Air Or Nitrogen In Tires?

[Duffer]

Is there any advantage to the use of nitrogen? My '09 has N2 in the tires and I do not know where to go to get more. B)

[CanTex]

Is there any advantage to the use of nitrogen? My '09 has N2 in the tires and I do not know where to go to get more. B)

I haven't done it in any of my current fleet, but a couple of my previous cars had nitrogen. Reason for delay: New tires needed "soon" for both cars.

Apparently nitrogen holds pressure longer (good for the vast majority of us who never get around to checking the pressures) and isn't as susceptible to temperature changes, etc. I know of places in Texas that will do the work for $20.

Just Google "nitrogen tire" and maybe your Zip Code plus nearest biggish city and you should come up with some hits on where to get it done. In my case, a AAA-rated garage has done it for me in the past.

[Step Hen]

If you're a member, Costco has nitrogen for tires.

[SW03ES]

I'm not a believer in this whole nitrogen for tires thing.

Air is 78% nitrogen anyways, do you really think that additional 22% is going to make that big a difference?

On a race car or a plane's landing gear maybe, but on your car? I ain't buying.

[s10]

I'm not a believer in this whole nitrogen for tires thing.

Air is 78% nitrogen anyways, do you really think that additional 22% is going to make that big a difference?

On a race car or a plane's landing gear maybe, but on your car? I ain't buying.

Agreed.. it is just another way of making money.

[SmilingBoognish]

Nitrogen in your street cars tires is a waste of money. It's just a way for tire shops to make a little extra dough. Also, consider when you have to top off the pressure - what are you going to use? Air.

[BobOsb]

Nitrogen is inert. Since it will not burn it is used in airplane and some other tires for safety reasons.

It has been proven that the nitrogen molecule passes through the tire wall more slowly than oxygen, so the rate of pressure loss with pure nitrogen. The difference is very small. You might see a difference over six months or a year. As someone already said, air is only 21% oxygen and 79% nitrogen.

It simply is not worth a nickel for an automobile. There could be advantages for 18 wheelers, but only for safety in my mind.

[smooth1]

Yeah, the bigger issue that is completely overlooked is moisture.Air compressors and pumps require water removers and line dryers. But alot of these "air" stations go unmaintenanced, and can pack alot of water in the air lines. Without even knowing it you could be inflating your tires with very moist air or even water. You should allways check the air coming out first by using the other side of your tire pressure gauge and press the air valve open to let air flow from the line so you can make sure it's just air coming out and to give the stale moist air out first. Or invest in a tire inflator and do it at home. That is the best way.

[SW03ES]

But again, aluminum wheels cannot rust, and the wheel surface is painted on the inside anyways so the moisture issue is moot.

[fbsdmd]

But again, aluminum wheels cannot rust, and the wheel surface is painted on the inside anyways so the moisture issue is moot.

I have a gut feeling that you probably don't want to have a lot of actual water in your tires.

[RhoXS]

My two cents is that putting N2 in street car tires instead of air is a complete and total waste. After 39 years of owning cars, I never had a tire explode due to the compressed O2 reacting/igniting with the tire or wheel, I never have seen the slightest indication of corrosion due to moisture inside the tire, I have always been able to have perfectly balanced tires (no H2O droplets here in humid Florida to unbalance them), and never seen a consequential issue of air leakage except when something (e.g. nail) punctures the tire.

My new four day old RX350 has N2 in the tires probably because some salesperson thought it would enhance the ability to sell it. I doubt the tires were inflated at the factory with N2 and I highly doubt that the residual air was vacuumed out of the tires before they were inflated with N2. The only advantage of having the tires on our new car inflated with N2 relates to the appearance of the valve stem caps. The caps, apparently part of the N2 package, are some of the nicest industrial strength caps I have ever seen. I am sure they do nothing more than a standard cap but they do look nice. So nice, I keep the four old caps in the glove compartment so I can replace the N2 caps when they are eventually stolen.

[John Midolo]

My two cents is that putting N2 in street car tires instead of air is a complete and total waste. After 39 years of owning cars, I never had a tire explode due to the compressed O2 reacting/igniting with the tire or wheel, I never have seen the slightest indication of corrosion due to moisture inside the tire, I have always been able to have perfectly balanced tires (no H2O droplets here in humid Florida to unbalance them), and never seen a consequential issue of air leakage except when something (e.g. nail) punctures the tire.

My new four day old RX350 has N2 in the tires probably because some salesperson thought it would enhance the ability to sell it. I doubt the tires were inflated at the factory with N2 and I highly doubt that the residual air was vacuumed out of the tires before they were inflated with N2. The only advantage of having the tires on our new car inflated with N2 relates to the appearance of the valve stem caps. The caps, apparently part of the N2 package, are some of the nicest industrial strength caps I have ever seen. I am sure they do nothing more than a standard cap but they do look nice. So nice, I keep the four old caps in the glove compartment so I can replace the N2 caps when they are eventually stolen.

My own four day old RX350 has the same industrial strength valve stem caps, even though nobody mentioned that there was N2 in the tires. I assume that the dealer did add air to the tires since they are at 36 lbs as opposed to the 30 lbs Lexus puts in at the factory.