Larry Daniels wrote:
>
> My understanding of the use of Nitrogen in race car tires is that it won't
> change volume under changes in heat as much as pure air. Therefore, the
> contact patch won't change as much as the tire heats up. Makes sense if
> it's true. On the other hand it could be pure BS. Ron Soave, anything
> there?
>
> LD
>
If I might jump in here, most race teams use DRY nitrogen to fill tires
because the absence of water vapor (or vapour...) makes the volume
change (and therefore the pressure increase on the track) PREDICTABLE.
So if the tire pressure always increases the same amount on a particular
corner of a particular chassis, they can subtract that amount when
filling the tire and end up with exactly the pressure needed to put the
most rubber on the track. This is what allows the good old boys in
NASCAR to tune their chassis with 1/2 pound increments of tire
pressure... it's predictable.
--
Dave Grandeffo
www.kettlemorainemotorsports.com
Southern Wisconsin
USA
1120R in Many Baskets
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