AltWheels Boston 2007 videos: fuel cells, cogeneration, nitrogen tires
Here are the last few videos from AutoblogGreen's trip to AltWheels Boston 2007. The video above is a demonstration of the Nuvera Fuel Cells refueling station, some of which are in use today. Below the fold are three more videos from the expo. The first is a description of Honda's cogeneration device. Cogeneration is an old idea that combines the generation of heat and electricity. The second video is a look at a Limo service's Prius that uses nitrogen instead of oxygen in their tires. Nitrogen does not expand as much as oxygen, so it's a better way to keep your tires filled, increasing the life of your tires and your car's mileage. The third video below the fold is a hybrid owners' group with members that have made interesting modifications to their cars. The Civic in the hybrid group video actually has a fifth wheel powered by an electric motor (see also the Insight in this post on hypermiling).
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(Page 1)3. I call BS on the nitrogen compressing less than oxygen. It should compress the same amount as air (as stated above, 80% nitrogen, and I think like 15-18% oxygen, plus remaining other stuff).
It might save you a tiny (and I do mean tiny) bit of unsprung weight since nitrogen is lighter than oxygen (and slightly lighter than mostly-nitrogen air), but I can't imagine the micrograms/grams being worth the expense.
I know sealed devices sometimes use nitrogen to keep water vapor out, but I can't say I've ever heard of problems with water in tires (unless they had a much larger problem of keeping air in first).
I don't understand rubber chemistry, is it possible that the lack of oxygen would make the rubber last longer? The outsides would still be exposed to oxygen and UV, however.
It all reeks of marketing bs.
4. Nitrogen has been used in the racing industry for many years. It has the advantage of not heating, no moisture condensation. The trucking industry uses nitrogen because of less heat, no condensation and because nitrogen molecules are larger, you get no leakage through the rubber. So, no, it is not BS.
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1. I don't know of anyone that puts oxygen in their tires. Many people put air into their tires, which is a mix of oxygen, nitrogen (this is the most abundant element), and other things like methane. Filling your tires with pure nitrogen merely cuts out the additional 20% of things not nitrogen that you find in air.
I haven't used nitrogen myself, but I do overinflate my tires. Unless you overinflated with nitrogen, I don't think that it would perform better than regular air (that has been used to overinflate your tires).
Posted at 9:47PM on Oct 4th 2007 by ryan