It is a complete scam for passenger cars.

This isn't quite right either. Water vapor is a gas, which means that temperature will effect it just like other gasses (like N2). If water were to be a problem (and it probably isn't, in practice), it would be the result of a phase change between liquid/solid and gas.

I suspect that N2 is used in race cars because using tanks of compressed gas is more convenient/faster than using a pump. Compressed N2 isn't that much more expensive than compressed air and, the extra cost is negligiable consindering the overall cost of fielding a race car. It would seem that compressed N2 is safer, with respect to risks of fire, too.

The bearest minimum of research establishes that it iis bogus for passenger vehicles.

It's a crap article. It's mostly a lazy regurgitation of a press release.

There are no studies that establish that it is worth anything in practical use. There are theoretical advantages but there's nothing that indicates that these work out to any real-world advantage.

N2 is pretty inert. Argon might also be preferred because it's heavier.

Isn't air composed of ~70% Nitrogen anyways?

More like 79% N2.

No one seems to be able to answer the OP's original Question! I say let the OP try out NO2 in tires and report on his/her findings. Little NO2 cyclinders were available in gourmet kitchen accessories shops like Williams-Sonoma and (at one time) Brookstone's. They were used for making Whipped cream in soda syphon-like container(think of the Three Stooges spraying seltzer at each other....). One added Cream to the syphon; infused the NO2 into the cream and the syphon spat out perfect whipped cream. Unfortunately, these little cannisters were used as a semi-legal way of getting high, back in the seventies and early eighties- they were known as "Whippits". The NO2 was inhaled as "laughing gas" and a little stupidity ensued. Because these were being bought in ridiculous quantities by high schoolers, various retailers began to limit the amount that could be bought by an individual or at what age a buyer would be permitted to get them. That being said, one can find them via an internet search as "whipped cream chargers". This is what came up on the first try on Google: https://www.easywhip.com/whipped-cream-chargers.html. If you have a Gourmet supply store in your area, I wouldn't be surprised if they had a few boxes in stock. Happy Hunting!

el - NO2 is nitrogen dioxide, and is poisonous. "Laughing gas" is N2O (nitrous oxide). The OP was asking about yet a third gas, N2 (plain nitrogen).

What would happen if you were to inflate your bike tires with N2O. Flat tires would become a lot more entertaining, and a lot harder to fix...

No...he is posting the research for you. You have the liberty to take it for what it is worth.

Yes, it's that phase change from liquid to gas that's the problem with using air containing a significant amount of water. Say you fill your race car tires on a hot humid day. The next morning the tires will be much cooler and some of the water vapor in the humid air has now condensed inside the tire therefore dropping the pressure more than would be expected by the ideal gas law. Then you top off the tire to get it up to just the right pressure, but it still has some of the condensed liquid water inside. So when the tire heats up during the race that water turns into gaseous water vapor and the pressure of the tire becomes greater than intended for optimum traction and handling.

Apparently, you can buy them in OZ:

https://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/s...006301,00.html

NO2 is found in it's diatomic state of N2O4. It is a reddish-brown gas at room temperature. And it killed 3 Soviet Cosmonauts when it was accidentally released into their capsule during a landing from a mission to their MIR space-station.

Always be VERY certain what gas is specified on a cylinder or other containment device. One breath will fill your lungs up with Nitric Acid and water. And your blood as the lung-tissue is destroyed. That's no 'Laughing-Gas' - N2O.

Or this mixture ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatule...f_flatus_gases

Kam

Argon is pretty expensive. I use it as a welding gas

Around here, auto tire shops are offering nitrogen inflation for $40. Maybe there's some possibility of condensation in car tires because if their large volume.
OTOH masons have a saying "never strike a joint the client can't see," meaning it doesn't matter what you pay for, if you can't tell the difference in the product, they won't do it inless you watch them. I'll keep my $40.

em

It's not dangerous in any reasonable quantity that would be employed for personal use (ie, 10L Dewar or similar). It dissipates quickly, doesn't bind to hemoglobin, etc. So there's no real need to keep that sort of quantity ventilated. It won't suffocate anyone - we used it all the time in lab in small rooms.

However, anything at 77K ain't safe unless you know what the hell you're doing (that shattering banana trick can become a shattering hand trick), so it's not a real good idea for parties anyway.

That said, it's also not useful for quick-inflate cartridges as you've mentioned because they'd have to be very large, very cold, or extremely highly pressurized.

I asked this question of a scientific type arguing for nitrogen in tires: Given that air is mostly nitrogen, if you just keep putting air in the tires and oxygen diffuses through the tire faster than nitrogen, the oxygen will escape, eventually leaving you with essentially pure nitrogen.

He then admitted that while nitrogen diffuses faster than oxygen, the rate difference is similar to the composition of air so that the above never occurs. That means there is no real difference to using air or nitrogen. Besides, how often do you pump your car tires?