Why did race cars, military and off-road vehicles switch to Nitrogen?
Air is about 1/5 Oxygen, and oxygen, especially at high pressures and temperatures, is a very reactive element. When oxygen reacts with things, the process is called oxidation. When oxidation is extremely rapid, it’s called “burning. That’s one reason nitrogen is used in off-highway and aircraft tires. These tires run so hot they can actually catch on fire. Nitrogen doesn’t support combustion, so nitrogen-filled tires don’t add fuel to the flames. And nitrogen helps prevent slower forms of oxidation also. Nitrogen prevents other types of corrosion as well Oxygen and moisture corrodes aluminum and steel wheels. Oxygen also reacts with rubber, another type of “corrosion”. When this corrosion starts, the small particles break off and form rust and dust, which can clog vavle cores, causing them to leak. The rough surfaces created from the corrosive action on the wheels leads to tire beads that don’t seal properly, causing additional leaks . Oxygen also ages the inner liner, the thin layer
