Nitrogen vs. air...

I was curious to this as well as the dealer filled my tires with nitrogen.
Can nitrogen be mixed with air?
 
70% of the air we breathe is nitrogen. Don't waste your money IMO
 
^ stupid me... never thought of it that way
 
I prefer Nitrogen myself. Is there a measurable difference from the quality of ride stand point? No, not really. Evan is right, 70% or our air is nitrogen. The problem however is filling with crappy gas station air that could possibly have a high concentration of water from humidity. If you aren't careful you could possibly end up with a tire full of water. Another small benefit is you don't get pressure change from hot to cold, meaning if your tire is holding air you don't have to worry about them getting low when it's cold or risk over pressuring when they warm up.

They're all little things that in the scheme of things really don't matter that much though. It's all going to come down to personal preference really.
 
When I bought four new tires a couple of weeks ago, the dealer offered to use nitrogen. I figured, sure, why not.....
Didn't see it listed on the bill, but am sure I paid for it one way or another, lol.
 
The main benefit from the N is that you're not putting any water from the humidity into your tires.

Sent from my ADR6300 using AG Online
 
I agree with PokeFan. I've had nitrogen in my garage queens low profile tires for years - the loss of psi is very minimal. The mechanic I use tops off for free (after the initial $$ fill) so it's not a big deal. The lack of pressure change is worth it IMO.
 
I read in Car & Driver that it wasn't worth it. Unfortunately I can't recall the rationale.
I don't think they took into account GQs.
 
Do not do it. It is not worth the money. Does nothing. All hype nonsense.
 
slimnib said:
Do not do it. It is not worth the money. Does nothing. All hype nonsense.
Click to expand...

I'd have to agree if you're paying for it it's not worth it really. This thread has shed new light for me. The tire shop here in town fills for free and I just assumed this was standard practice. You may ask around locally and see if anyone does it for free but I wouldn't pay anyone $7 to put air in a single tire.
 
I believe that for the most part the biggest advantage to adding nitrogen to tires is for the installers coffers.
The advantage to the car owner is with a constant tire pressure.
Any fuel mileage gains or tire life gains are mitigated by the cost of the nitrogen.
Having said that, I would put it in a tire that was going to last for years, but not in my truck tires, which are worn out in 6 months.
 
If you can get it for free do it, the only real advantage is in the colder months. Nitrogen is not as affected by the drop in temperature.
 
Nitrogen is worth every penny if you take your car or motorcycle to the race track.

As it pertains to tire PSI and moisture, nitrogen is more stable than air, but it is a little more involved to do it right by purging out the existing air.

The way that most tire shops fill with nitrogen will leave a substantial amount of air, albeit 80% nitrogen air still in the tire. You must purge the existing air to truly attain a complete nitrogen fill.
 
I have noticed over the past year the pressure has remained much more constant with Nitro-Air. And no I didn't pay for it.
 
I have been using nitrogen for a number of months and I can definitely see a difference in the stability of the pressure and the time before it needs any additional nitrogen. The pressure increase while driving interstates at highway speed and long distances is much less. Like many people have said, I wouldn't pay a dealer to put in nitrogen. I'm not sure they do it properly in the first place. I just bought a new Grand Cherokee that the dealer had supposedly installed nitrogen. They had it stickered at $195. Needless to say, I didn't pay for it. The tires were over-inflated by 4-5 psi and on the first trip, the pressure increased 4psi. I have never had more than 2 psi increase with my nitrogen. As soon as I have time, I will purge and fill (several times) to make sure it it as pure as my nitrogen wand can provide. And it will cost me approximately 25 cents per tire.
 
As a 5 year manager of a tire store....
Nitrogen doesn't fluctuate or dissipate with the rising and lowering of temperatures the same way air will. The only time you may see any difference at all is in cold winter months when you may lose a couple pounds of air pressure a month. For the individual without an air gauge it may well be worth the $8-$15 cost per tire.
 
The main advantage is, you won`t have to worry about adding air to the tires, Ni. keeps the same tire pressure a long time. Slightly better fuel economy. Alittle better tire wear only if you have the proper tire pressure in from the beginning.

Drawback is the ride suffers, harder ride. It`s noticable.

I had them filled for my wife's car for 2 years. Had to add a just couple pounds at 1 1/2 years.
 
I saw where Consumer Reports said it was a waste of money. My last tires got filled with it, and I think I got better life out of the tires. Probably personal preference. Probably not worth the money, but if it comes with the tires, I would go for it.
 
The idea that the ride is any different with nitrogen is a myth. Completely untrue. Also, the nitrogen itself doesn't increase fuel mileage, but keeping your tires inflated at the proper pressure does. I would rather buy a $10 digital tire gauge and just check the pressure every couple weeks.

The main reason why nitrogen holds steadier pressure is because nitrogen molecules don't escape the rubber in the tire as quickly as air molecules do.

It's a way for stores to make money. Very similar to the dealers who everyone make fun of for offering paint protection for $495.
 
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