PanigaleS

Does anybody use nitrogen in their tyres instead of compressed air? If so how have you found it? There seems to be a lot of pro's for using it due to it being a dryer gas and is meant to lower pressure increases due to the lack of moisture in the gas.

Leading on from that, what pressures do you run nitrogen at on a track day? I will be heading to Queensland Raceway for a track day in the next few weeks and just wanted to get some feedback from other people who have used it at the track.

Thanks

mrmaloo32

i done it with sprintcar tyres
lot of mucking around, we used a vacume pump to get all the air out, then filled with nitro
but out tyres start out cold then get very hot and increase the pressure, it worked well but pretty expensive,
with tyre warmers your tyres are up to temp on a bike and you can set your pressure
so no real advantage for a track day IMHO

but if you are coming in and your pressures have risen higher than you would like
then maybee yes
to do it properley you need to vac out all the air or presssure will still rise
cheers

supduc10

I was under the impression the benefits of Nitrogen was that it doesn"t leach through the tyre like normal air. Thus keeping your tyre pressures consistent over an extended period. Another benefit as you mentioned is there is no moisture present. It would be a good precaution to use nitro if your running magnesium wheels due to its intolerance to moisture when exposed.

mrmaloo32

yes you buy dry nitrogen and it is moisture free

nitro does not change pressure with increased or decreased temperature
once you set it it will stay the same ( as long as you remove all air )

please note if you play with nitro it is 15000 psi bottle pressure when new and you need the corrrect guage - dont use your oxy guage !!

RSR racer

100% correct. Boyle' law comes into play with air, but not nitrogen. The proper gauge and regulator is paramount, as is the correct PSI rated air hoses. Gorilla makes the best product as we used for our air jacks and pneumatic tools in the pits.

Cloner

The ideal gas law applies to all gases, as do Boyle's law, Newton's Laws, and all other laws of physics. That's why it's a LAW and not a quirk. PV=nRT. Since it's a closed system, V (volume) is constant (unless you wish to account for carcass deflection with increased pressure), n is constant (it's the number of moles of gas in the volume), R is constant (it is, after all, the gas CONSTANT), so all that's left to fluctuate are P and T linearly. Increase in P causes increase in T, increase in T causes increase in P.

Nitrogen has a slightly lower molecular mass than air (approximately 22 versus 29 for air), and if it's dry nitrogen it has no water vapor in it. Of course, dry air has no water vapor in it, either.

Dry air versus dry nitrogen I doubt you'd notice any difference. After all, the air we breathe is already approximately 78% Nitogen, 21% Oxygen and 1% other trace elements like Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide, Helium, Argon, Neon, etc.

Liquid water to gaseous water is another matter entirely.

asainslie

Wow.boyle must me turning in his grave.

RSR racer

That's what I meant to say....don't want to be breaking no laws ya'll...next thing ya know, Boyles' groupies be up on my ass, hitting me upside the head with mass spectrometers 'n shit...

RSR racer

Yeah...but is he in a primarily nitrogen or more methane environment? That could affect the linearity rate of change of the torque of his roll, which by the way is strictly dependent upon the angle of his head stone and the molecular weight of the stone it is carved from... This would be inversely proportional to the actual angular momentum of his rate of spin....that is assuming he has any mass left at all to actually be acted upon by said forces. This does not have effect upon the direction of spin which is primarily a function of his relationship to the equator.

Any questions?

asainslie

If you let a compressor run up to 150 or 175 psi and fill from that, the air will already be pretty dry. Even better, use a scuba tank with a regulator.

Gunny Fitz

RSR- I have found the best results by mixing 50% air and 50% nitrogen. The wheels just seem they want to fly right off the bike! Of course that could be from the gyroscopic effect of the carbon fiber BST. Or could it be from the axle being halfway out of the front forks? Not sure.

Try squirting a little Fix A Flat into the tires for an even better effect of drifting the rear wheel thru turns on the track!! Works AWESOME man!

Gunny Fitz

I've often been known to use intestinal gas to over inflate the Pirelli's, however I just cant seem to get enough into Michelin.

RSR racer

I concur, dear fellow; yet it must be stated that my current experiment with a Helium and argon mixture may yet yield the most favorable result in lightening my rear end as it is quite large, I've been told, and I would simply be reversing the effects of gravity, if you will... Any insights, my good collegue?

RSR racer

Ah....the coefficient of Michelin...clearly you have neglected to read my recently published papers in the water closet news that the correct diet must be based on 2 and not 1 day of cabbage and onions as prviously thought to achieve the desired volumetric base of equaling or bettering the said coefficient of Michelin...it has been stated by others before that extreme care must be utilized in the actual maintainence of the sphincter seal to the hose leading to the inlet of your tire...studies have shown that a blown seal can have disastrous results on your riding leathers and may qualify as a meatball flag If done incorrectly trackside or within the hot pits, if I recall correctly. Quite possibly ruin a whole track weekend.

mrmaloo32

lost me now
- i only went to year 9 - waged the rest, surfing and bmx riding

LOL

Cloner

Only if you don't blow the seal correctly.

"Is that ice cream on your chin or did you just blow a seal?"

OK...pretty badly off topic, now. Threadjack over for me.

RSR racer

First time I heard that joke I didn't see the punchline coming and spit my beer all over this chicks face at the table we were sitting at....she was not amused