“JUST THE TIP WAIT, YOU’RE PUTTING THAT IN THERE?
in the balloon are the oxygen molecules. Nitrogen molecules have a larger structure and are
We’ve seen multiple tropes/memes/videos about
far more stable in heat/cold. They do not expand as
people falling for the “Better get the winter air in your
much. Filling your tires with nitrogen will give you
tires! It’s January! LOL!”. True that it’s funny, but did
a far more stable air pressure profile, regardless of
you know that there kind of is such a thing? Winter
if it being the middle of Summer in Arizona, the
air? We could call it Summer air as well.
middle of Winter in Minnesota, racing on the street
You put air in your tires, and typically, it is just that. Air. What we breathe every day. But ‘Air’ is a mixture of different gases. Roughly – 78% nitrogen,
or racing on the track. Your tire pressure will stay the same which we know greatly decreases tire wear and improves performance.
21% oxygen, and small amounts of other gases
The downside of course is that it’s going to cost more
such as neon, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, etc. Here’s
to get air in your tires and it’s not widely available. But
the ‘science-y’ part. Winter air, or Summer air, is not
for performance/racing applications, it may be some-
the air that we breathe. It’s the nitrogen only.
thing to look into! And stop picking on people who
What’s the difference you may ask. Oxygen is prone to expansion under heat, or contraction in the cold. Take a hot air balloon for example. They blow in ‘Air’, apply heat through a burner which causes the molecules to expand, then they let a little bit of that expanded air out of the top of the balloon, causing less air pressure inside the balloon than there is on the outside, so the balloon goes up. What is expanding
get Winter air. They’re not out of their minds.