nitrogen in tyres

[Dezzy]

Originally Posted by Simon Wallwork

FWIW, aircraft (well, large ones anyway) only use nitrogen for tyre inflation.

I think the reason is that N expands less when heated, thus the tp stays constant after very heavy usage. Aircraft wheels/ tyres get very hot and 'work' extremely hard. The tyres wear out quickly and get changed frequently.

It's not to do with leaking through the tyre (or elsewhere) because the pressure is checked and adjusted daily.


It might be because Nitrogen is 'drier' than air. Air's always got water in it.

I'll ask an engineer.

It is because of moisture in the air. If air is used the moisture freezes and causes balancing issues with the wheels.

[Simon Wallwork]

Dezzy.

Must say the issue of wheel balance due moisture sounds spurious to me.

The reason we use N in aircraft tyres is because it's dry. No corrosion. That's a biggie on aircraft but less of an issue on a car I think. Steel wheels last quite well on cars!, at least internally.

The other reason for using nitrogen (in aircraft tyres) is that there's no oxygen in it. So if the tyres explode, or the fuse plugs let go (quite easy to do if a little careless handling the plane) then there's that less oxy to burn.

The engineers have spoken.

What are the benefits on a car again though?