Nitrogen Tires, Anyone?

[themanfromvlad]

I just picked up my brand new 2007 Nissan Versa SL with CVT today, and during my inspection the salesman points out that there's green caps on the tire valve stems. The green caps mean that my tires have been filled with nitrogen, not regular air. He gave me this at no charge (it costs $20, apparently) and told me that it's better for fuel economy and tire maintenance. I did a google search and here's a bit of what I've found:

Here are a few other benefits of using Nitrogen in tires:

[1] Nitrogen is denser than Oxygen: This means the larger molecules escape less easily from tires resulting in a more gradual loss of pressure over time. According to the Michelin Tire Manual, a tire that is inflated with Nitrogen loses its pressure 3 times slower than if it were inflated with air.

[2] Nitrogen is moisture free: Pure Nitrogen inflated tires experience less steel belt and rubber degradation. Nitrogen use also reduces valve and wheel corrosion.

[3] Nitrogen provides longer tire life: Nitrogen inflated tire run cooler and require less maintenance according to the Goodyear application bulletin.

[4] Nitrogen is non-flammable: Nitrogen technology has been used in aircraft, military and race car technology for over thirty years.

So my question is, does anyone else here use nitrogen in your tires, and have you found that your car benefits from it? Is this standard practice at Nissan or did I get a little perk here?

[luchobucho]

nitrogen in tires is crap. air is mostly nitrogen already.

[superDorifto]

nitrogen in tires is crap. air is mostly nitrogen already.

yeah its is, but its also got a lot of other crap in it too, thats why pure nitrogen filled tires are used in military applications and the upper elchions of racing....nitrogen in the tires should theoretically give you better gas mileage, but its mostly due to the fact that it will allow the tires to run cooler and therefore have a longer service life, etc, etc...but $20 bucks seems a bit steep

[luchobucho]

approx 78% Nitrogen and 21% oxygen

78% + 21% = 99% which leaves 1% "other stuff"

the only thing using nitrogen really does is provide a convenient way to provide dry gas for the tires.

Yeah, for racing or for aircraft which experience extremely high and extremely low temps N2 makes sense. For passenger cars, it makes NO sense at all.

Nitrogen is also more convenient for racing applications cuz its easily bottled and more portable than a generator, compressor and hoses.

[proxim2020]

approx 78% Nitrogen and 21% oxygen

78% + 21% = 99% which leaves 1% "other stuff"

the only thing using nitrogen really does is provide a convenient way to provide dry gas for the tires.

Yeah, for racing or for aircraft which experience extremely high and extremely low temps N2 makes sense. For passenger cars, it makes NO sense at all.

Nitrogen is also more convenient for racing applications cuz its easily bottled and more portable than a generator, compressor and hoses.

Yes! You took the words out of my mouth. It is a dry gas. By having a dry gas, you won't experience oxidation in the tire. Oxidation causes degradation of the tire. But most people do not own tires long enough to experience a failure because oxidation. The racing quote is true also. Yes it will keep a tire cooler and it doesn't expand nearly as much when it get hot, but you need to get those tires pretty hot. The average user will not perform maneuvers that will cause the tires to heat up that much. It is more convenient to bring a few bottles than compressors and the whole 9. Some testing (while others haven't) has shown that there's is a slight increase in gas mileage, but it is very very insignificant. The only real advantage the the average user will gain is that you'll loose less pounds from your tire than you will on air alone.

Really, it's not necessary to put the nitro in the tires. But it will not harm you if decide to put it in there. Lots of places down here will give it to you for free when you get some type of service. It's not worth paying for though. Especially when you can get air for free.

[idunno22221]

quite honestly. i think the only reason that i would get nitrogen in my tires. is beacuse i would want to say that i have nitrogen in my tires. it would make me sound cool. hahaha

[JPack]

The Costco here gives you free nitrogen if you want. Obviously, if you get tires from them, they also install the green caps.

It's nice that you got nitrogen. But flip side of the coin is that they were probably pretty satisfied with their commission $$.

[Ever Victorious]

Hell, I autocross and don't know a single person that runs nitrogen in their tires... just plain jane air. When we're talking about thousandths of a second making a difference, one would think it would actually be pretty common in autocross. But it's not.

I think you got snowed, vlad.

[themanfromvlad]

Hell, I autocross and don't know a single person that runs nitrogen in their tires... just plain jane air. When we're talking about thousandths of a second making a difference, one would think it would actually be pretty common in autocross. But it's not.

I think you got snowed, vlad.

Huh? Did you not read my post? I didn't ask for it, didn't pay for it, just got it. So how did I get snowed???

[Clipsed]

Forget the nitrogen I got a "$395" tint job which is only worth $185 at the most for free from my dealership!!! You got cheated bubba!!!

[Ever Victorious]

Apologies, I misread that, I thought you said they charged you for it.

In any case, it's for all practical purposes a gimmick. If a dealer pulled that stunt on me I would have lost a lot of respect for them.

[Beancooker]

I think the biggest advantages are that you won't lose pressure as rapidly as you would in an air filled tire, and the dry gas aspect. I also think that the gas mileage is calculated by the fact that most people only check the tire pressure when they get their oil changed. So having the nitrogen, which escapes at a slower rate, keeps the pressure proper, for a longer period of time. Also, with the "special gas and green caps" people are more likely to have the pressure checked so as to not screw up this "special feature" they have.

[proxim2020]

Off topic - But that's the nicest right side of a signature that I've ever seen.

[luchobucho]

What would make 95% nitrogen escape slower than 78% nitrogen?

Do you realize how slow gas permeates through rubber (relatively thick rubber at that)? The molecular size and weight of O2 and N2 are not very different which is a major factor in their rates of diffusion through a membrane. Air lost from a tire is more likely from a an improperly sealed valve stem or a small pin hole. An in that case you're not seeing molecular diffusion thats just gas coming out at a super-molecular level.

Was there some other reason that nitrogen would stay in a tire more readily than oxygen?

[Clipsed]

well seeing as how this has probably been proven by scientists, and the reason it is used in racing applications for over 30 years, I will take their word for it.

[motoguy128]

The green caps mean that my tires have been filled with nitrogen, not regular air.

Make sure the green caps have a rubber O-ring in them like the stock ones. It can affect the operation of the TPMS sensor.

I don't think it's with paying for. Nothing in life is for free. I'd rather have a $20 voucher for gas, than nitrogen in my tires.

The biggest advantage I can see is that the tire pressure doesn't change significantly with temperature since pure Nitrogen is much less compressible that air. You have to remember also to fill the tires to 2-3 psi higher than the recommended cold tire pressures since those values are set as approximate targets to a corresponsing maximum hot tire pressure.