GAS FOR TYRES

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 3, Issue 664, 17 October 1933, Page 7

GAS FOR TYRES

P OJ3 SIBILIT Y OF AIR. INFLATION BEING SUPERSEDED. TRIALS WITH NITROGEN. Nitrogen gas may replace air, now used to infiate tyres of passenger ears, if plans of commercial gas produeers world out eventually. A step toward this; development was noted during the recent 500-mile race period at Indianapolis when nitrogen for the first time replaeed air, for safety reasonsf chiefly. It was stated nitrogen was being used in the tyres of all the racers on the speedway because at was less inflammable than either air or oxygen, and preferred for that reason. Oxygen had been tried in previous years because engineers thought it might give ,the tyres more buoyiant cushioning, but the fire hazard, althought it never gave trouble, knoeked it out. 'Nitrogen, being heavier than either air or straight oxygen, protected the race pilots and riding mechanics against possible fire resulting from collision or crash against cement walls of the- track. It possesses the additional property of being inert as regards sudden combustion from back-firing or from flame that might be emitted at the precise instant a blow-out happens. With the passenger cars, nitrogen inflation of tyres is a suhject of experiment because it may be utilised • to build up preservative qualities of the rubher and lengthen tyre life. The chemists concede th'at excess sunlight and heat, next to hard usage, are the chief disintegrating factors that shortens the life of a tyre. For that ' reason, a Iarge part of their efforts has been centred on treating both tube i

and casing fabrics with anti-oxygen chemicals. ti has been found that the oxygen content of air has a deteriorating effect both outside and in. In other words, it is the oxygen that ages the tyres and robs the rubber of its life resistance under continuous use. Illustrative of this is an instance recently hrought to the attention of a large tyre-producing organisation. An old electric ear dating hack to 1914 was shown, resurrected from storage in a building where it had lain unused for about 17 years, and where it was not exposed to either sunlight or heat during that period. Strange to say, the tyres showed little deterioration from new condition, simply because the light and heat had been, i away from them. i Should the nitrogen plan prove ' feasible, it may be possible that the j "free air" signs of the filling stations I may give place to the words " tyre ! nitrogen." Expense is a distribution 1 factor that the gas producers will | have to cope with, but if it can be \ figured out or shown that the use of j the gas instead of air can conserve tyre,s to an extent that will mean | economy for car owners, the change may come t0 pass.