Nitrogen tire fill

I just got a sales pitch for using nitrogen for tires instead of air. The cost to fill is $34 for 4 tires. They say nitrogen provides better pressure retention, improved handling, higher fuel economy, longer tire life, less corrosion problems. I can buy the better pressure retention and less corrosion problems, but those aren't big issues for me. It seems to me that the improved handling, higher fuel economy, longer tire life are all a function of proper inflation pressure and not the type of gas in the tire.

In other words, if I maintain proper inflation with air, nitrogen will NOT give me improved handling, higher fuel economy or longer tire life.

Or am I missing something?

 

Just saw this yesterday..

According to the thing I saw, nitrogen doesn't have any moisture in it and therefore doesn't expand and contract as much as reg compressed air. So they say your tire pressure doesn't vary as much with temp changes. I do know lots of racers use it.

Not saying it's true. I think if you are a conscientious pressure checker, it's prob not worth it.

My trips are either so short the tires never heat up, or so long (with big changes in altitude) that I check before I leave on the trip, then have to readjust once I get to my destination.

 

I'm not sure that you would see $34 in savings over the life of the tire. FWIW, I'm not using it.

Mythbusters???

 

I'm not using it either. As Gunguy mentioned, he has to readjust tire pressure when changing altitudes. Well we also know that different temperatures change pressures and need to be adjusted accordingly, so since where I am we have such radical temperature changes (down to -45 in Winter, up to +30c in Summer), air is easiest to make those coresponding pressure changes. Of course I also doubt the validity of the money saving claims.

 

any time you compress air it tends to dry it out so most of the time your tires will not have much moisture in them any way. for that matter our atmosphere is about 79% nitrogen anyway. just keep you pressure checked on a monthly basis. then you will have the tire life and mileage improvements that proper maintenance can give you. racers use nitrogen because they work with pressure changes as little as .1 lb. to change the handling at speed. for the average person it is just a gimmick

life begins when the kids leave home and the dog dies

 

Hey everyone you should all come down to my neck of the woods sometime, as of next week I'll be offering 79% nitrogen fills for only half the price, 17$!

 

Not true.
Anytime you pressurize air, the moisture is also introduced. Ever have to drain the water out of an air compressor tank?

 

Hey, Codyy, I saw that clever bit on a sign somewhere around here last year. I think it was "free" 79% nitrogen fill".

 

Here's as much discussion as anyone should need on the subject:

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...851#Post807851

I wouldn't spend ANY money for nitrogen fill. I wouldn't even go out of my way to get it free.

You're fooling yourself if you think the air in the tire is dry after they fill it. Think about all the water they use to mount a tire and stays in the tire after it's mounted! Plus, there's a lot of ambient air in the tire to begin with before they introduce their nitrogen fill.

Just keep you're tires normally inflated like any car owner should. If cheap or free air isn't easily available to you, buy a good quality bicycle pump.

 

"If cheap or free air isn't easily available to you, buy a good quality bicycle pump"

Yikes!! I don't even like airing up a bicycle tire/tube with a hand pump

 

If someone doesn't take a minute to think about that...

 

Nitrogen for use in tires started in the trucking industry many years ago.
There is a good chance that the savings claims they now advertise are based on this.

What makes nitrogen good for large highway trucks is the weight that is placed on transport tires and the corresponding heat that is generated.
The heat raises the tire pressure to a point where the tires will wear unevenly...........Nitrogen pretty much eliminates this.
The actual savings you get using nitrogen on passenger car and light truck tires will only be in your mind.

Nitrogen in tires is nothing new to some refrigeration mechanics.
Many of us carry a large bottle of the stuff for our trade and I have countless times filled a low tire with it.

 

I was looking at a GM car the other day and the salesman mentioned the tires were filled with nitrogen. I asked him how much that costs to refill and he answered "it's free".

I understand Costco also puts in nitrogen for free (don't know if it's only in tires you buy from them, though).

Why would nitrogen cost so much anyways? Sounds like a ripoff of the uninformed to me.

QC

 

You make a good point, qc; I don't know what nitrogen would cost wholsesale in bulk, but I have a suspicion there could be a significant markup. Of course part of that is offset by free top-offs and refills.

 

the moisture is being forced out of the air by the compression
that is why you have to drain your compressor. just ask any scuba diver, their air is very dry and tends to dehydrate them while diving.

are you going to cowboy up or just lay there and bleed?

 

here is my 2 cents worth, my employer offers nitrogen for tires at a cost....but it includes an insurance policy like AAA it has road service,towing,flat repair,and several other benifits.plus he has to pay me for the extra time to put it on the nitro machine which in fact when I am done the tire has 98-99% nitro.

 

How can you get to 98-99% without evacuating the tire first, which would collapse the side walls and pull the bead off the rim?

 

the process drains the air and refills twice with nitro,and it is just like having a flat tire,it does not break the bead,we have done quite a few and have not broken a bead yet,its a pretty nice machine all automatic

 

Okay, makes sense; I was thinking mount the tire, fill with N2, drive away.

 

Hmmmm....

I'll stick with regular air - heck, we breathe it so it can't be that bad for tires.

 

Ever been in L.A.?

 

Yes, and worse places like carracas where you need a gas mask to breathe, lol.

But tires are a little more forgiving than our lungs, I think!