Nitrogen... in tires?

[vping]

I think my wife is losing it. She swears that she told me that when she had her tires changed at COSTCO that they filled them with Nitrogen and that is the reason the valve caps are green. Is she pullin' me leg? I have never heard of this one and it's either I hear what I want to hear or I forgot but this one.. I would have remembered.

 

[vping]

ohh and add this one to the list of crazy threads lately.

 

[Baz]

The atmos is 79% Nitrogen anyway, so why they do this, I have no idea......

 

[Healeysince59]

Your wife is correct. The nitrogen they use is drier than air from their compressor. Racers have been doing this almost forever. Little advantage for a street car but good advertising.

Marv J

 

[coldplugs]

... Little advantage for a street car but good advertising.

And a good profit in lots of cases.

Some TSD rally competitors used to do this because it supposedly caused less change in tire pressures (hence diameter) and their odometer error was decreased. Now I guess it's a gas mileage and reduced moisture thing. Also used in aircraft.

 

[Banjo]

Yup, she's right. Green valve stem caps indicate that the tires have been filled with nitrogen.
As stated above the main advantage is lack of moisture, thus producing a more stable tire pressure, and supposedly longer tire life because of less reaction than with regular compressed air.
I suppose it's better, but I really don't see the big advantage on a regular street car.
It's one of those subjects like politics and religion. People tend to either believe wholly in it, or think it's total bunk.
I'm still on the fence. I know it has advantages, I'm just not sure if it's really worth the bother.
Definatly won't hurt anything. But once you top 'em off with anything but ntrogen, you've pretty much defeated the whole thing.

 

[Steve_S]

Won't hurt, won't help. In high pressure / high performance situations it makes a difference. On a street car you will never see any difference whatsoever. It's just the latest marketing gimmick.

Change the valve caps back to black before someone thinks you're giving in to Costco's marketing scheme to get you back there for paid tire inflations.

 

[AweMan]

I can`t imagine Nitrogen, {Bieng lighter than air} staying inside a tire any longer or even as long as regular air.

We used nitrogen to test for leaks on the compressor for the T-700 Gas Turbine Helicopter engines. The reason bieng it can escape from a smaller imperfection {Hole} than regular air can!

Putting it in a tire because it is dryer? Maybe!

Sounds like just another gimmick to wrangle another few bucks out of ones possesion to me!

If someone tried to sell me nitrogen for my tires, I think I`d just give em the ole horse laugh! And ask em 'are you kidding me'?

I`v been gettin` by on regular compressed air for this long I guess it will suffice from now on too!

 

[Steve_S]

Nitrogen escapes from a car tire slower than regular air. But not much slower, contrary to what Costco will tell you. It's something like 3% slower overall. It isn't worth paying extra for.

The part of it being dry is correct but again it isn't a huge issue. The dry gas compared to the more humid atmosphere will cause less corrosion of the rim and tire. Tires should be discarded long before the point where they would be structurally compromised by regular air, so that leaves corrosion of the rims as the only selling point. To me it is still not worth an extra cost and effort.

 

[AngliaGT]

I think that I'll use Helium in my tires -
- it makes the car lighter!

- Doug

 

[PC]

Nitrogen escapes from a car tire slower than regular air. But not much slower, contrary to what Costco will tell you. It's something like 3% slower overall. It isn't worth paying extra for...

Since most people never check their tires every little bit helps for John Q. Public.

Since Costco doesn't charge extra for it it's only doing good (whether it's significant or not).


PC.

 

[Steve_S]

Last I heard they were charging a dollar per tire or something similar. Even if it's free, I wouldn't make a special trip there to get my tire pressure checked, just to get pure nitrogen.

 

[PC]

They didn't charge for it on the last tires I bought and the paperwork seems to say that I can bring them back for free air (well, N2), rotations and inspections (but I haven't tried it yet).

The last time a brought a flat in they fixed it free and I hadn't even bought that particular tire there.

For those of us who are comfortable with an air chuck and a gauge it’s no big deal but I can see it being a real benefit for the masses (who appear to be mostly mechanically declined these days). They can just roll up and get their tires topped off while they shop.


PC.

 

[Keoke]

I can`t imagine Nitrogen, {Bieng lighter than air} staying inside a tire any longer or even as long as regular air.---->
Research indicates it does although the difference is small.

We used nitrogen to test for leaks on the compressor for the T-700 Gas Turbine Helicopter engines. The reason bieng it can escape from a smaller imperfection {Hole} than regular air can!------>

Well maybe, but I think it might have more to do with the purity of nitrogen being less likely to cause contamination of the surfaces.

Putting it in a tire because it is dryer? Maybe!---- /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/iagree.gif

Sounds like just another gimmick to wrangle another few bucks out of ones possesion to me!----->

You are absolutely right! and any one that thinks they are getting it free
also believes in Santa Claus.

If someone tried to sell me nitrogen for my tires, I think I`d just give em the ole horse laugh! And ask em 'are you kidding me'?----Yeah me too. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif

I`v been gettin` by on regular compressed air for this long I guess it will suffice from now on too!--->

Yeah I think we will do OK. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif

Some one once said; "If you tell a big enough lie and keep on telling it the masses will believe it too"-- /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif

----------------------------------Keoke---AZ--- /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cowboy.gif

 

[Stewart]

I actualy use nitrogen in my tires mainly because it was a very cheap source of on board air for my truck. Tank was free and refills for a 20# tank is 14 bucks. That 20# will fill a 32" tire from 12psi to 35psi aprx 24 time. Now what gets me and I've seen this on a somewhat regular basis is a 50 buck plus charge for nitrogen service. Talk about socking it to a customer.

 

[PAUL161]

When I came out of the Navy, I went to work for AIRCO. They used nitrogen in their truck tires. Basically for them, it was free. In tests they did, it's only beneficial for everyday use in tires that are subject to high heat, such as trucks carrying heavy loads and I guess race cars,(they didn't do a test on race car tires at the time), because of it's heat expansion ratio being less compared to atmospheric air. Bottom line, it won't hurt a thing to use it. I personally would use it if it was free and convenient, but I wouldn't pay for it. Some people say it will preserve the rubber. It would probably take 50 years to notice the difference between a tire using only air compared to a tire using only nitrogen. How long does the tread last? Will it ride softer? Well, 30 lbs of pressure is 30 lbs no matter if it's air or nitrogen. The tire doesn't know any difference. We never used nitrogen in any of our equipment tires. Why? It was too inconvenient and the benefits were nil. JMHO. PJ

 

[70herald]

Also used in aircraft.

Because aircraft spend enough time at low high altitudes where the temperature is low enough to freeze the moisture in the air. As the plane lands it doesn't warm up fast enough for the ice crystals to melt, and landing with a bunch of ice crystals in the tires is probably not the greatest idea.

In a car it is totally useless. Even if the 20% of other gases really escape faster than the nitrogen, then every time you add air to the tires it will have a progressively higher percentage of nitrogen.

 

[anthony7777]

Stewart, when i picked up my wife's new ride recently the sales manager was explaining all the features of the s.u.v. when he told me the tires are all filled with nitrogen i just sat there and chuckled, clearly an aviation spin off with little or no advantage when used in automobiles then again my wife hasnt bounced it on a runway at 200 + m.p.h. with gross wt. exceeding 70,000 lbs. yet.

 

[sparkydave]

Bah, a marketing gimmick that folks will pay good money for even though it's overkill. I keep an air tank that I recharge off my air compressor, and check all the vehicle tires weekly. I avoid the air hoses at the gas stations because half the time I go they don't work (broken chuck or the compressor says "out of order"), and the other times they are so full of accumulated water that they literally spray water out. I read an article about someone who got enough water in their tires from neglected gas station air compressors that it froze in winter and made a wicked wheel imbalance until it thawed out.

Don't forget to check your spare tires!

 

[AweMan]

I can`t imagine Nitrogen, {Bieng lighter than air} staying inside a tire any longer or even as long as regular air.---->
Research indicates it does although the difference is small.

We used nitrogen to test for leaks on the compressor for the T-700 Gas Turbine Helicopter engines. The reason bieng it can escape from a smaller imperfection {Hole} than regular air can!------>

Well maybe, but I think it might have more to do with the purity of nitrogen being less likely to cause contamination of the surfaces.

Putting it in a tire because it is dryer? Maybe!---- /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/iagree.gif

Sounds like just another gimmick to wrangle another few bucks out of ones possesion to me!----->

You are absolutely right! and any one that thinks they are getting it free
also believes in Santa Claus.

If someone tried to sell me nitrogen for my tires, I think I`d just give em the ole horse laugh! And ask em 'are you kidding me'?----Yeah me too. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif

I`v been gettin` by on regular compressed air for this long I guess it will suffice from now on too!--->

Yeah I think we will do OK. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif

Some one once said; "If you tell a big enough lie and keep on telling it the masses will believe it too"-- /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif

----------------------------------Keoke---AZ--- /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cowboy.gif

I have to disagree with this one.
The reason bieng before the compressor is tested it is entirely exposed to atmosphere {Corpus, Christi Texas no less, High humidity and high salt content.} After test, depressurised {300 P.S.I.} removed from submersion tank {Water} dissasembled {plugs and end caps removed} the entire thing is soaking wet, and blown dry using compressed air {Very wet compressed air at that!}
If contamination were a concern, I hardly doubt that this process would then be used.
I myself thought using Nitrogen was a bit radical, so I asked the resident engineer why use it instead of regular compressed air. His statement was, The reason bieng it can escape from a smaller imperfection {Hole} than regular air can!
But then thats the Govt. and thier ideas of "How we do things"
There is the right way, the wrong way, your way, my way,
and the Govt. way of doing things.
So Nitrogen @ 300 P.S.I. for 5 minutes, no escaping bubbles from anywhere it was!

Never the less i`m still not using it in my tries anytime soon.