Nitrogen

[oso2324]

I noticed COSTCO gives the consumer the option of having their tires filled with ntrogen as opposed to regular air. I asked the COSTCO rep the advantages of nitrogen over regular air and he says the tires will maintain constant tire pressure. The nitrogen will no react to heat the way air does. Anyone one the board have their tires filled with Nitrogen. It just seems like one more variable that would remain constant when gauging accurate MPG's. Mike

 

[spindlecone]

I noticed COSTCO gives the consumer the option of having their tires filled with ntrogen as opposed to regular air. I asked the COSTCO rep the advantages of nitrogen over regular air and he says the tires will maintain constant tire pressure. The nitrogen will no react to heat the way air does. Anyone one the board have their tires filled with Nitrogen. It just seems like one more variable that would remain constant when gauging accurate MPG's. Mike

Yep, thats the new thing to do but my tire shop wants 5 bux per to do it.
A better hit is to fill them with Helium, reduces your curb wgt by 900 lbs

 

[IZwack]

Yep, thats the new thing to do but my tire shop wants 5 bux per to do it.
A better hit is to fill them with Helium, reduces your curb wgt by 900 lbs

AHAHA i guess that would mean that ur X would be upside down if u ever decided to float it across a river.. ahahh!

 

[blackbeauty]

nitrogen filled, why yes

yeah, dunlop tire filled my new tires with nitrogen and told my i can go to them ,for the life of my tires, to get refills and adjustments for free. sorry dont know pros and cons.

 

[expo5.0]

i prefer neon

 

[mosinman]

Pure nitrogen resists heat build up and transfer in tires better than air, doesn't hold moisture as well as air, and wont leak out of tires as fast as air. Nitrogen is used in airplane tires and heavy use commercial tires. In these uses, the tires are usually recapped, so the inners must last a long time.

That being said, personal vehicle tires are almost never recapped and the tread will always wear out before the inner rots. Also, compressed air is cheaply avaible everywhere. The bottom line is that compressed air is perfectly fine for passenger tires. Nitrogen is certainly O.K., but there is no reason at all for the expense, unless you are the type that never ever checks their tire pressure (The nitrogen will leak out more slowly than air).

 

[unclemeat]

NASCAR uses nitrogen in their tires. They use a triple purge and fill. They do it because tire pressure buildup drastically affects the handling characteristics of the race car. I ws always under the impression that checking your tire pressure in a cold condition accounts for the pressure buildup when they heat up.

 

[mosinman]

Nitrogen and air pressure.

Checking you air pressure (cold or hot) has no effect on what happens to the air in your tire as the tire heats up. Heat and pressure will increase as the tire warms up either way.

A cold check is preferred as it is an easily repeatable baseline - and what tire makers specify.

 

[rippermac]

Pure nitrogen resists heat build up and transfer in tires better than air, doesn't hold moisture as well as air, and wont leak out of tires as fast as air. Nitrogen is used in airplane tires and heavy use commercial tires. In these uses, the tires are usually recapped, so the inners must last a long time.

That being said, personal vehicle tires are almost never recapped and the tread will always wear out before the inner rots. Also, compressed air is cheaply avaible everywhere. The bottom line is that compressed air is perfectly fine for passenger tires. Nitrogen is certainly O.K., but there is no reason at all for the expense, unless you are the type that never ever checks their tire pressure (The nitrogen will leak out more slowly than air).

While most of what you said is true, I'll expound a bit...Nitrogen used in aircraft tires are required to be oil and moisture free to prevent rubber deteriation and the formation of ice at altitudes...but that's actually an addition to what the true purpose of Nitrogen in aircraft is for...it's used in various emergency systems on an aircraft that are routed through small steel/titanium lines where any moisture present over a long period of time can and will cause major problems at the wrong time and believe me...Nitrogen leaks just as fast as compressed air.. for 24 years me or my co workers have to verify pressure at least every 48 hrs...I definately wouldn't pay the extra money to use Nitrogen...compressed air has been good enough since 1845....

 

[mosinman]

rippermac - thanks for the first hand report. All my info came via articles from Road and Track, etc.... The articles I read were pretty adament that nitrogen leaks out of car tires slower due to the size of the gas molecules, but I defer to your actual experience in the matter.

Are you military or commercial? I always thought aircraft mechanics have an interesting job.

 

[rippermac]

Retired military times 22 years..civilian aviation now unemployed...definately wouldn't have traded the experience for all the money in the world...makes you appreciate the sun rising in the morn...

 

[IZwack]

makes you appreciate the sun rising in the morn...

AHAHAH i just have a small bone to pick.. and this is off topic.. way off.. but why is it that military ppl get up so early?? i mean even after they've retired! I work for the missle defense agency and the ppl there get up so freaking early and go to work so freaking early even if they're already civilians! Is it REMOTELY possible for an individual to go through the military, retire, and revert back to waking up AFTER the sun has come up?.. say 9am or sO? Maybe im just lazy! AHAHAH!

 

[huskyfan23]

My dad was in the military, always up at 5AM. I think they get up so early because you get more done in a day, and nobody's around.

 

[IZwack]

ouuu good point! but hmm, i guess some of them should stay up till like 4 am then.. and then go to sleep afterwards, since no1 is really around at those hours

 

[rippermac]

AHAHAH i just have a small bone to pick.. and this is off topic.. way off.. but why is it that military ppl get up so early?? i mean even after they've retired! I work for the missle defense agency and the ppl there get up so freaking early and go to work so freaking early even if they're already civilians! Is it REMOTELY possible for an individual to go through the military, retire, and revert back to waking up AFTER the sun has come up?.. say 9am or sO? Maybe im just lazy! AHAHAH!

Wish I could stay in bed...but like I said after seeing and being in some of the crap I have...you learn to appreciate some things people take for granted...sun..shelter..food..water..the freaking birds and the damn squirrels and a/c I don't want to ever not experience the new day by sleeping....I'll sleep when the game is over

 

[IZwack]

what time do you sleep?

 

[scott93EB]

The early hours for me are because I got used to PT before the sun comes up, once you do it enough it's hard not to. Yeah, you do appreciate all the things rippermac said. In some ways being up early is like the need for coffee, if I ever try to sleep in it feels bad, kind of like not having coffee.

 

[rippermac]

what time do you sleep?

worked 2-11pm for last 2 years so my sleep is really farked...asleep by 3 awake at sun up...trying to wind down

 

[ExplorerDMB]

Would anything happen if you had nitrogen filled tires and put regular air in it? Like say, for some reason you started to get a slow leak, and you were down to 30psi -- would putting 5 psi of regular air mess anything up or would the properties of it not affect it?

-Drew

 

[rippermac]

If you add compressed air your tire will be fine...except now you would have some level of moisture mixed with the nitrogen....but it's no big deal...automobile tires have been using compressed air since 1845...and thats a bloody long time.....