Costco gives nitrogen free to all members, even tires that are OEM or purchased elsewhere. They'll also hand you an excellent brochure on the advantages of using nitrogen. That's good enough for me!
Hmm, the plane at altitude makes such sense but I never gave it any thought. They would drop to low, low temps and then resist heating on descent because they are in the wells. Anything at 35k probably has wells. That could be a real problem. Frankly, that dwarfs the race car issue IMHO.
Is nitrogen less prone to water problems as well? Is it inherently dry? In has no molecules of H or O.
Basically it is very dry. It keeps its pressure at high heat and loads and altitudes. No or little expansion properties with cold or heat. So it is perfect for air planes. Dont get me wrong, it can help with cars but the cost and such is really not worth the effort. Keeping your tires at proper pressures by checking each week is the best. It would work well in the desert or up North too on those days the road is 170 degrees or minus 40. I just dont see any real major benifit for the average driver. Its more marketing than anything else. IMHO though. Ya all have your own there.
Hmm, the plane at altitude makes such sense but I never gave it any thought. They would drop to low, low temps and then resist heating on descent because they are in the wells. Anything at 35k probably has wells. That could be a real problem. Frankly, that dwarfs the race car issue IMHO.
Is nitrogen less prone to water problems as well? Is it inherently dry? In has no molecules of H or O.
One of the key issues for a race car, operating with high tire temperatures, or an airplane, operating at low tire temperatures, is that N2 is dry. You hit the nail on the head.
I've ran several test (I test wheels and tires, largest wheel mfg.)...running Nitrogen in passenger tires make no differance in any test to date we have performed to support either better mileage and or less blow outs.
Note: First link statement, These test were done at high loads using high pressures 80 psi plus. Nitrogen is a dry, inert gas used to inflate airplane tires, off-road truck tires, military vehicle tires, and race car tires for improved performance, more tire mileage, better fuel economy, and increased safety. Test were not supportive of passenger car loads and or pressures.
I'm a service manager for another car line. And yes, we sell a ton of nitrogen and it is a quick way to make a fast buck. Keep in mind "normal air" is mostly nitrogen!!!! You are only adding about 6% more nitrogen. Normal air is about 85% nitrogen!!! If you have tire monitors it will help keep your tire pressure stabilized when it gets very cold outside. That is about the only real positive to using it. Any other reason is just BS!
You might be saying "then why do companies like Costco offer it for free"? The reason Costco and other companies offer it for free is to make their customers come back there for refills, then they sell you additional work. They use it as a tool for customer retention!!!
Stupid people think that they have to go back there to have their tires refilled.
Bottom line is... you were riding around on nitrogen to begin with. My best friend is a Jag tech and I think he said it best... Nitrogen is like air, just better.
You are not really paying to get nitrogen in your tires, it was already there to begin with. You are paying to have a little less oxygen in your tires.
If dry nitrogen was local, convenient, and free I would use it .... but for the typical car owner there is zero need or advantage to paying for nitrogen... let alone plain old air
Maintain you tires at proper inflation, or one or two pounds over is good practice and can save your life and money
TPS is totally wasted on me and my family...checking air pressure with a calibrated gage is a way of life ... well for most of us... my wife has learned to depend on me to make sure all the rolling stock is properly maintained
Knock on wood but we have NOT had a BLOW out in decades...maybe way back in 1976~78 some time....sure, plenty of screws and nails but always caught early and repaired ASAP
Bottom line on the Nitrogen... can not hurt... but certainly not worth paying for
Anyone can put some random crap on a blog site or forum site..... I guess we should trust all content on Wikipedia too... I trust in what I have seen... which is nitrogen is a waste of time. The 3 Stooges once invented a pen that could write under whipped cream...
Perhaps you could offer supporting information against your 'expert' opinion.
Correct, as long as you maintain proper inflation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by timhood
Heat is a whole different problem when your car is doing 200 MPH. The tires are rated Temperature A which means they resist heat build-up just fine with ordinary oxygen.
Anyone who wants to be sold will convince themselves that there are "valuable" benefits to nitrogen. However, the fact of the matter is that modern tires do not rot on cars that get used even moderately. Nor will your tires overheat riding in the Vegas desert in August. Nor will your properly-inflated tires filled with oxygen get any less MPG than your properly-inflated tires filled with nitrogen. Correct, as long as you maintain proper inflation. That covers about 25 % of the population.According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration under inflated tires under inflated tires contribute to crashes, which result in 660 fatalities and 33,000 injuries each year.
Buy pure nitrogen - it bleeds much slower than O2.
If someone needs to pay $20 so they don't have to check their tires as often**fine. I'd rather save the $20 and put it toward an alignment when needed. Mis-aligned tires will do far more damage more quickly to tires than slightly under-inflated tires.
The problem is not paying $20.00. The problem is few car owners check their car's tire pressure weekly. Usually, people don't check their tire pressure until some helpful person honks their horn at them, "hey, your tire is almost flat."
Buy pure nitrogen - it bleeds much slower than O2.
I think ...I want to reverse my normal position...
Just today my wife and I noticed at least 4 cars running along at 70mph on soft low air tires...and one idiot with the donut micro tire on the front at 75mph...
I think paying for nitrogen may be a good idea for all the idiots out there...
of course I will still use the proper amount of free air
thus... a "do as I say" not "as I do" attitude today....grin
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