easy2no

Nitrogen fill for tires is new and their is a lot of talk about it... Vette owners are a lot "in tune" with their car and handling...

Anyone using Nitrogen tire fill in their daily street driven machine??? I have read all the reports about how air contains oxygen and moisture that rots the tires, corrides the wheels and requires top-off every month... I know the nitrogen gas doesn't leak through the tires like regular air, keeping pressure at a constant level.

But before I make the purge ( ) I want to hear from some members who have used it and (hopefully) will share their experience and was the change worth it...

Zix

"Air" is mostly nitrogen anyway, so I personally just don't buy into it.

jsup

Plain old air is 70%-80% nitrogen, so what is it you're gaining.

Waste of time and money, IMO.....

Demonic85

I had Nitrogen in the tires on my Buick. They filled it up with it when I bought new tires. I didnt notice much a difference to be honest and they wanted $5 to refill the tires with it, screw that. It lasts just as long as air in your tires as well. However, I could see where if you inflated your tires with just Nitrogen that it would eliminate moisture, but it doesnt help when you have to refill with regular air.

vader86

Waste of time and money on a street car. You will not notice the difference.

SunCr

Nothing new about it - Costco has been pumping it into everything they install for at least 10 years. If there's any benefit, I don't see it - much for the same reasons as stated above. And when I add air, my cars get whatever my compressor can pump out - at least I've got a filter on it to hold back any moisture (or I guess if I was really **** about it, I could wait until we have one of those Santa Ana days where the humidity is about 5%).

easy2no

Compressed air is your tire’s worst enemy. Air is about 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 1% other. Nitrogen is inert, non combustible and non corrosive. Oxygen, on the other hand, is immensely destructive to rubber and other tire materials. As soon as a tire is manufactured and exposed to air, the effects of “oxidation” begin to deteriorate the rubber. Over time it loses its elasticity and strength, just like an old rubber band you’ve probably found around your home. This same process occurs in tires inflated with air as the oxygen attacks the rubber molecules, working from the inside out, until the oxygen, and it destructive properties, permeates the tire structure and ultimately the tread.
I have yet to wear out a set of tires on my 92LT1, but replace them due to sidewall cracking and hardness (stiff ride) 9/07 Corvette Magazine has a story on Nitrogen fill and that was why I asked...

johnnymo63

Don't they run nitrogen in the Nascars? I think it helps keep tire temps more constant.

Carolina C4 Racer

Yes. It prevents the tire pressure from growing so much due to the heat.
The real problem is getting all of the wet air out of a tire before filling with nitro.
If you are driving a race car, then go for it.
If you are driving a street car, then forget it.

BigLee

dont bother trying to nitrogen fill your tires for street use.

ive havent seen any old street tires pulled off, that showed signs of cracking or "dry rotting" from the inside before.
it may offer some very small improvement in pressure stability, but it would likely be quite small at best...

Trog

I only do it because I have free access to a tank of Nitrogen.

But, the points are vaild and most major tire shops are moving in that direction. Aircraft have used it just about forever for some of the same reasons. Moisture at altitude etc.

Nitrogen generation machines are still pretty expensive so small shops will be awhile.

CentralCoaster

Urban legend with no substantiation beyond pseudo-science or misinterpreted anecdotal experience.

Tire shops do it so they can charge more or so they can provide a perceived upgrade over competition.

xflagz51

Well said CentralCoaster. I just recently put new tires on my Tahoe at the Tire Warehouse (big tire retailer up here in the Northeast) and they were pushing the nitrogen fill. They offered it as part of a road hazard plan that seemed way to expensive, so I passed on it. They use the road hazard to scare people into it, which is total crap. They have been filling tire with nitrogen for the last million or so years in stock car racing at almost every level, and it does work. Go ahead and do it if you have an ultra cheap source, but don't pay these tire shops the stupid prices that they want for a nitrogen fill. BTW, I have never had a tire fail from the inside.

runner140*

Save your money. Down here, they want $34.95 and I just couldn't justify that on air.

JackDidley

We have a winner.

Bill Hetzel

In the race cars, we run nitrogen in the tires to keep the pressure buildup on the track to a minimum. The psi buildup is about half of what we get with compressed air but this varies with to the moisture content coming out of the compressor.
Before a nitrogen fill, the air is vacuumed out or the racing slick.

The guys putting nitrogen in their street tires are the reason infomercials do so well. Some people will buy anything.

Everyone that's had a tire go bad because they filled it with aaaaaaa air, please raise your hand.

Strick

I got a question, how do you get the O2 air out of your tires? Do they evac it like the A/C? Doesn't the outside of the tire get exposed to the "Bad O2 air?" The only time I see the inside of a used tire looking bad is when someone used "Slime." My tires don't last long enough to worry about breakdown from the inside.

Muffin

I think we should switch to hydrogen. .Wonder how much that would lighten a car?

RollaMo-LT4

No, you can't use hydrogen........
The first slight bump you hit, your car would bounce 30 feet in the air...

xflagz51

....then when it comes down from the 30 foot bounce, if you're really lucky, then you may see pieces of the car 300 feet in the air. When do we start?