| Author |
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Slaughter
| | Posted on Thursday, August 21, 2008 - 11:14 am: | 
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To digress into the original topic: Basically Nitrogen perfuses through the pores in rubber a touch more slowly than air. It MIGHT have slightly less variation in pressure with changes in temperature but I can't verify that claim.
My bottom line, if you can get it and don't have to pay extra, by all means USE it. We do at the Willow Springs racetrack on Higbee's bike. Having just said that, and tracking things like temperatures and pressures and lap times, I can't really see where it is a huge difference. We use it because it is convenient to have a bottle of welding gas and a regulator in the trailer... and like chicken soup: "It couldn't hurt."
Discovery channel - first 30 seconds are just some funky screen shot about some other Discovery show... vid starts about 40 seconds:
http://www.getnitrogen.org/video/video_discovery_c hannel.wmv
A good vid with Leno discussing the use of Nitrogen in tires:
http://www.getnitrogen.org/n2study/video/leno.html |
Jaimec
| | Posted on Thursday, August 21, 2008 - 11:20 am: |
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Bottom Line: I'm thinking if you're running a multi-million dollar prototype machine and you earn a seven figure annual salary to keep that machine on the top step of the podium, then go right ahead and use it (if for nothing else, the psychological edge it may give you).
For anyone else, that money could be spent on far more important things... like track schools or carbon fiber...
(Message edited by jaimec on August 21, 2008) |
Slaughter
| | Posted on Thursday, August 21, 2008 - 11:49 am: |
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Except that carbon fiber is a HUGE waste of money... but that's another topic.
It is as valuable a performance enhancement as Chrome -- without the protection that chrome gives. |
Greenlantern
| | Posted on Thursday, August 21, 2008 - 11:50 am: |
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Pet Rocks......sigh* |
Jaimec
| | Posted on Thursday, August 21, 2008 - 11:57 am: |
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Slaughter: But it's *PRETTY!!*
I was actually going to say "Conchos and Fringe" but changed my mind afterwards.
(Message edited by jaimec on August 21, 2008) |
Ftd
| | Posted on Thursday, August 21, 2008 - 02:12 pm: |
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Nitrogen and oxygen are both diatomic and their diameters are 0.31 nanometers and 0.29 nm respectively. So nitrogen molecules have 7% larger diameters even though N2 has a molecular mass of 28 vs 32 for O2.
The reasons to run pure nitrogen are the molecule size difference (slower gas pressure loss from gas permeation) and more important the dryness of the nitrogen gas vs air. A small amount of water coverts to a large volume of gas at the elevated temps in a fully warmed up tire and this really screws up your pressure readings. At least this is true for racers who adjust tire pressures at tenths of a pound increments.
Frank |
Brumbear
| | Posted on Thursday, August 21, 2008 - 02:35 pm: |
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man |
Ratyson
| | Posted on Thursday, August 21, 2008 - 04:18 pm: |
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So what you guys are saying is ...Im wasting my time farting in a jar???
If you want methane, no, not at all. If you want nitrogen... yep, purty much.
But hey, if you are having fun doing it, that's what it's all about right! Your time is what you make of it.} |
Pkforbes87
| | Posted on Friday, August 22, 2008 - 12:33 am: |
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We use 100% nitrogen to fill Boeing 707 tires at work because it's pressure is affected by temperature much less than outside air.
Of course motorcycle tires don't endure the rapid temperature change associated with stationary tires touching the runway at 150+/- MPH. |
Jaimec
| | Posted on Friday, August 22, 2008 - 08:23 am: |
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Very true. This same discussion came up on the K1200LT message board I belong to. An airline worker there pointed out the same thing (and added that as fast and heavy as the K1200LT might be, there is no way it is even in the same league as a commercial airliner).
Motorcycles also don't routinely operate between sea level and 37,000 feet above either.
(Message edited by jaimec on August 22, 2008) |
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