Modern Buddy

whats the big deal about filing tires up with nitrogen to to extend tire life and improve gas miliage is this hype or fact seems like alot of car dealers are offering this service for like 30 bucks i dont seem to understand the logic

As far as I understand it, it's boils down to hype with a little bit of science behind it. Nitrogen has a larger molecule size than most of what's in "regular" air, and the theory goes that nitrogen molecules are too big to pass through the rubber in tires, so they'll need inflating less and stay at optimum pressure longer, thus improving gas mileage, blah, blah.

So...you're paying a chunk of extra money to have refined atmosphere put in your tires instead of regular atmosphere...and the only benefit is you don't have to use a tire gauge as often. Umm...it only takes a minute!!!

I work for a company that "makes" oxygen, nitrogen, argon, etc., meaning actually we separate air into it's components. Air is basically 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% argon and other rare gases.

N2 is a drier gas (holds less moisture than air), supposedly more stable with temp swings, leaks less (slower than O2) ... etc. All of that being said, I can get all the N2 I want and have filled my tires many times with pure (almost) N2. There really is no discernable difference, at least to me in the amount of tire leakage, increased gas mileage or any other of the supposed benefits. I fill my tires with N2 now as a matter of convenience simply because there is a N2 hose close to where I park.

On the distribution side of things, we do fill the tires on our service and distribution trucks with N2 and they say they do notice some slight benefits, but those are accumulated benefits of the entire company fleet over millions of miles on the road.

I personally wouldn't pay a premium price to fill my tires with N2.

Rob

+1 to Rob.

Used to work at an airport when the Nitrogen rage hit the aviation industry. Nothing like watching a sneaky company trying to sell a $5000 inflation system to a bunch of engineers and private pilots. The FBO owner bought the system and it sat dormant. We routinely used it to fill up our tugs and shop vehicles. My pick up ran N2 for years with no appreciable difference to anything. I would still lose about 4 psi each month with temp. variances.

thanks guys thought id ask some people who i trust to know about stuff 30 bucks seems very silly

From what I understand, Mini Cooper dealers offer free nitrogen to owners. All you need is a new Mini.

They tried to sell me on "nitrogen is better" when I was car shopping. I wasn't convinced.

When I worked at the Chrysler dealership and they started selling tires, they were all hyped to get the equipment to fill the tires with nitrogen. It didn't last , people didn't buy it and they got rid of the stuff. I figure people have been filling tires with regular air this long, there must be nothing wrong with it...

Maybe if the tires were filled with LN2 it would help with gas mileage because the tires would be a lot harder, so rolling resistance would be reduced...at least until you hit your first pothole or crack or crosswalk painted line...

Nitrogen is superior to regular air, but most people don't drive/ride in such a way that it matters much.

Nitrogen is drier, especially since many regular air compressors don't get drained often enough. If you own an air compressor, you know that water will accumulate in the tank, that can end up in your tires.

Dry nitrogen isn't as reactive to temperature as damp regular air. It doesn't expand as much when it gets hot.

Racecars will often use nitrogen for this reason. With regular air, I have to bleed off 1-3 pounds of air every lap when I autocross. That's only about a 1 minute lap. With nitrogen, I don't have to bleed much if any and have a more consistent tire for the whole run instead of one that starts at 38psi and ends at 41. That's a ONE minute lap. Imagine what many laps at much higher speed will do.

But... under normal conditions, most people never know the difference. And if you check your tire pressure regularly as you should anyway, it makes even less difference.

What I have told friends... if the tire shop includes it as a free service, go ahead. But if they're trying to sell it to you... no thanks. And for a regular car, I sure wouldn't go out of my way to get nitrogen, any miniscule savings you might realize will be eaten by going even a short distance out of your way, especially if you're driving there on tires that are 10 pounds low

or just top off your (scooter) tires with a bicycle pump that has a gauge.
I check my pressure very week and have not added air since last September (and I ride every day).
I have close to 5000 miles on my tires and they still look great.

I would spring for argon if I were too rich to check my tire pressure.

speaking of tires, i need to check my pressure next time i ride

r0sa wrote:speaking of tires, i need to check my pressure next time i ride

Forget pressure, I needed to check my TIRE today. I've got 12k+ on the stock tire and its REALLY bald! Time to get a new one