Nitrogen in tires

Hi folks, quick question for the folks in the know. Yesterday I took the wife's 05 Mustang in for the 30,000 mile check up. The service writer asked me if I wanted nitrogen in the tires, the cost would be $32.50. With all due respect to myself, I ain't no rocket scientist. I know about and why they use nitrogen in aircraft tires...but, why would anyone pay extra to have nitrogen in auto tires. Please, someone help me understand this. Thanks, Steve

Reply to
Esteban
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To slow down the aging of the rubber?

Reply to
Jan Andersson

I put a little helium in mine. Decreased weight = better performance.

I also smear grease around the outside of the tires. Less traction, but less wear, too.

Still, I WISH my tires would last long enough that I had to worry about the rubber aging...

dwight

Reply to
dwight

anyone pay extra to

So the owner of the shop can pay for another round of golf.

Of course they don't tell you that the air you breath is 80% nitrogen, do they? My mom took her 500 in for a $12.95 oil change at the dealer. When she left, her bill was a lot more than that. Yea, she agreed to it, but it's really sad they they prey on the elderly and uninformed.

Do a google search for "nitrogen in tires" and decide for yourself if it is worth it or not.

Reply to
Kruse

Larger molecules, don't leak out. Way too extremely expensive IMHO.

Reply to
WindsorFox

Buy your tires at Costco and it's free, including the green valve caps!

Reply to
Frank ess

Hey Dwight,

Just put tfrog on jack stands, lube those tires and they will last almost a lifetime LOL

Reply to
notme

Thanks for all the interesting comments on the nitrogen issue, I appreciate each and every one of 'em. With all your advice, I have decided to stay with 78% nitrogen....as it came from the factory. This is a great group, I am fortunate to have found this group. Steve

Reply to
Esteban

What happens when you lose nitrogen and have to fill up your tire?

And, if you add air at a filling station, so that now you have one tire that's a mixture while the rest are pure nitrogen, does your car handle differently? Does it void the warrantee on the tire? Will that tire wear differently than the others? Can you sue if you have an accident as a result? Will Al Gore come after your? Will space aliens target your vehicle?:0)

Reply to
Spike

When and if lightning hits your car the rubber no longer protects you and all four wheels explode on impact, KABOOM! :)

Reply to
ND

You aren't supposed to have to add if you have nitrogen, that the whole point. Personally, I'm skeptical though.

Reply to
WindsorFox

Ahhhh, But they apparently don't know the kids from the group home three blocks over. Or do those green caps change the attitudes of those kids? :0)

Reply to
Spike

IDK WTF "green caps" r

Reply to
WindsorFox

IDK either, but to quote Frank ess....

"Buy your tires at Costco and it's free, including the green valve caps!"

Reply to
Spike

"Larger molecules, don't leak out."??? My periodic table shows Nitrogen as element #7, and Oxygen as element #8. Since air is ~78% Nitrogen and ~21% Oxygen, if going for the "bigger" molecule, then pick Oxygen. Oops, just one small problem, pure oxygen like to go BOOM! if it finds some Hydrogen and a spark, which would leave your tires all wet. Personally, I'd jump straight to the Nobel gasses: Neon, Argon, Krypton, or Xenon. Skip Helium (#2 on the table) because we'd see a new crime wave hit the streets with people deflating tires to fill up their kid's birthday balloons or wanting to talk like chipmunks. I can see a new line of tires being marketed, that have little windows in the sides, so when you fill up the tires with Neon, you can flip a switch and pretty colors would appear. It will change the meaning of "lighting up" your tires, especially on the ponys!

Reply to
Eat Spam

hahaha! "lighting up" your tires. That's a good one, but I think you're "thinking" too much! Fun though...! LOL :)

Reply to
ah

October 04, 2007 Tires - Nitrogen air loss study

Filling tires with nitrogen rather than air is becoming a common practice in the replacement tire market. This service offers tire dealers another avenue for making money while also promoting safety. The claimed safety benefits often include the potential for reducing air loss compared to an air-filled tire. Maintaining proper inflation can help prevent tire overheating; promote optimum tread life; and reduce rubber aging and wheel corrosion. The use of nitrogen in large truck fleets and the commercial tire industry are well documented and support these claims.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has seen reduced aging of tires filled with nitrogen. Though the data does support that passenger car tires could benefit by all the claims made for nitrogen, tire manufacturers say that they already design tires to perform well with air inflation. And while nitrogen will do no harm, manufacturers say that they don't see the need to use nitrogen, which generally adds $5 or more per tire charge.

Consumer Reports wanted to find out if nitrogen is worth the price, so we purchased a Nitrogen Inflation System and checked out how well the inflation held up over a one year period. We evaluated pairs of 31 tire models of H- and V-speed rated, all-season tires used in our tread wear test from 2006. We filled one tire per model with air and the other with nitrogen. The test was quite simple: fill and set the inflation pressure at room temperature to 30 psi (pounds per square inch); set the tire outdoors for one year; and then recheck the inflation pressure at room temperature after a one year period.

The tires were filled and deflated three times with nitrogen to purge the air out of the tire cavity. We also used an oxygen analyzer to be sure we had 95-percent nitrogen purity in the tire--the claimed purity limit of our nitrogen system, which generates nitrogen gas from ambient air.

The test started on September 20, 2006 and the final measurements were taken on September 20, 2007. The results show nitrogen does reduce pressure loss over time, but the reduction is only a 1.3 psi difference from air-filled tires. The average loss of air-filled tires was just 3.5 psi from the initial 30 pressure setting. Nitrogen-filled tires lost an average of 2.2 psi from the initial 30 psi setting. More important, all tires lost air pressure regardless of the inflation medium, so consumers should check their tires' air pressure routinely. No evaluation was done to assess the aging claim.

Bottom line: Overall, consumers can use nitrogen and might enjoy the slight improvement in air retention provided, but it's not a substitute for regular inflation checks.

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Moreover, since nitrogen is supposedly less prone to volume change with heat change many new car dealers' service departments routinely substitute nitrogen for compressed air when their customers Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)-equipped vehicles come in during the colder winter months complaining about their TPMS warnings.

Reply to
JohnJohnsn

replying to Spike, Insanerb25 wrote: I hate to argue with most of you but the NHTSA study goes on to say that the

1.3% loss was on a low PSI tire, as PSI requirements increase so does the rate of loss. Also depends on the area inside the tire, the humidity of the air around you and the change of temperature. Driving at higher speeds causes a higher fluctuation of temperature. If you drive around town at 40 mph in arizona or texas and and you have small tires that are normally inflated to 35 psi then its a small change. If not it could be a big change, please read the articles for yourself instead of taking someones word for them. Links to both NHTSA pdf and prof daws study on this page
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Reply to
Insanerb25

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