of vacuum chamber to evacuate the compressed air entirely from your tire, or there will be a good amount left to mix with your Nitrogen.
My advice is to get a good tire gauge and use it frequently.

While there is no science to support most of the Nitrogen Industry's claims, the PLACEBO effect of Nitrogen is well documented in these forums.

 

Mike obviosly you know this on a scientific level so no point in arguing it ... all I can say is I don't think it's neccessary on a road car and that on a track with hoosier racing tires lap after lap nitorgen filled tires don't feel as greasy toward the end of a stint...on race tires they are filled with nitrogen as soon as the new ones are mounted on the wheels...

 

I thought that the nitrogen molecule is larger therefore less likely to leak, or leak slower at 95-96% nitrogen vs. 20.95% oxygen.

 

You are correct about the molecule size. It is one of the "true" advantages of nitrogen.
However, the difference in leak down is 2-3 psi per YEAR.
Hardly worth the trouble.
Just invest in a good tire pressure gauge.

 

I totally agree, but how is 2-3 psi per year measured? A given typical bead? Just unclear on that one.

 

There is actual leakage of gasses THROUGH the tire.
This can be mathematically calculated. The larger nitrogen molecules pass more slowly but the difference is miniscule.
Consumer reports tested identical tires with compressed air and compressed nitrogen and confirmed the 2-3 psi difference.
They also reminded their readers that air is 78% nitrogen anyway.
Any gas will leak quickly around the bead seat or air valve if there is not a good seal.

 

Of course, like your post, many forums are filled with anecdotal claims of the advantages of Nitrogen in tires. Frankly, I wish it were true. It would be cool to have a gas that remained at a constant pressure, regardless of temperature. Unfortunately, it just can't happen. The LAWS of Physics control this phenomenon. If this were not the case, hot air balloons wouldn't rise, jet engines wouldn't work, etc, etc.

Charles' Law:
Assuming that pressure remains constant, the volume and absolute temperature of a certain quantity of a gas are directly proportional.
Mathematically, this can be represented as:
Temperature = Constant x Volume
or
Volume = Constant x Temperature
or
Volume/Temperature = Constant
Substituting in variables, the formula is:
V/T=K
Because the formula is equal to a constant, it is possible to solve for a change in volume or temperature using a proportion:
V/T = V1/T1
The formula is the same for ALL gasses.

Charles law doesn't work as well with gasses like water vapor, so there is a small variable when this is introduced into the tire. BUT, the variable is VERY TINY. This is called the Partial Pressure and it must be considered, however small.

In the end, if a few tenths of 1 PSI are important, use Nitrogen.( How you can measure such a small amount of pressure differential is another matter). It is a dry gas that cannot absorb moisture. However, filling the tire with Nitrogen alone will require an exotic evacuation system or vacuum chamber to purge our ever-present (78% Nitrogen) atmosphere from your tires. Frankly, its nearly impossible and would be very expensive.

I have no problem with Nitrogen, it will work fine in your tires. But it is not more stable with changes in temperature, will not improve performance or tire wear, will not lower lap times, and will not reduce global warming or save the whales.
It's just a dry gas. Period! Dry compressed air is just as easy to find and a lot cheaper.

Sorry for the geeky post. It's a pet peeve.

 

Charles Law and the ideal gas equation both work on an assumption that there are no attractive or repulsive forces between the gas molecules, hence the name IDEAL gas equation. The only ideal gas is Helium and to some extent neon and argon (the heavier elements have van der waals type oscillations in electron density causing miniscule perturbations in ideal behavior. ALL other gases have attractive and repulsive forces because of dipole interactions and molecular orbital electron density fluctuations. Wow. I can't believe I wrote that. None of this matters at all because any effects these have will be completely negligible when considering the fact that a rubber seal is used to hold the gas in the tire...Dont ever pay for nitrogen fill.

 

Charles law, Natural Gas, chemistry, Elements charts, moles, Avaocodo's law ....all this is getting outta hand ...

use nitrogen if it's free and if you git it, try to purge the tires if you can, otherwise stick to air outtta the hose... nitrogen filled tires will feel better on the racetrack and wont cause you to feel like your tires are getting greasy after a while no scientific proof here just thousands of laps logged at many different race tracks. For a street car use air just make sure you check your pressures from time to time...

I failed Chem but I aced Physics hahahaha LOL!!