Why do shock absorbers have nitrogen?

We use nitrogen because it helps reduce aeration and cavitation during damper operation. Because it also has a greater density than just air, that means a damper can hold its pressurized charge for a longer period of time. One other characteristic is that nitrogen is inert. It’s safe to use for shock absorbers.

What is nitrogen shock absorber?

The nitrogen gas of a gas-pressure shock absorber, separated from the oil by a separating piston, keeps the oil column pressurized and thus prevents the bound gas molecules in the shock oil from being released (prevents foaming).

Are nitrogen shocks better?

Nitro shocks are filled with pressurized nitrogen gas. This makes nitro shocks performance levels much higher than hydro shocks. This increase in performance does come at a cost though, your ride won’t be nearly as smooth, as with a hydro shock, due to this pressurized nitrogen.

Why is nitrogen used in air suspension?

– Nitrogen doesn’t expand like the air when affected to temperature changes. Your suspension system will not have different behavior depending on the fork temperature. By using Nitrogen there is less mass loss along the time which translates into keeping the initial preload settings much longer than with air.

What is the purpose of the nitrogen pressure in a gas charged shock?

Another function is to minimize aeration of the unit’s hydraulic fluid. The pressure of the nitrogen gas prevents air bubbles or foam from weakening the hydraulic effectiveness of fluid flow through both the piston and base valve systems. Foam affects performance – foam compresses, fluid does not.

Why nitrogen is used in oleo struts?

There are other benefits of using nitrogen, firstly, it is a clean, dry gas, so there is no moisture to cause corrosion. Therefore, nitrogen is the effective choice of compressed gas used in oleo struts and the refilling of the gas is an essential part of the maintenance process.

How does a shock work?

Shock absorbers work by taking the kinetic energy (movement) of your suspension and converting it to thermal energy (heat) that is then dissipated into the atmosphere through the mechanism of heat exchange. But it’s nowhere near as complicated as it may sound. As mentioned, shock absorbers are basically oil pumps.

Can you replace nitrogen with air in shocks?

rkracing said: is it ok to fill a shock with regular air instead of nitrogen? will it cause any damage to the shock or affect how it performs vs nitrogen? air has moisture, that could corrode the inside of the shock. also air expands with heat, which changes the shocks handling characteristics, nitrogen does not.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiCb0AhCKVg