IMHO, it's not worth it. Does it help? Sure, the tires don't contract and expand with heat as it would with air. I just can't see spending the money for what I see as only an incremental fix.

 

IMHO, it's not worth it. Does it help? Sure, the tires don't contract and expand with heat as it would with air. I just can't see spending the money for what I see as only an incremental fix.

i agree, but differently, my concern is leaks. if i run over something, i have to pay more than to just fix the tire. what would happen if i filled one leaky tire? i'm sure it would throw something off.

 

Yes Dan,
Your van will push around the turns and feel very loose.
Not Good.
Jim

 

Benefits:

Tires stay inflated. Nitrogen molecules are three times bigger than oxygen, so gas escapes more slowly from the tire. This keeps the tire inflated longer at the correct level.
Fuel economy improved. Nitrogen expands less than oxygen, so tire pressure doesn't go up and down as tires heat and cool. Underinflated tires reduce gas mileage.
Tires and wheels last longer. Underinflated tires get hot and wear more quickly. And since there's less moisture inside the tire, rubber rots and steel rims rust more slowly.
Vehicles handle better. Nitrogen is more common in 18-wheelers than passenger cars. NASCAR and Formula One drivers use nitro for better steering and performance. Aircraft tires are inflated with nitrogen or helium to minimize expansion and contraction from changes in temperature and atmospheric pressure during flight.

Drawbacks:

Price - Air already consists of 78% nitrogen, why pay for 21% more

That's all I can find right now as I'm not feeling well and want to go lay down for a bit.

 

Waste of money.

You will not recover the cost of filling your tires with Nitro, unless you get it for free. How do they get the regular air that's in the tire from mounting out? Oh yeah, they don't.

Your tires will still lose air, just slightly slower.

Your are not a race car driver, your psi won't change much with normal driving.

Your van is also not an airplane having to deal with repeated 10K+ altitude changes.

Buy a compressor and check your tires once a week like they used to preach and you'll be better off in the long run.

 

Jax, Ya had me until you said...
Vehicles handle better.
At that point, I started laughing so hard that I about wrecked my van.
LOL, Jim

 

...Buy a compressor and check your tires once a week like they used to preach and you'll be better off in the long run.

I agree. The tires on my Express van are about to hit 80K and there's still good tread left. They've only ever had regular air in them. I try to keep them fully inflated but the oil change jockeys keep airing them down to 35/38(load range E, I run 50/55). (The service writer commented about my "new "tires a few months ago when they had 60K on them) One of the guys at work has nitrogen in the tires of his van, and he's not noticed any difference at all. He was the litmus test for the fleet.

Keep them pumped up and pointed straight(aligned properly) and you'll minimize your trouble.

 

Is nitrogen better? Yes. How much better will it be for YOU or Me? Very nominal. There are a bunch of shops in the Miami area that "switch over" people's tires to nitrogen for $55 + tax and their customers are running around telling anyone that will listen how much better their car drives and how safe their kids are now, but about half of these shops have just put shop air into the tires and made some easy money. The other half really did use nitrogen, but who really could tell? We did aircraft tires with nitrogen ages ago and they were really concerned with leaks and especially rim corrosion. Back then we didn't have the machines that just plug in and make low-grade nitrogen... now it's almost free so it is really easy to make money with it. Really though, what will that $50-75 get you? Will it change your daily drive to and from work? If you have $50 worth of maintenance money burning a hole in your pocket, you would get more satisfaction flushing your fluids or getting an alignment, but that's just me.

 

A complete waste of time (and money) IMO. There hasn't been a single real-world study showing improved fuel economy. Even if there were, the savings would have to more than offset all the extra money paid for pure-nitrogen fill-ups - plus the fuel burned to get to/from some location that actually offers the service. It's the tire equivalent of driving a hybrid. :lol:

I was at a Firestone tire place getting new tires slapped on my van when a tiny fancy lady pulled up in her new BMW and asked if they offered nitrogen tire inflation. Well, they didn't offer that service and she was miffed that she was going to have to pay the extra $25 the BMW wanted for nitrogen. She left in a huff and all the service guys laughed their asses off.

 

Someone was telling a story about this from their last visit to the tire store. The customer in front of them asked, what if my tire gets low, can I top it off with air. The tire guy said no, you can't mix the two :lol:

I don't think it would pay off. I've always kept my tires properly inflated and have always exceeded the MFGs mileage rating of said tires by a good margin.

 

I don't have any experience or evidence one way or another. But
FWIW, Costco inflates with Nitrogen when you buy tires from them
and any time you go in for a free check. I haven't bought tires
from Costco so I don't have any experience with that either.

So essentially, I don't know nutin honey. :dunce:
Except that if you're thinking of getting tires at Costo,
you might be able to evaluate nitrogen without tons
of extra work or cost.

Lumpy

 

Great Point Lumpy.

Jim

 

I have been very picky about the gases I use in my tires. I prefer a 70% Nitrogen 21% Oxygen and some other gases to round it out. I find this mix to do the best job and the expense is nil.

:shrug:

 

Hey Keith,

Unless I am enjoying a Left Handed Cigarette... That sounds very much like what I breath.

LOLz, Jim

 

Hey Keith,

Unless I am enjoying a Left Handed Cigarette... That sounds very much like what I breath.

LOLz, Jim

That's why it's so cheep! :rofl:

 

Unless I am enjoying a Left Handed Cigarette... That sounds very much like what I breath.

Uh... not if you're smoking a right handed cigarette~ :lol:

 

I at one time was a operations agent for Burlington Air Express which a part of my job was to supervise ground operations.One of the elements the aircraft mechanic's told me why the tires are filled with what they are was the landing.Figure what it would be like to take your van tires pretty much standing still and land them on the runway.Yeah,your never going to do that.

 

...Figure what it would be like to take your van tires pretty much standing still and land them on the runway.Yeah,your never going to do that.

Well, you never know.

Lump

 

I think in the case of aircraft landings it has more to do with the temp differences.

Jim

 

...Figure what it would be like to take your van tires pretty much standing still and land them on the runway.Yeah,your never going to do that.

Well, you never know.

Lump

I notice he took his tires off though...

 

One of the reasons that the aircraft industry uses nitrogen, and not the only reason, is that that nitrogen is dried before being tanked. That is there is much less water content in the service cart tanks, than in shop air, which is notoriously high in water content. Therefore, the same "air" can be used for strut servicing, as well as tire inflation. All the other reasons still stand as well. Is it worth while to inflate car tires with nitrogen? Well, while it won't hurt anything, it certainly won't help much either, seeing as a car tire (even racing tires) will never experience the same torture as one installed on even a poor performer such as a slow, light-weight airplane. Also, airplane tires generally are inflated to the 150# area, vice 30#.

Rave or Bust for cars? I vote: bust.

Bob

 

I was reading about this issue in one of those Yahoo articles..you know.. the kind of articles on their home page that have a subject line so interesting that it diverts your attention from the reason you were going to Yahoo in the first place? Yeah.. one of those types of articles!

Anyway I read two separate articles talking about unnecessary surcharges that dealerships and tire shops tack on. One of the things mentioned in both articles was the benefits of using nitrogen to inflate the tires. While they praised the benefits of using it vs. regular air, they frowned upon places that charge extra for it citing that most major tire store chains will inflate your tires with nitrogen for free if you simply ask.

And I can't imagine that generating/separating nitrogen from the air isn't that expensive if you had a machine that could filter and/or burn off the oxygen.

 

I think the key there is have the equipment...

Which costs something.

It sounds like those same bad guys that charge you for any automotive service. I mean HEY they already have the machine right?

Jim

 

Smaller gas molecules effuse (escape through a pinhole) more rapidly than large ones. Chances are, if your tires have even the slightest microscopic pinholes and you've been periodically filling them up, your tires will be filled with more nitrogen than the surrounding air anyway since the oxygen and other gases will escape at a faster rate.

So, are nitrogen filled tires good? They seem to be doing well for the majority of people in this country who NEVER check their tires...