Nitrogen in tires

[Hoss3.0]

Does anyone run nitrogen in their tires? Has anyone heard about this? I have been told by some experienced tire people that it is far better than using air. It's more stable and doesn't fluctuate at all with temperature. It even conditions the inside of the tire to fight cracking. Somehow it can even increase tread wear. Just curious if this is snake oil or the real deal. Apparently the Nascar guys are running it. For $5.00 bucks a wheel it's not a bad deal if it works.

[jdm61]

I had nitrogen put in my Michelin Energy's on my 325i. All i can say is that I have put over 50,000 miles on them and i have at least another 30k to go......so they will actually do what they are rated for. Also, I have never had to put air in them myself. Only had them topped off when needed when I get the oil changed.....and that is every 12-13,000 or so. Not sure whether it is the tires, the nitrogen or both, but I have had good luck with the combo. In theory, you would avoid any oxidation issues inside the tire.

[Brian 162]

Unlike air from a compressor nitrogen has no moisture in it. I use it to pressure test A/C systems. In theory it should maintain consistent air pressure in tires. Costco I think has nitrogen.

[Zef]

The only advantage to use nitrogen in tire is no corrosion will happen to the wheel because it is an inert gaz...!!!

[onlycafe]

how about helium to reduce unsprung weight?

[jbrinkley]

no one should even answer that one

[jeffgrant]

Originally posted by zefsuper911
The only advantage to use nitrogen in tire is no corrosion will happen to the wheel because it is an inert gaz...!!!

I also thought that it had different expansion properties than ambient air so it won't expand as much as you build heat into the tires... so your pressures stay more consistent when on the track.

[anthony]

I think it's a "profit center" at tire shops. The air we breath is 78% nitrogen. If you put an water filter on your shop compressor you'll end up a higher percentage of nitrogen.

I recently heard about valve stem caps with o-rings. Supposedly they do a lot towards keeping the air in the tire.

[Zeke]

Please read this thread for a lot of discussion on N.

[Brian Cameron]

Originally posted by onlycafe
how about helium to reduce unsprung weight?

Problem is, this will cause your tires to make a really high pitched squeal when cornering hard...

[anthony]

http://www.nitrogentiremachine.com/

Put "Nitrogen in Tires" with the simple touch of your finger and generate an "Average Profit Margin" of 1000% on each service!

GWR's revolutionary design automatically delivers consistent 99.99% or purer Nitrogen to the tire, the highest percentage in the industry. At only .35˘ to .45˘ per tire, that's less than $2 per vehicle! Not bad when you consider the average retail ticket for four tires is over $24. Yes, a 1000% mark-up with virtually no labor or parts, plus anyone on your staff can do the simple service.

[JohnJL]

Toyo advocates it on their site. And search.

[David]

There's nothing special about Nitrogen, the air we breath is about 79% nitrogen. The key is there's no moisture in compressed nitrogen. So yes it's better, whether it's worth it or not is up to the individual.

[charleskieffner]

i would be afraid of nitrogen narcosis driving at lower altitudes!

[wholberg]

It's nothing but marketing...creating a market where one had not existed before to make more money. Dry compressed air would be the same, but it would not sound as fancy. Would you buy it if the slogan was:

Nitrogen, the Cool Collar for tires!!!

Disclaimer: This is a fictional allegory. Any resemblence to actual Cool Collars, living or dead, is unintended. No Cool Collars were harmed in the production of this message.

[jeffgrant]

I guess it's just easier to use Nitrogen to achieve the dryness as opposed to having to have a dry compressor.

[Hoss3.0]

Maybe I'll try it my truck to see what I think. It doesn't get a lot of use so the pressures vary.

[Porsche84]

I am a mechanic on a 997 GT3 Cup car in the Grand Am Rolex series. We always use nitrogen in tires to reduce the amount of pressure rise due to increased temp. Our tires rise 10 to 12 psi even with Nitrogen. Using air would be a little more. I think Nitrogen is good because it is consistent (always dry). Air at different parts of the country would have different amounts of moisture in it and thus would be less predictable. For my personal race car, I use air (with a basic air separator) and my tires increase about 10 psi at the track. The local tire shop charges $2 per tire to fill with nitrogen. However, unless you purge (fill and empty the tires about 3 times) with nitrogen, the use of Nitrogen is a waste of money.

[DUK]

The reason to use nitrogen isn't pressure increase it's the expansion of the gas, dry nitrogens expansion rate is less than dry "air" and far less than unfiltered and undried "air". We actually did some back to back runs at Talladega trying to see if the spring rate of the tire was affected by what was in it. The only conclusion was that nitrogen helped to keep the spring rate linearly progressive. The pressures were within a tenth of a pound on a ten lap run going from nitrogen to undried "air". As far as the corrosion issue, I have seen the plus' of nitrogen.

[randywebb]

"isn't pressure increase it's the expansion of the gas"

??????

PV = nRT