Nitrogen vs Air (1 Viewer)

[foamy]

In the little bit of circle track racing I'm involved in, nitrogen is used in the tires so they don't gain pressure thru heat. Air filled would gain 5 lbs, nitrogen would gain only a couple tenths. I was wondering if it was used in Drag Racing.

 

[turbo ken]

A friend of mine tried it in his true 10.5 car, the tires quit loosing air and he never had to adjust tire pressure all day.

 

[NitroIntern]

The main reason that most people don't use Nitrogen is the fact that almost everyone over-inflates the tires in the pits and lets air out of the tires to bring them to the desired pressure at the last minute in the staging lanes.

That would get a little expensive.

I could easily see using it in the front tires, but if it is as stable as you say, it may be useful for the rears also. You could just inflate to 1/2# over and do a small adjustment.

 

[Jamie]

The main reason that most people don't use Nitrogen is the fact that almost everyone over-inflates the tires in the pits and lets air out of the tires to bring them to the desired pressure at the last minute in the staging lanes.

That would get a little expensive.

I could easily see using it in the front tires, but if it is as stable as you say, it may be useful for the rears also. You could just inflate to 1/2# over and do a small adjustment.

That's the point though - if you fill them up with Nitrogen you wouldn't have to pump them up higher in the pits and set them correctly in the staging lanes. In theory, you could just set them at the exact pressure you want in the morning, and not add or drain air after that. It wouldn't matter whether they got hot/sun on them, etc.

 

[Jenn]

We've run nitrogren in our cars and the tires still rise with the heat. Granted, they don't lose pressure as quickly, but they still rise in the heat. The SC tires rise the most but I can only assume it's because they are more likely than the SG cars to be hit with direct sunlight. I would much rather let air out than haul around the air tank. Even if it is aluminum!

 

[haagar]

I know am I am reviving an old thread and this probably looks like nothing more than an ad, but a lot of circle track guys use Cam Air systems. Info can be found at CAMAIR RACING DIVISION

Probably overkill for a drag car, but the right rear in our dirt car will go from 8lbs to 15lbs in three hot laps running air.

 

[Tom]

There are a number of positive areas that come with Nitrogen air.

1. No moisture. Moisture in the tire will create a large swing in air volume with temperature changes. Also moisture will cause a corrosion issue in and around the bead/stem area.

2. Minimal air volume changes with temp swings.

We used to carry a small Nitrogen bottle with us to the line in case we needed to service the tires during line up.

Nitrogen is used on a regular bases on airline and general aviation aircraft for struts and tire service.

Ask the Pro guys what they use and I'll bet that they all use nitrogen in their tires.

Tom Burke

 

[XPilot]

Nitrogen is used in aircraft struts and tires for the low/no moisture content. I've never heard of the heating information regarding it, but certainly wouldn't dispute it.