Have you used molten gold in your tires? No? Then how do you know it's not superior to air?

 

I have three cars using tires bought at Costco and came fill w/Nitrogen.

Another car and motorcycle using compressed air.

Since I used the term "Naysayers" for people making negative statements on the benefits of using Nitrogen - anyone can guess my stance and my preference.

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That said.

If anyone making negative statements about anything and without at least personal experiences - that boils down to empty rants.

 

Because unlike you, I am not Odin's chosen one!

 

LOL. No, regarding the claims about nitrogen in tires it comes down to science and chemistry. Ever heard of the ideal gas law? It applies to gas at pressure. It doesn't matter if it's nitrogen, oxygen, or a mix of the two. As someone else already said, the issue is with water vapor, not what kind of gas it is. Bottled nitrogen is dry. If air is dried, its properties are almost exactly the same as pure nitrogen.

Did Costco pull a vacuum on your tires before filling them with nitrogen? (No, they didn't in case you don't know). That means your tires have oxygen in them, not pure nitrogen.

Sorry, anectodal "evidence" from personal experience doesn't trump science, chemistry, or facts.

 

Personally for me my 350z had nitrogen in the tires and I never had to fill them once in 4 years. They never even changed by 1 psi in that time. All my other vehicles its seems like I fill them a few times a year. Two of our other cars have new tires and I still fill them yearly. I wouldn't pay extra for it but I was happy with having it.

 

It would be a Great Public Service to all, if our Mods choose to lock this thread, before it goes where it always does - to Uglyville - not to mention this is a repeat, of a repeat, of a repeat Thread, which are rightly frowned upon

 

Costco only purged and set tire safety bead with Nitrogen - my personal observation while Costco installing my tires. Evidently, Costco's policy with that procedure is sufficient and it is certainly reflected with the Nitrogen filled tire's ability to retain pressure for months on end.

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For Naysayers, believe what you like. Rant on!

 

Right on.

Especially this is one from a "Moderator":-

"I've never used nitrogen in the tires and have never lost any air from the tires in almost 9 years of C6 ownership."

I would gladly exchange my Nitrogen with some of that Tenn. air, since I do need to top off Nitrogen sometime like twice a year.

 

I have two sets of wheels and tires for our 2005. One set has nitrogen, or at least they are supposed to have nitrogen in them. This spring, all eight tires were down 4-6 psi. If I were racing and tire pressure was super critical, then I might think about nitrogen with no moisture. For every day use, I'll use the air from my compressor I have a water trap and the air then runs through a desiccant filter. The air works fine in my blast cabinet so I am reasonably sure that very little moisture is getting through. There is no noticeable ride difference between the tires, but then Goodyear run flats aren't noted for their ride anyway.

 

Just an observation but I've noticed more and more threads going to "Uglyville" lately, not sure why other than maybe lots of angry people out there. Our local Long Island newspaper publishes an online edition and allows comment, the amount of venom and hatred that is spewed daily is amazing....and very sad! JMHO....

 

This is spot on....if Nitrogen is free, and convenient, then no harm and no foul......Costco is close, free and handy.....and I have it in all of my cars....

 

with you Mike....but many of these repeat threads are for some of our newer members and they may not have seen them before....but I agree....there is a lot of attitude out there

 

^ It is sad - and worrisome. Even more so when you take a site like this, wherein the members are, for the most part, the privileged few, who can afford a relatively expensive sports car. Seems like that should impart a 'Life Is Good' demeanor, not overt hostility and bad temperament.

 

^ Excellent point - I suppose I'm guilty of thinking that just because I've seen the subject discussed time after time, so have others.

 

It's apparent that you're not much interested in having a rational discussion, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt:

Nitrogen and dry air (which is mainly nitrogen, oxygen, and argon) change pressure in direct ratio to temperature at exactly the same rates (to any commonly measureable extent). At temperatures typically encountered by humans this translates into a +/- 0.9 to 1.1 PSI change in pressure for every 10 degrees change in temperature. This is a simple fact whether you use pure nitrogen or dry air.

The O2 molecule is slightly longer but also slightly narrower than the N2 molecule, so they are effectively the same size. However the O2 molecule diffuses into the tire over time, resulting in a slight loss of pressure over several months. If you live somewhere that has seasons, then you'll need to air up your tires anyway due to temperature changes, so this doesn't even matter.

Water is the real problem because its pressure increases along a curve as it heats up. But even if the air in your tire is at 100% humidity at 40 degrees and you heat it up to 140 degrees, the difference that water vapor makes is only 1 PSI. For water in the air to cause significant issues you'd have to either have actual standing water in your tire, or reach tire temperatures that are typically only reached in racing.

Furthermore, what do you think is already filling your tire when you first fill with nitrogen? Air! So by dropping to 0 PSIG and then filling with nitrogen all you're doing is dropping your non-nitrogen (primarily oxygen) content from 21% to about 10.5% and leaving half of any water vapor in the tire that was already there. So it's not a nitrogen fill.

Also, as was mentioned previously, as the oxygen in your tire leaves, the remainder is mostly pure nitrogen anyway. So each subsequent fill and following loss gradually increases the nitrogen content anyway.

The argon in air is a much smaller molecule but, seeing as it's only 1% of air, its loss would result in only a 1% drop in absolute pressure, or 0.5 PSIG for a tire inflated to 34 PSIG.

The NHTSA (and Consumer Reports) actually tested nitrogen versus air fills and found that it changed the rate of pressure loss from 1.6% to 1% per month, for a difference of 0.2 PSI per month. Considering that a simple 10 degree change in temperature changes the pressure by 1 PSI, this is obviously miniscule. And, again, successive fills with air gradually increase the nitrogen percentage of the tire's contents, resulting in a nitrogen fill over time anyway.

 

I'm not a naysayer. I've had nitrogen in a few cars (not C6) when I bought tires at Costco. My perception is the tires seem to hold the correct pressure much longer than when they just have air inflation. The only negative I can see, since there is no added cost involved, is Costco puts green caps on the valve stems - They are Butt Ugly but easily changed.

 

 

 

Tell me why I need it.

All the places near me charge for it. Kroger doesn't charge me for air.

 

What does the fact that I'm a moderator have to do with it? I'm just stating I've never seen a need for it in my cars.

There are a few here that have confused ugly with expressing a differing opinion.