Isn't the air we breathe made up of mostly nitrogen? If so, then aren't you already putting nitrogen in your tires? Sure, pumping "pure" nitrogen into your tires may help out a slight amount, but it is doubtful you will notice. Racecars probably use straight nitrogen because they are trying to shave thousandths of a second off lap times and their tires are exposed to much higher temperatures than a normal passenger car. I see it as a waste of money for this. You will not notice a smoother ride because of nitrogen. If the ride is smoother, it is only because you had the wrong air pressure in the tires before. But ya know, maybe if I fill my tires with nitrogen and put a Turbonator in my car, I will get awesome gas mileage, a smoother ride, and more power.

 

You can get FREE nitrogen refills at Costco if you bought your tires there. And don't laugh, they do have some excellent tires available if you don't mind waiting for a "special order" from costco.com to come in.

That said, I didn't notice any difference when I started to refill them with air. There was a big improvement when I first got them, but that's because they were new tires, not because of the nitrogen.

And, as has been mentioned, normal air is already 70% nitrogen.

 

mfbenson : cant wait till our costco has that then I'd probably fill em up with em. (I work there) enjoy your day off tom...I mean today. =)

 

Dude just look at what a balloon does after a day of being inflated it is like either half size the next day or completely empty.

 

i'm at my dealership right now and i'm glad i told them no to nitrogen in my tires lol. i should print up this thread and put it on their service counter.

 

I command thee to rise from thy grave!!

 

hey, don't hatin on me because i did what i was supposed to and used the search feature before posting!

 

Holy resurrection Bat Man!

But seriously, randomly stumbled on this topic which is funny 'cause me and a friend were talking about this yesterday... I noticed someone made the point above but no one responded...

Seeing as normal air that you'd put in your tires is 70-75% Nitrogen anyway, does that 35% really make that much of a difference?

 

....Aahhh....the good ol' days...

 

The impact on performance won't be felt in normal street driving-- nitrogen is much more resistant to changes in temperature, so it makes for a more consistent race tire. Where an atmosphere filled tire might gain 10-12psi by the time the rubber reaches 180º, a nitrogen filled tire will gain only 4-5psi. In racing terms, that's huge.

The benefit in a street tire is that nitrogen is a bigger atom than oxygen-- so it will escape out of the tire much more slowly. I've had my 245s on nitrogen since day one, and I only have to top off the pressure every six months or so; atmosphere filled tires should be checked monthly, and will (in general) lose 1-2psi per month. Each one of those lost psi = lost fuel economy.

 

lol i noticed that too

 

$2.98....LOL!

 

LOL WTF

I miss 2006.

Hell I miss 1996 I think it was like $1.30 then.

 

Nitrogen is used on our F-16 tires, how does 300 PSI sound to you?
When I bought my wheels they came filled with nitrogen and the only difference is that once the tires warms up, it still feels the same ( ride quality). As far as fuel efficiency I don't know man, I went from stock to 18x8.5.

 

I am in the air force and work on the b52-h bomber. We use 96% nitrogen to fill the tires on the aircraft. First nitrogen is much more stable than atmosphere air which allows the pressure inside the tire to stay mainly constant with temperature changes. Secondly it does not contain moisture, pure nitrogen is very dry. This will protect the inner part of the tire from breakdown and the tire will have a much longer service life. Nitrogen in car tires is not really needed. You are not gonna see a fuel mileage/ handling change, you will most likely have to replace your tires due to tread wear or tire damage other than the inner breakdown of the tire, car tires are not subjected to the 300 plus degree temperature change when a b52 lands, and cars only have around 35psi compared to the 250psi of the b52.

 

nitrogen is sweet and all but you should have nebster come over and breath into your valve stems for a true optimal performance

 

the ___ kissers does say that he is the almighty!

hell, you might even earn yourself a sticker!

i mean he's totally race ready! not only are his tires full of air, he's also full of poop!

 

if you order your rims/tires from wheel next they give you a freebie..and fill them up if ya want with nitrogen for free...i did it...i just cant find a filling station around me..and if i knew it was 40 bucks i wouldnt have but then agian you can mix air and nitrogen so not that bad