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air or nitorgen which is best

11K views 57 replies 28 participants last post by  andyg 
#1 ·
I just put new tires on my car and wondering which is best for ride and fuel economy. Air or nitrogen:biggrin::biggrin:
 
#3 ·
Nitrogen is not affected by temperature like regular "air" is. As far as fuel efficiency, if you keep your tires inflated properly, you should not notice a difference.
I look like it this way: If a tire shop will fill them up with nitrogen for free, or part of a tire purchase, go for it. If they charge more than what a gas station air pump charges, than I don't bother.
 
#4 ·
It is still affected but not as much. The big thing is the absence of water vapor in the nitrogen. Either way it is not a big deal.
 
#5 ·
A lot of hype. What's the normal content of nitrogen in air? Green valve caps look nice though.
 
#9 ·
Didn't your Fit come with green valve caps? :biggrin:
 
#8 ·
What you really want to look out for is water mixed in with the air. Better they offered to fill it up with air run through a drying filter, but you can't charge for that useful service so sell them some unneeded Nitrogen.
 
#11 ·
There is 78% N2 in normal air that you breathe... that gets filtered out when they sell compressed oxygen (welding supply, etc... ) They had to do something w/ the N2, right? Why not put it in tires?

There is no valid reason for using N2 unless it's to satisfy a warranty requirement, or if it's free. To properly add N2 to tires, you either need two valve stems, or you need a purge the tire after seating the beads on the rim, before adding the N2. If you don't, there is always going to be "other" in the tire/rim assembly's airspace.

N2 also is supposed to not leak as fast as breathable air from your tires, because the N molecule is larger than the pores of the vulcanized rubber carcass of the tires... if that's the case, eventually, you should end up with nearly pure N2 in your tire anyway, after filling them a few times.

If N2 is 78% of the air you breathe, then it's 78% of the air in your tires... If your tire pressure drops from 100PSI to 80PSI, that's 20%, but all the N2 remains in there, so you're losing 20% of "other", which is O2, CO2, CO, etc... but keeping the original 78% N2. You add that air back in, and now the new 20% that you added is 78% N2 as well, so you've increased your N2 as well, making the new number something like 80% or more.

Keep doing this, and you'll eventually end up with almost pure N2. Why pay for it, when you could just inflate your tires again and again?
 
#15 ·
He's not. Green caps are the universal symbol for nitrogen in the tires...

And I like the Nitrogen. With the lack of moisture you can drive down the interstate and the tires do not heat up. Cooler tires have to last longer I'd think...
 
#16 ·
I really don't think the small amount of moisture in air from a compressor would be a major heat factor. Most compressors, and even more so if it is at a tire store, have moisture traps, I have one on my little one, to protect the tools. Nitrogen's major advantage is that it is non reactive, they used to use it, and I believe still do, in Phone cables to keep corrosion from setting in. It should make rubber last longer in its presence, and it may not leak through as quickly, but I am not fully convinced on that. If air slowly passing through is the cause of deterioration of the fibers and plies, well it might make a tire last longer, and the rims won't rust or corrode from Nitrogen, that is if it was put in in a sterile environment. If not, whatever moisture there was residual could fall out of suspension and form liquid water, instead of staying vapor in normal air, which might accelerate corrosion. I just think for what they are charging it could not possibly be cost effective. $12 a tire?
 
#19 ·
I changed the air in my Ram's tires at the shop. Deflated them, filled them with nitrogen, purged them (to get all the air out) and then fill them up with nitrogen again. That was in may. I've had to add 2 lbs of air to each tire since then. I can vouch that Nitrogen definitely doesn't seep out as fast...it has bigger particles, so 100% nitrogen is better than an air mix in my opinion.
 
#20 ·
What did you do before N2 was available?

I mean, I know that's not really the correct way to look at new "Technology"... but I still havent' seen a valid reason to pay someone to install N2 in my tires, regardless of how much or little the molecules transfer through the rubber. I look at it like this: If I'm paying for N2, I should get free top offs.
 
#23 ·
I didn't pay for mine. Regaurdless of the molecule size.....my above post can be reread. Same tires that lost air with compressed air, loose not even half as much with nitrogen. It was free...why not?
 
#24 ·
Who is trying to charge $12.00 per tire and charging for top off's? Where I work Nitrogen for all 4 tires runs $21.95 for all 4 tires. And top off's are free...

And from what I see around here somewhere around $5.00 per tire is the normal price...
 
#26 ·
The casting of the alloys on the Town and Country is so poor that the tires have always needed to be topped off every few weeks. I don't know why, but that stopped with the Nitrogen. It does not make sense, but it is true. And yes, the valve stem caps are indeed green.
 
#43 ·
I've found this to be true. My old tires had nitrogen in them. I didn't have to top off every few weeks like I did before the nitrogen. My new tires have air, I haven't put nitrogen in them yet. I do have a bunch of green caps though.
 
#27 ·
Would helium be better because it makes the vehicle lighter and therefore would use less fuel? :lol:
 
#32 ·
:thumb: :lol:
 
#31 ·
Increased rim life: This is where science really kicks in. Oxygen contains water or at least vapor. Nitrogen has no H2o, so in theory with no water vapor present, steel is less likely to develop oxidization which is what causes the formation of rust.
While I know what they mean here, quotes like this make me less willing to count everything they say without further investigation.

Regardless, the temperature difference under normal operating conditions is negligible, at best. You're not landing a 400 ton jet liner on a highly inflated bias ply tire that just made a rather concise descent from 35,000 feet (where it's freezing).

If you drive enough like a racer to worry about tire temperatures, stay away from my town. I've got a 6 month old and I'd shoot your tires before letting you put him in danger like that. :)
 
#34 ·
Hmmm? I have tons of full nitrogen tanks. Was considering filling my tires with it. But after reading this thread, realized I don't have the green caps so not doing it. Lol :cool:

Yeah, air is cheaper. I could see the benefits if I was taking the t&c to Gingerman race way to road race it, but for everyday daily driving I really dont see much benefit.

My neighbor got it done to his tires around a year ago. He admits he got talked into it with promisses of great things. After a couple of times paying to refill after getting some flat tires, he resorted to plain ol' air.

I dunno, snake oil maybe. No real benefits. Save your money and buy an air compressor with a good water seperator.
 
#35 ·
I'm not sure how much I believe the statement that air leaks through the rubber. Or it must not happen very quickly. My original spare tire spent 12 years under my van only coming down a few times to make sure the winch worked. After those 12 years, I needed it one day and it was almost full or air. It had around 28-30 psi in it when the factory spec is 32 I think. Not much air got out over all those years and I doubt chrysler was putting nitrogen as the factory fill back in 1997.
 
#37 ·
2005 Chrysler T&C Touring

Since I started using Nitrogen, my tires stay properly inflated longer. With air, I had to top off every month or so. Now they seem to be at the right pressure for 2, 3 months and more.
 
#41 ·
When I buy tires at Cosco they come with nitrogen in them. I would never pay extra to have this done. I can say that they hold pressure better with the nitrogen, but that is the only thing I have noticed. To me, that alone would not make it worth it to pay extra to have the nitrogen. BTW I do not like the look of thegreen valve stem caps. A few people have noticed them and asked me about them.
 
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