GDI Experiment

[mechakev]

"When you notice it every day,its not a placebo effect."

There are people who cover themselves in magnets everyday and swear they can feel the difference.

"A lot of my former customers and close friends drive Drift cars and Rally cars on a competitive level and most of them agree that nitrogen performs better."

When I'm drifting my 1.8ltr S40 round the A1, on a competitive level, I also notice the difference .

For the record, I have had all my tyres filled with nitrogen. It was exactly the same.

"Well I deffo noticed a difference with the Nitrogen in the tyres,the steering felt alot lighter than before(I almost didn't like it at first),I'm used to it now,but still feels lighter than it did before."

You should not be able to feel any difference in the ride, handling or braking, unless your tire pressures were seriously out before changing to nitrogen. If you can feel the 4% difference in the weight of the gas in your tyres, then you are fricking amazing. I would suggest keeping any eye on your tyres pressures if you are letting them get that flat.

Honestly, I know the advantages of Nitrogen filled tyres, if I was filling the tyres on my Space Shuttle, you can bet I'd use Nitrogen!

Oh well, if you like it, use it, it doesn't do any harm.

p.s 40.7 mpg at 70mph, cruise control & climate control on. 43.8 mpg at 65 mph.

[leowyatt]

Where can you pump your tyres up with nitrogen? I've just been using air, though I know costco offer tyres with nitrogen.

[andy_d]

err you already are

"air" is about 75%nitrogen as std.

heres a thunk for those that choose to belive the "sales blurb" rather than facts
, your tyres with 100% nitrogen,, how do you top them up when you need to??


and yes you WILL need to top them up , cars have a recomended pressure for "solo" and another for "heavy load",, so you will need to ADD more then,, use a pump or go find a fill station to add 4-8psi more,, or drive on underinflated for the load tyres,,


had company cars for donkeys, tried this "new fangled" nitrogen fill sales blurb ,, made ,, Sod all differance, n thats over a 120kmiles/year driving, all weathers/roads/speeds/loads,, you name it ,,totall differance made,,
to mpg > fug all ,
total fuel saved > fug all,
handling benifits > fug all


net result, after 120kmiles/year ,, sweet FA and they Still needed topping up , still got punctures, and the tread on the tyres Still wore down just as fast as when filled with normal air.. (Which is 75% nitrogen anyway,,and free and easy to top up with via a pump)

[scootb]

Ok,so I am not amazing as its a 15% difference between compressed air(80%),and N2(95%) is that a 4% difference in weight? Don't know,and don't care!

As for my tyres being seriously underinflated,I highly doubt it they looked fine,and were checked during the full service a few weeks ago(2weeks before my N2 fill).
I still swear I notice a difference!

For the sake of a five spot I don't mind the cost.

As for punctures,well a puncture is a puncture mate,fug all to do with nitrogen is it?

And if you take a wee look on tubed tyres you will notice that Nitrogen stands out against compressed air,it does make a difference,imagine that!

[andy_d]

£5 for a fill ? no wonder your convinced it works and is the best thing since sliced bread,,

[mechakev]

£5...it's hard not to laugh. I don't wish to sound unkind, but you're being fleeced. Regular checks are the way to keep your car handling tip top.

Thing is, I don't understand how you can notice a handling difference, as the advantages of n2 filling have nothing to do with handling. This difference is due to you topping your tyres up...32 psi is 32 psi. As you drive a 1.8 gdi, like me (slow), your tyres will never get so hot that they might explode.

"And if you take a wee look on tubed tyres you will notice that Nitrogen stands out against compressed air,it does make a difference,imagine that!"

What?

[scootb]

Originally Posted by andy_d

£5 for a fill ? no wonder your convinced it works and is the best thing since sliced bread,,

I am convinved it makes a difference,the best thing since sliced bread? Come on try harder mate,that would be my kids!

I'm not saying that Nitrogen is the next best thing,the next iphone(for the apple fans),or the next version of windows etc..etc..etc.. I am saying however that I DO NOTICE a difference!

Poke away all you like,at the end of the day I notice a difference as do others,it might not be a HUGE difference,but there is a difference.

[inchley313]

I have used nitrogen in tyres myself and believe it is better. It doesn't hurt the car to use nitrogen in the tyres and a few "good" tyre garages use nitrogen on all replacements F.O.C. unless air is requested by the customer!!

If you are happy with air then stick to it!! I (like the Nissan engineers who have spent £millions on development on the R35) do prefer nitrogen as a proven improvement to the cars performance around corners and will stick to that!!

[volvorocks]

Nitrogen is better as its dry and tyres filled with it are less likely to have wheels that suffer from corrosion, as there is no moisture in it.Having tyres filled with nitrogen means they are less likely to lose pressure as I think the particles are larger and can't get through the rubber as easily?? (unless you get a puncture of course!!) Pure nitrogen is also less susceptible to temperature changes as well,which can lead to an alteration in tyre pressures.

Would the average driver notice the difference? Maybe not but for a quid a tyre nitrogen makes sense.

Regards

EDIT: Also more stable tyre pressures, apart from being safer, means slightly less wear as tyre pressures should be ok, ie not underinflated due to loss like you get with air filled tyres.

[mechakev]

I give up!