Nitrogen in Tires

[rrbhokies]

Our Costco just started using Nitrogen in their tires. I understand they add a mixture of air/nitrogen which is supposed to help with maintaining tire pressure.

Anyone had any experience with this? Is it worth it?

[2RedV's]

Our Costco just started using Nitrogen in their tires. I understand they add a mixture of air/nitrogen which is supposed to help with maintaining tire pressure.

Anyone had any experience with this? Is it worth it?May as well buy snake oil. :(

Although I can come up with a lot of other articles, here's a good article from the September, 2006, Honda Service News regarding Honda's position on it as well:

Nitrogen Inflation: What’s Our Position?

Surf any automobile tire-related website these
days, and you’ll likely see something mentioned
about nitrogen inflation. It’s becoming a hot topic.
We’ve gotten a number of inquiries lately
concerning American Honda’s position on this
practice.
When it comes to inflating automobile tires, it’s
our position that ordinary, dry compressed air—
which is about 80 percent nitrogen already—is
the best choice. That’s because it’s more readily
available, and the benefits of using nitrogen
simply don’t appear to outweigh those of using
compressed air.
The practice of inflating tires with nitrogen really
isn’t anything new; it’s been around a long time.
It’s been commonly used on aerospace vehicles,
commercial and military aircraft, military vehicles,
race cars, and even heavy off-road construction
equipment. Here’s why:

• To meet rigid safety and performance specs,
the required tire inflation pressures are often
very high, especially in the aerospace industry.
The tire inflation pressure for NASA’s space
shuttle, for instance, is a whopping 315 psi!
• Nitrogen is an inert gas; it doesn’t combust or
oxidize.
• The process used to compress nitrogen
excludes water vapor. Water vapor can expand
if the temperature climbs above 212°F.
• Tires inflated with nitrogen leak slower over
time than those inflated with compressed air.
Automobile tires, on the other hand, are subjected
to an entirely different set of conditions. Here’s
why inflating tires with nitrogen offers no real
advantages:
• Although tires inflated with nitrogen leak
slower over time than those inflated with
compressed air, they still leak and need to be
reinflated to maintain proper pressure. If you
can’t find a place that offers nitrogen
inflation—and there aren’t yet all that many
places that do—your only option left is to
reinflate with compressed air. Doing that
drops the nitrogen purity.
• Nitrogen offers no better protection against
road hazards such as cuts and punctures. So
no matter what you inflate the tire with, you
still need to check the condition and pressure
of the tires at least once a month as
recommended in the O/M.
• Tires that are inflated with compressed air and
properly maintained offer the same fuel
economy, tread wear, and ride comfort as
those inflated with nitrogen.
• Nitrogen for automobile tires is produced by
nitrogen generators, which typically get about
95 percent purity. But to actually get that
level of purity into an automobile tire, you
would have to deflate and inflate that tire with
nitrogen several times. If you’re not careful
doing this repeated deflation and inflation
process, the purity level winds up being closer
to 90 percent (compared to the approximate
80 percent nitrogen already in compressed
air). Because of this, those claims of less
pressure loss with nitrogen aren’t valid.
So here’s the bottom line: Nitrogen is an ideal gas
for inflating tires in aircraft, military vehicles, race
cars, and heavy off-road equipment, but when it
comes to automobile tires, it offers no apparent
advantages over ordinary, dry compressed air.
Our advice to you: Just stick with the air you
breathe.

.

[connermt]

Our Costco just started using Nitrogen in their tires. I understand they add a mixture of air/nitrogen which is supposed to help with maintaining tire pressure.

Anyone had any experience with this? Is it worth it?

2RedVs above post is spot on, especially the part about nitrogen making up the majority of normal air.
Although I did work with a person several years ago that could be made to believe anything. We had her believing that she needed a special gas cap or some such thing....She went home and asked her husband about it. :p We also had her believing a lot of other things not appropiate for this board. She asked him about those too. :D

[2RedV's]

It is simply a way for Costco (and others) to make more profit with no benefit.

[alex2364]

It doesn't hurt anything putting nitrogen in your tires. So as long as they're not charging extra for it, go for it.

[2RedV's]

It doesn't hurt anything putting nitrogen in your tires. So as long as they're not charging extra for it, go for it.No, it doesn't hurt anything. However, it doesn't help anything either, at least in cars...

I guess the question to Costco would be... "How many times do you fill and drain, fill and drain,etc., before proclaiming that my new tire now has 100% nitrogen in it?" Think about the initial tire mounting process and the above facts from Honda. They cannot do it.

[Parkworker]

I have had Nitrogen in my CRV tires for over a year now.

POLICE FLEET MAGAZINE did an article on Nitrogen in Tires for Police cars and Police SUVs a few months ago and they spoke very highly of Nitrogen and highly recommended it.

[2RedV's]

I have had Nitrogen in my CRV tires for over a year now.

POLICE FLEET MAGAZINE did an article on Nitrogen in Tires for Police cars and Police SUVs a few months ago and they spoke very highly of Nitrogen and highly recommended it.Why?
What was the testing criteria, if any?

[Parkworker]

I'll try to find the magazine if i still have it in the house.

[geotest]

I believe the air we breathe is the best...nitrogen in car tires is just a lot of hype...they even give you green caps for your valves...the air you pump in your tires should be clean, dry air...my question is who knows where to jack up a 2006 CRV with a hydraulic car jack

[2RedV's]

I believe the air we breathe is the best...nitrogen in car tires is just a lot of hype...they even give you green caps for your valves...the air you pump in your tires should be clean, dry air...my question is who knows where to jack up a 2006 CRV with a hydraulic car jackI'll bet your owner's manual shows you, with an illustration, exactly where to place a jack.

Barring the actual reading of the manual, you can place a jack in numerous places to raise one wheel at a time, or even the entire front or rear. For example, the rear can be raised by placing the jack on the support, under the rear differential. However, ALWAYS use jack stands and do not rely upon any jack as the sole means of support. If it fails, you could die.

[carcrv07]

We had a 2000 CRV. We bought new tires from Costco and they put nitrogen in them. I've read Honda's position on nitrogen filling. Its all true. However, I have a small air compressor, so i check and adjust the tires on our cars regularly.

My experience is that the nitrogen filled tires do indeed need far fewer adjustments .

When our CRV needed air I just wheeled in to Costco on a regular trip and they adjusted them on the spot.

My only negative is that I don't have the equipment to fill with nitrogen at home.

By the way Costco told me I could add ordinary air to the nitrogen and have them replace it later .

[cwalti]

'We' use pure Nitrogen to inflate the tires of the C-17 airlifter. Nitrogen is justifiable in critical applications where extreme temp differences are a given andl arge temperature fluctuations are expected for high value applications. (A C-17 costs ~$200,000,000 battle ready.) In cars it is kinda hoax. If a shop maintains its compressor system and watches the air-dryer and lube bowl, Nitrogen is not NEEDED! I questioned Costco knowing the answers beforehand and got some pretty uneducated responses. For one the existing airpocket in the old tire is not 'flooded' and displaced with a blast of Nitrogen, but the existing atmospherics tire volume is just surrounding air, diminishing the intended purpose of nitrogen. At this point one may not pump in Nitrogen at all...

[Sandpebble]

Hay, maybe helium would work and lighten the load. Just kidding. :D

[Z99CR-V]

Hi, here is an article I came across on the subject.
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/070216.html

[tsmithvt]

Hi, here is an article I came across on the subject.
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/070216.html

Thanks for digging that out. Good info.:)

[2RedV's]

From the article:
"That means, theoretically at least, that a tire filled with nitrogen retains optimal pressure longer, leading to more uniform tire wear and better gas mileage. The commonly quoted figure is that tires inflated to 32 psi get 3 percent better mileage than at 24 psi."

Well, DUH. ANY tire filled with AIR at 32 psi will get better mpg than a tire filled with AIR at 24 psi and so will a tire with nitrogen!

Snake Oil.

[mtl_crv]

You just can't idiot proof everything. Nitrogen in the tires is a fine example of how the industry is going too far towards making everything automatic (while of course boosting profits too). TPMS is yet another example which really causes nothing but headaches for people living in cold climates or even if you just want to air down tires to do a little beach driving. It's totally unnecessary and causes more complication, cost and problems than it's worth. I mean just because you put nitrogen in your tires doesn't mean they suddenly don't follow ideal gas laws for heaven sakes. It's a complete waste of money IMHO. Air up your tires to the proper pressure and check often (especially if temps fluctuate alot where you live.....ie cold climates require alot more tire maintenance than warm climates).

[cwalti]

Hay, maybe helium would work and lighten the load. Just kidding. :D

....I know u r jus tryin' to b funny... ....but that had been considered before. Problem is that the Helium atoms are so small that they are hard to keep inside a tire and will not miss an opportunity to escape. Ever see them beautiful latex helium balloons? The molecules are actually departing through the skin, - and withing two days it's nothing more than a limp mess!!! ...that's why!!!