Still filling your tires with air?

[suprabad]

I'm going to switch to nitrogen to inflate my tires.

Is anyone doing this?

What do you think...notice any improvements?

NASCAR uses nitrogen.

In fact most race teams have been doing it for years.

There are tons of benefits...less oxidation of the tire itself, less heat and moisture absorbtion etc...

I'm sure lots of you guys are hip to this, but I don't hear much discussion about it.

And before anyone points out that air is 78% nitrogen and why should I pay for "air"... I'd like to point out that bottled water you've got in your hand.

There's a pond behind my house, but I'm not gonna drink out of it.

Would like to hear opinions on the subject.

 

[vas85]

My neighbor uses it on his new Citroen he just bought and he uses it because of the fact that the Nitrogen doesn't expand under heat as normally filling your tyres with Air does.

 

[MDCmotorsports]

^Exactly. Im not sure if it would leak out slower than air would, but I do know that its less affected by heat.

 

[TRACKMKIII]

The only reason I started using the Nitrogen is because the dealership I work at started carrying it and it was free, but I have noticed that the tires loose less pressure over a longer period of time.

 

[suprabad]

... but I have noticed that the tires loose less pressure over a longer period of time.

That's absoloutely true. The nitrogen molecule is larger than it's oxygen counterpart so it leaks less.

 

[suprarich]

Every tire store around me offers nitrogen on tire installs for only a few extra dollars.

 

[NashMan]

wow no place around here offers it

but i live in canada on an iland what can i say

 

[monkeymantn]

No place around me offers it either. How much do dealerships usually charge for it?

 

[KicknAsphlt]

The idea behind using Nitrogen vs. standard 'Air' is that it's less susceptible to temperature fluctiuations....or, as stated, it expands and contracts less...basically, more stable. It's the reason the Navy uses it to inflate the tires on aircraft. All the temperature fluctiations due to friction, ambient temperature, flight deck temperature, and fluctuations in air temp and pressure due to elevation changes, would make the tires go flat or explode if filled with air. Nitrogen provides a stable pressure through all these rapid-changing variables. If you've ever checked your tire pressure on a 70* day before and after driving, the pressure will expand after driving for an hour. Also, compare checking your tire pressure when it's 70* out, then roll out first thing the next morning when it's 50-something out, and your tire will have less pressure because the air molecules cooled and condensed overnight. Nitrogen won't have this fluctuation.

Funny thing, I actually thought about filling my tires in my truck with Nitrogen a couple years before they started offering it at tire places. I thought that was kinda funny....lol.

 

[Spaniard]

Filling up on Nitrogen only makes sense when you fill to nearly 100% with no oxygen in the tire.

 

[88YotaTurbo]

Filling up on Nitrogen only makes sense when you fill to nearly 100% with no oxygen in the tire.

That is why some aftermarket wheel makers have two valves stems. One for fill the other for pressure reading and bleeding out oxygen

 

[suprabad]

One of the biggest advantages, especially to all you guys who have like $8k worth of custom wheels, is that nitrogen does not change temperature as much as air.

As a result it does not draw in condenstion (water) so your wheels won't get rusty inside.

 

[Poodles]

hmmmmm... wonder if the cost is worth it...

 

[dbsupra90]

screw nitrogen. i think im gonna fill mine up with nitrous.

i remember seeing on hot rod tv (or one of those thinly veiled infomercials) a big thing about nitrogen. they made a big fuss over it and you can even now purchase a home nitrogen system for filling tires.

 

[akito]

I run nitrogen in my tires. There are some differences you might notice SLIGHTLY. Better gas milage, not much but u do notice a slighty gain in MPG. Also it will wear your tires slower than normal air but i havent had it in there for long so i cant say anything about that. As others said, nitrogen does not change temperature. It works best if your tires do have 100% nitrogen, I work at toyota and we have special machine where they sucked out all the air in your tire and fill it with notrogen only. I think it is better than running normal air. I mean, theres nothing to lose and i get to use it for free. At dealerships, well at mine, we charge $20.00 to fill your tires with nitrogen.

 

[catch2nd]

used to run it when I raced carts.... using regular "air" would increase in pressure when the tires got hot on the track causing the tires to grow in circumfrence, thus changing the cross weight and the handling

 

[GrimJack]

I use it. Entirely because my tire shop put it in for nothing.

 

[Supra469]

Yup! I'm all for it.