Originally Posted by former NXMX5
not to nit-pick or start a fight, but i just want to clarify your statement.
air is already 78% nitrogen; its also 21% oxygen, and 1% other (CO2, etc.). using pure nitrogen in your tires just takes out the other factors and make the pressure more 'stable' and 'predictable' - adding air later on if you're in a bind is perfectly fine.
and FWIW, nitrogen is a smaller atom than oxygen - and air is not a molecule.
I was trying to convey a simple point and keep it just that...simple...
If you really want to get **** I suppose you could point out the fact that oxygen has a higher atomic mass (15.9994 amu) than nitrogen (14.00674 amu). It also has a higher melting point (
361.12 °F) than nitrogen (345.81998 °F), and boiling points are higher for oxygen as well (297.4 °F) to nitrogen's (320.44 °F).
But why stop there how about the crystalline structure of each, Hexagonal for nitrogen to Cubic for oxygen. Thus the larger "size", which helps keep the Tire inflated longer.
All this and I didn't even touch on the ways that nitrogen severely reduces the amount of oxidation to metal...ie. your wheels!
I suppose to go any further would be overkill...