So, am buying new tires for the car, and the new thing now is to put nitrogen in the tires

[a kennedy]

instead of air. I did some research and it’s ok, but not so much better then air that I’m not doing it. Anyone hear of this??

https://www.consumerreports.org/tire-buying-maintenance/should-you-use-nitrogen-in-car-tires-a6260003694/

[FBaggins]

1. Costco had been doing it for some time

Small leaks will be a little slower… and temperature variations won’t change your pressure as much (and thus a little less wear).

But not worth much if you aren’t getting it for free

[mitch96]

11. This scam has been around for a while. The little green cap on the inflator gizmo tells you it has

Nitrogen in it.. What gets me is 78% of the air we breath is, yup you guessed it. NITROGEN.
So what you are buying is 22% more nitrogen in your tires... for a price. If it's free that's another story. YMMV
m

[FBaggins]

12. Hardly a scam since they do it for free

Including a refill pump that members can use.

[mitch96]

13. For free it's not a scam. I remember when the dealers (stealers?) were charging

$39.99 for a fill. That was a scam...
m

[kysrsoze]

2. Nitrogen molecules are larger than oxygen, so supposedly less leakage.

They do it in all tires at Costco. Our cars seemed to lose air a little slower, but they still eventually do. Previously poster pointed out what I forgot - less temperature sensitivity. That is true.

[QED]

14. I wondered about that so I looked it up...you're right

"...a nitrogen molecule measures roughly 300 picometers while an oxygen molecule measures 292 picometers. That’s only a 2.6% difference in size."

Oxygen has one more proton than nitrogen so there is a stronger attraction between the nucleus and electrons.

[Cracklin Charlie]

15. That's what a guy told me.

He said with air, your tire loses about 1 psi per month.

With nitrogen, tire will lose about .75 psi per month.

[Chainfire]

3. I think that it is all gimmick to separate you from your money.

I have been using free air in my tires for 60 years and it works for me.

[MichMan]

4. It is better, but not worth paying extra for.

[MiniMe]

5. That's been around for a long time.

You are supposed to put green caps on your tires so you know they are nitrogen tires.

[hlthe2b]

6. BE AWARE. Once you've filled them with nitrogen, you can't just fill with air afterwards.

without losing all the benefits of the nitrogen. It won't hurt your tires to mix the two, but you basically may as well just go with air at that point. For those who travel a lot and frequently use a car plug tire inflator to ensure proper pressure myself, I don't see an advantage to Nitrogen.

So yeah, they leak less, but this is a no-go for me. Not to mention air is free, Nitrogen is not.

[TeamProg]

33. That's what I'm thinking about, one has air easily avail for inflation top ups. n/t

[cloudbase]

7. The air we breathe is 78% nitrogen.

Not worth it for your tires.

[BluesRunTheGame]

8. I fill my tires with Cheez Whiz.

It’s much better than air.

[Talitha]

21. Brilliant!!!!!!!

[hlthe2b]

22. Checked out the current price of Cheez Whiz?

I think you'd be shocked, so it is good it's no "miracle whip" cure for tire pressure. LOL

[BluesRunTheGame]

24. It's worth every penny!

[Nittersing]

9. From Consumer Reports

https://www.consumerreports.org/tire-buying-maintenance/should-you-use-nitrogen-in-car-tires-a6260003694/

"This common pitch is compelling: Filling your car’s tires with nitrogen will reduce air loss, boost fuel economy, reduce rolling resistance, and improve safety. Some cars are even sold with the telltale green caps on valve stems, signaling the tires have already been filled with nitrogen.

Dealerships and tire shops often charge owners to fill tires with nitrogen, at $5 or more per tire, during routine service visits or when replacing tires. But is nitrogen worth the price?

Testing conducted independently by Consumer Reports and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that the benefits are more theoretical than practical.

First off, dry air is 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen, and 1 percent other gases—and there is almost always some water vapor present. The nitrogen used to fill tires is a processed gas that’s void of many of the impurities in regular air, but if you plan on using it, make sure the retailer removes all the original air to ensure the tire is truly filled with nitrogen. Also, realize now that you’ll want to top off the tires with nitrogen in the future. (There is no harm in mixing in regular air, but it does defeat the purpose.)"

More at link

[dalton99a]

16. +1

[Midnight Writer]

10. It doesn't hurt to do it, but do not pay for it.

[Mr.Bill]

17. Unless you are doing something competative with the car,

Like Auto Cross or other kind of racing where a pound or two of tire pressure can affect performance, don't bother.

I just really like that cars have Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems now. It's interesting how much the tire pressure changes with heat/cold.

If you want to splurge on something to do with your tire pressure invest in an inexpensive air compressor so you can maintain the proper pressure and check it frequently. It will extend the life of your tires.

[Wounded Bear]

18. Make sure you change the air twice a year...

get the winter air out and put in summer air every spring, and vice versa in the fall.

[mitch96]

19. It pays to check the muffler bearings and blinker fluid also. 😉 nt

[jmowreader]

28. A motor sergeant I once knew loved to pull that joke on newbies

About half of them would fucking do it too.

Here's the worst part: the motor sergeant in question was the one I had at Fort Campbell. Our battalion commander, LTC Cactus Jack McGuinness, liked the joke a lot. Some poor guy over there changing his winter air to summer air, he'd be like "good job soldier, gotta keep up on that maintenance."

[LudwigPastorius]

29. According to a scientific expert,...

you got to get that bad air out and fill it up with good air before China steals all of it because their bad air got to move, so it moves over to our good air space. Then, now, we got we to clean that back up.

[Ilsa]

31. This alone should have disqualified him from running. nt

[Conjuay]

20. yeah,

our Kia had N in the tires, but the dealer had no way of re-inflating them with nitrogen.
Another gimmick, another gizmo.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

23. Lowering the unsprung weight in a car can help performance. So, fill ...

... fill the tires with hydrogen. Very light weight.

Oh, the humanity!

Actually, I use a nitrogen blend in my tires. About 80% nitrogen, 19% oxygen, 1% other stuff.

[jmowreader]

27. You'd only do it once

Hydrogen will leak through holes too small for any other element to get through, and if it can't find any holes it'll make its own. So you'd go outside to get into your car and find you have four flats.

And naturally, when you tell the guy at the tire store what you did he'll sell you four new tires and four new rims.

[whistler162]

25. Must have hasd great tires.....

been a thing for 20+ years

[jmowreader]

26. Nitrogen is a racing thing that crossed over into the general population

If you inflate racing tires with nitrogen, they gain less pressure as the tires heat up. This is good, because varying tire pressure changes the way the car handles.

The nitrogen thing also caused a massive sea change in pit stops: nitrogen cylinders arrive at 2400 psi and compressed air is usually at around 150 psi if you have a really good compressor, so during a Union 76 World Pit Crew Challenge event one of the teams won the thing by running their impact wrenches on nitrogen rather than compressed air. Now everyone does it in all forms of racing. (The World Pit Crew Challenge is also where gluing lug nuts onto wheels was invented.)

I guess if you WANT to put nitrogen in your tires it won't hurt anything, but unless you're turning 150mph hot laps on a routine basis it won't really do anything for you either.

[ForgedCrank]

30. The truth of the matter

is that what they are telling you is true.
The reality of it is that it doesn't make enough of a difference to be worth the hassle. And by hassle, I mean not being able to add pressure to the tire later without finding a nitrogen source. Air compressors and pumps are everywhere, nitrogen is not.
So if they are adding it for free, I'd say what the heck and do it. But I wouldn't waste my time when I need to top off a tire, I'd just use whatever air was easily available. It doesn't hurt anything to add air to a tire that was filled with nitrogen.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

32. I fill mine with nitrous oxide.

I take a hit if I’m stuck in traffic.

[TeamProg]

34. An air compresser is one of the best garage / tool investments I've ever made. I always loathed

having to check air pressure at a service station when I lived in the city.


And now I'm not about to drive the tractor or riding mower into town.