Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Aldo and Nitrogen

[ken rentiers (rentiers]

On Jan 7, 2009, at 6:57 AM, George P. wrote:

> Nitrogen in tires....  Yes, dry air also works, but what the  
> Pirelli and Dunlop guys told me (back when I was managing FoW's  
> race tires) was that nitrogen was more stable and predictable in  
> its pressure changes as tire temps changed.  That, and its  
> "dryness" is why racers use it.  Our race engineer in the GT  
> program (who is now an engineer with the Pratt & Miller Corvette  
> team - hard to argue with that kind of success!) told me that same  
> thing, and also that, with every 10* of ambient temperature change,  
> you get a corresponding 1 pound change in tire pressure.  [I think  
> that was the factor - 10* = 1 pound - but I'd have to dig through  
> old notes to be sure....  I do know that there was a constant  
> factor of change.]

That's what I heard. N has apps in racing and in old collector car  
preservation because of it's stability and dryness. You can fill up  
with N at some selected Shell stations here, costs about $10.00. But  
why? Some of the street racers are filling their Scion tires with Ne  
- looks really cool when they burn out!