Nitrogen inflation for track tyres

9th January 2009, 16:40

I've got my R888s

I'm going to fit them tomorrow. The garage offer nitrogen inflation for about £1.50 a tyre. For road tyres, nitrogen appears to boast several perks, such as:

-Better road holding
-Longer tread life, up to 25% increase
-Reduced fuel consumption, up to 5% reduction
-No corrosion to the inside of the wheel

I'm going to be using them on the track however...

Is all the above true? Or is this just a waste of time?

9th January 2009, 16:41

Do it and tell us, it's £6,
experiment!

9th January 2009, 16:43

for £6 there is no harm in trying, maybe it will help abit, but surely normal air doesnt corrode the inside of your tyre? or the outside would corrode in the air... :/

9th January 2009, 16:50

the above sounds like total crud to me, well the percentage claims anyway...yep nitrogen is used in racing because of the inert nature of the gas i.e. won't expand to the same degree as air when heated. so your tyres remain at a much more consistent pressure throughout a range of temperatures.

Better road holding... as in grip? not directly. just regularly check your tyre pressures to make sure they're correct.
Longer tread life - mainly because of the changes in pressure (usually a decrease and the driver has failed to spot it), with temp changes the pressure isn't a massive change but certainly with track tyres there is no loss for going for them.
Reduced fuel consumption - again the same as above really, but during the colder weather the pressure reduces the tyres have a higher rolling resistance

Tyres typically need pumping from time to time so for road I can't see the point because a person would end up topping up the tyre with air.

For track they'd be handy but I'd get them pumped up before an intended track day, instead get them done and have them lying around for months on end - tread life, and fuel aren't really major concerns for a track day.

9th January 2009, 17:30

Thanks for the comments.

Before, I was planning on running the tyres around 24psi cold, so when they got some heat in them, they would be nearer 30. If I'm going to fill them with nitrogen, I'm going to have to fill them more. I wonder how much less they increase in pressure because of being filled with nitrogen instead of air...

PS, who's nicked the 'Thanks' button? T'is gone!

9th January 2009, 17:32

Id be interested in finding out if its makes a difference!

9th January 2009, 17:38

I've got nitrogen filled tyres as its was offered for free when i got my P6000's fitted. Not noticed a whole world of difference, only really that no matter whether its hot, cold, freezing, wet and dry, the tyre pressure is constant. I've not had to adjust it for the last 6months.

9th January 2009, 18:44

Nitrogen doesn't contain water like air does. that's why the pressure changes because of the water content. The benefits are constant pressure because there is no water to heat/cool expand/contract and if your tyres are inflated correctly longer tyre life and better fuel consumption goes without saying, more grip comes from the tyre maintaining it's designed profile.

9th January 2009, 18:47

the only big problem i can see toad is when your experimenting tyre pressures.
you dont go to a track day and have the same tyre pressures.
so it will be no good if you let some out then decide you liked it more with more in.

9th January 2009, 18:49

Gotcha guys. Can I confirm then that the pressue stays exactly the same under increased heat, or will it still increase, but just by a smaller margin?

9th January 2009, 18:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Toad

Gotcha guys. Can I confirm then that the pressue stays exactly the same under increased heat, or will it still increase, but just by a smaller margin?

it will still increase.
just not by the same scale as air.

9th January 2009, 18:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by dannygti

it will still increase.
just not by the same scale as air.

OK dude, I think I'm going to go for around 28.

9th January 2009, 19:05

The things people will tell you to get you to part with your dosh

9th January 2009, 19:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluearmy

The things people will tell you to get you to part with your dosh

the thing is matey, more or less all race teams use nitrogen (amongst other things) and it really does work for controlling tyre pressures.
the only way id personally do it is if i had a nitrogen cannister that i could use to re-fill the tyres with nitrogen rather than air.

9th January 2009, 19:53

the way R888s go off with big changes in temp on track id deffo say anything to aid with stabilising temps is a good thing.

I need to reduce my PSI a fair bit as i am a tyre rapist

9th January 2009, 20:00

OK, defo going for some nitrogen tomorrow then.

9th January 2009, 20:02

Im going to be getting a tyre pressure gauge so i can see the difference in pressure after X series of laps.

I know I was only doing short stints at brands as you could really feel them go off once id raped them. Although I think the pressures were a bit to high that day

9th January 2009, 20:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan

Im going to be getting a tyre pressure gauge so i can see the difference in pressure after X series of laps.

I know I was only doing short stints at brands as you could really feel them go off once id raped them. Although I think the pressures were a bit to high that day

My mate who's coming to the track day has got one.

What was your cold tyre pressure?

9th January 2009, 20:08

I didnt check I think fag set them to 30.

I didnt really set the car up fully that day for my liking, after the wheel falling off en route, it was a bit of a stressful day lol.

Im gonna prob run them at starting temps of 22,24,26 and see what ones give me the best feel for me and the longest grip runs

9th January 2009, 20:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan

I didnt check I think fag set them to 30.

I didnt really set the car up fully that day for my liking, after the wheel falling off en route, it was a bit of a stressful day lol.

Im gonna prob run them at starting temps of 22,24,26 and see what ones give me the best feel for me and the longest grip runs

I would say that's about spot on. I'm aiming for a hot PSI of around 28...

9th January 2009, 20:14

30 was cold set though dude, so went well over that i feel, hence tyres going off after me raping them for a few laps at das hatchen ring

9th January 2009, 20:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan

30 was cold set though dude, so went well over that i feel, hence tyres going off after me raping them for a few laps at das hatchen ring

Yeah, I was reffering to your test PSI's - I think you'll get it about right with those starting pressures. 30 cold is not a good idea. Hehe

9th January 2009, 20:50

yep its worth testing as at the end of the day we all like diff types of psi-grip

9th January 2009, 21:02

There are benifits to nitrogen but they arent big though!

10th January 2009, 00:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan

the way R888s go off with big changes in temp on track id deffo say anything to aid with stabilising temps is a good thing.

I need to reduce my PSI a fair bit as i am a tyre rapist

I think you're confusing tyre temp with tyre air temp mate.

The tyres will still go phish past whatever the material's heat threshold is, just the tyre pressure won't change.

10th January 2009, 15:23

I use 78% Nitrogen in mine all the time

Alan