Lug nut torque

[nickacb]

So I took my mini 1960 to my local Costco (Mexico City) to balance and put some hydrogen in the tires but they asked me for the proper lug nut torque

Since I’m exactly in the same ignorance situation, could anyone please help me with the correct information

Thanx

[iain1967s]

Usually 42 to 45 lb ft [60 Nm] for steel wheels
Less for alloys - around 35 to 38 lb ft [50 Nm]

I hope it was Nitrogen they put in your tires…

[nickacb]

Thanx man, actually Costco refused the service until I get them the info.

On the other note, what do you mean by the hydrogen? Is it common to get just normal air? And does getting hydrogen makes any difference?

Thanx

[timmy201]

Air is mostly nitrogen (78%)
Some tyre shops offer just nitrogen which is a bit of a marketing gimmick

Hydrogen is explosive and generally not added to tyres

[nickacb]

Ok i get my confusión, so no real diffrence getting nitrogen the I guess

[CooperTune]

Depends on what you call a difference. We had a large nitrogen bottle in our enclosed race trailer. Felt it a little more stable at temperatures. When using 1/2 lb psi changes to adjust handling it's important. Of course you always keep tire temps and pressures before and after the track session. I never had the option when vintage racing my mini. Once I retired vintage and began 1/8 and 1/4 mile banked dirt karts with tire pressures in the 3 to 5 psi range it seemed to help as tire pressure and stagger were main tuning aids. Steve (CTR)

[Skeete]

I am honestly impressed they refused without the correct torque settings.
Far too many garages just take your money and trash your car.

[1071 S]

Having been given the settings it will be interesting to see how close they actually get to doing the nuts up to the correct value .....

Cheers, Ian

PS I know a few racers who insist on nitrogen to fill tyres... Allegedly the oxygen in normal air combined with heat can weaken the tyre over time. No one can explain why it affects the inside of the tyre but not the outside???

[Rusty old S]

When I run a truck to Iraq from the U.K. in the 80s always had trailer tyre trouble with heavy loads with the step frame trailer with small wheels, some Dutch trailers ran gas their tyre denoted by different colour valve caps , green and possibly yellow, asked my local tyre place but couldn’t help so just carried on slowly to keep heat down

[Ronnie]

Having been given the settings it will be interesting to see how close they actually get to doing the nuts up to the correct value .....

Cheers, Ian

PS I know a few racers who insist on nitrogen to fill tyres... Allegedly the oxygen in normal air combined with heat can weaken the tyre over time. No one can explain why it affects the inside of the tyre but not the outside???

Air contains water vapour, nitrogen does not, also pure nitrogen molecule's are larger (so it is less liable to leak). As already stated air is 78% nitrogen

[Herbert]

Major difference is that by using nitrogen , the tyre will keep the same tyre pressure when hot . By the way, all Rolls Royces now have to be inflated with nitrogen.....

[Alex]

Major difference is that by using nitrogen , the tyre will keep the same tyre pressure when hot . By the way, all Rolls Royces now have to be inflated with nitrogen.....

No. Just No.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_laws

ALL gasses increase pressure in a sealed system as they get hotter, it's just that pure nitrogen is more predictable than normal air.

[Herbert]

yes, just yes. what a stupid reply mate !

[InnoCooperExport]

Not wanting to get involved in a potential dispute here, but as the posted link says the Gay-Lussac law states that "for a given mass and constant volume of an ideal gas, the pressure exerted on the sides of its container is directly proportional to its absolute temperature." Or in formula: P1/T1=P2/T2

If T2 does not equal T1, so a change in temperature, the pressure must change accordingly!

I was told that people filled tyres with nitrogen as it leaks out less than regular air does and so maintains a more constant pressure over time. This is where I think some wires are getting crossed.

However, as nearer pure nitrogen (I doubt they're filling tyres with 5.0 nitrogen like I used to use in mass spectrometry) it will behave more predictably than a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and varying amounts of moisture. So yes, both reasons are probably valid but 99.9% of people won't notice it on normal road use, except you'll have to maybe top up your tyres less often.