nitrogen or regular air for my tires?
12-05-15, 06:13 PM
#1
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nitrogen or regular air for my tires?
today i went to the dealership hoping they will add nitrogen to my tires but they wanted to charge me $50 wtf? is this how its done in every lexus dealership? add air to your tires but charge $50 for nitrogen when the car came with nitrogen originally?
12-05-15, 09:42 PM
#2
Fwiw, my tire psi fluctuates more with temperature change with regular air than when they had nitrogen in them before. I hear it's a gimmick but that's what I've witnessed. Btw, I'm on aftermarket wheels and tires now.
Last edited by obturator; 12-06-15 at 03:34 AM.
12-06-15, 02:09 AM
#3
Lexus Champion
IMO, nitrogen filled tires is a gimmick. Sure it will leak out slower than air, but it'll eventually leak out and need to be refilled. Not to mention, if you just need to pump up your tires a couple PSI, do you really want to go to the dealer to do it (and might incur another fee)? Sure it's nice when it's free, but I wouldn't pay to have them fill it up. Tire places everywhere will check your tire pressures and pump them up with air to the proper levels, free of charge.
12-06-15, 07:10 AM
#4
No simple answer. See introduction and conclusions of http://www.dawsengineering.com/linke...tires-daws.pdf
12-06-15, 09:24 AM
#5
Lexus Test Driver
The air you breathe is made up of roughly 78% nitrogen (N2), 21% oxygen (O2) and 1% miscellaneous gases. Unless a vacuum pump is used to first remove the oxygen, filling the tire with nitrogen will probably be no more than 93% nitrogen because regular ol' air is already 78% nitrogen. Bottom line - save your money and use regular ol' air you breathe...even if nitrogen is available to you free of charge, still use air...
If you must have (more than 78%) nitrogen in your tires I believe Costco offers free nitrogen fill for their members.
If you must have (more than 78%) nitrogen in your tires I believe Costco offers free nitrogen fill for their members.
12-06-15, 06:41 PM
#6
The air you breathe is made up of roughly 78% nitrogen (N2), 21% oxygen (O2) and 1% miscellaneous gases. Unless a vacuum pump is used to first remove the oxygen, filling the tire with nitrogen will probably be no more than 93% nitrogen because regular ol' air is already 78% nitrogen. Bottom line - save your money and use regular ol' air you breathe...even if nitrogen is available to you free of charge, still use air...
If you must have (more than 78%) nitrogen in your tires I believe Costco offers free nitrogen fill for their members.
If you must have (more than 78%) nitrogen in your tires I believe Costco offers free nitrogen fill for their members.
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12-11-15, 04:35 PM
#10
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Nitrogen in Tires
As a retired aircraft tech, I can tell you that aircraft tires are filled with nitrogen. Nitrogen is used for several reasons that wouldn't really have application to car tires, i.e., changes in outside pressure at altitude and temperature swings from a hot landing strip to 30 below zero at 38,000 feet.
Car dealers have searched the globe for anything to sell us at a nice profit which can quasi-reasonably be explained as beneficial. $50 for just a little nitrogen amounts to big profit and a warm fuzzy feeling to the uninformed driver. If it makes them feel better, so be it.
As for me, I added air from my garage compressor as soon as it was needed. I also swapped the green "nitrogen only" valve caps so there would be no misunderstanding that "Air" is all I want in my tires. Might it leak down a little sooner than nitrogen? Perhaps, but you should be looking at your tires regularly anyway. Just my humble opinion.
Car dealers have searched the globe for anything to sell us at a nice profit which can quasi-reasonably be explained as beneficial. $50 for just a little nitrogen amounts to big profit and a warm fuzzy feeling to the uninformed driver. If it makes them feel better, so be it.
As for me, I added air from my garage compressor as soon as it was needed. I also swapped the green "nitrogen only" valve caps so there would be no misunderstanding that "Air" is all I want in my tires. Might it leak down a little sooner than nitrogen? Perhaps, but you should be looking at your tires regularly anyway. Just my humble opinion.
12-11-15, 05:46 PM
#12
Lexus Test Driver
12-11-15, 05:47 PM
#13
Lexus Test Driver
As a retired aircraft tech, I can tell you that aircraft tires are filled with nitrogen. Nitrogen is used for several reasons that wouldn't really have application to car tires, i.e., changes in outside pressure at altitude and temperature swings from a hot landing strip to 30 below zero at 38,000 feet.
Car dealers have searched the globe for anything to sell us at a nice profit which can quasi-reasonably be explained as beneficial. $50 for just a little nitrogen amounts to big profit and a warm fuzzy feeling to the uninformed driver. If it makes them feel better, so be it.
As for me, I added air from my garage compressor as soon as it was needed. I also swapped the green "nitrogen only" valve caps so there would be no misunderstanding that "Air" is all I want in my tires. Might it leak down a little sooner than nitrogen? Perhaps, but you should be looking at your tires regularly anyway. Just my humble opinion.
Car dealers have searched the globe for anything to sell us at a nice profit which can quasi-reasonably be explained as beneficial. $50 for just a little nitrogen amounts to big profit and a warm fuzzy feeling to the uninformed driver. If it makes them feel better, so be it.
As for me, I added air from my garage compressor as soon as it was needed. I also swapped the green "nitrogen only" valve caps so there would be no misunderstanding that "Air" is all I want in my tires. Might it leak down a little sooner than nitrogen? Perhaps, but you should be looking at your tires regularly anyway. Just my humble opinion.
..........
12-11-15, 09:55 PM
#15
As a retired aircraft tech, I can tell you that aircraft tires are filled with nitrogen. Nitrogen is used for several reasons that wouldn't really have application to car tires, i.e., changes in outside pressure at altitude and temperature swings from a hot landing strip to 30 below zero at 38,000 feet.
Car dealers have searched the globe for anything to sell us at a nice profit which can quasi-reasonably be explained as beneficial. $50 for just a little nitrogen amounts to big profit and a warm fuzzy feeling to the uninformed driver. If it makes them feel better, so be it.
As for me, I added air from my garage compressor as soon as it was needed. I also swapped the green "nitrogen only" valve caps so there would be no misunderstanding that "Air" is all I want in my tires. Might it leak down a little sooner than nitrogen? Perhaps, but you should be looking at your tires regularly anyway. Just my humble opinion.
Car dealers have searched the globe for anything to sell us at a nice profit which can quasi-reasonably be explained as beneficial. $50 for just a little nitrogen amounts to big profit and a warm fuzzy feeling to the uninformed driver. If it makes them feel better, so be it.
As for me, I added air from my garage compressor as soon as it was needed. I also swapped the green "nitrogen only" valve caps so there would be no misunderstanding that "Air" is all I want in my tires. Might it leak down a little sooner than nitrogen? Perhaps, but you should be looking at your tires regularly anyway. Just my humble opinion.
Great post JerrySC - my rationale for dealers offering it is the same as yours.
~ Im2bz2p345
Last edited by Im2bz2p345; 12-12-15 at 10:02 AM.