cajun

I recently received a Lexus service coupon for nitrogen-filling of tires and was curious to know if there are any significant benefits. I apologize in advance if this has already been posted.

Jsy622

The previous owner of my car put them in my car. He said it would pro-long the life the tires and no need to adjust air pressure.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

This thread has some good info (and a link to another good thread)

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...light=nitrogen

I searched for the keyword 'nitrogen' in thread titles and found these informative threads in other subforums as well

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=102677

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=239597

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=145918

4TehNguyen

iTrader: (1)

if its free do it, if they charge you, forget it. The alternative is nitrogen tires for the same benefit is to check your tire pressure every 2 weeks. At least that way you can detect alignment problems

jim256

I ahve nitrogen in mine, dealer includes it at no charge on new ones, but this is interesting from Consumer Reports:

"Consumer Reports wanted to find out if nitrogen is worth the price, so we purchased a Nitrogen Inflation System and checked out how well the inflation held up over a one year period. We evaluated pairs of 31 tire models of H- and V-speed rated, all-season tires used in our tread wear test from 2006. We filled one tire per model with air and the other with nitrogen. The test was quite simple: fill and set the inflation pressure at room temperature to 30 psi (pounds per square inch); set the tire outdoors for one year; and then recheck the inflation pressure at room temperature after a one year period.

The tires were filled and deflated three times with nitrogen to purge the air out of the tire cavity. We also used an oxygen analyzer to be sure we had 95-percent nitrogen purity in the tire--the claimed purity limit of our nitrogen system, which generates nitrogen gas from ambient air.

The test started on September 20, 2006 and the final measurements were taken on September 20, 2007. The results show nitrogen does reduce pressure loss over time, but the reduction is only a 1.3 psi difference from air-filled tires. The average loss of air-filled tires was just 3.5 psi from the initial 30 pressure setting. Nitrogen-filled tires lost an average of 2.2 psi from the initial 30 psi setting. More important, all tires lost air pressure regardless of the inflation medium, so consumers should check their tires' air pressure routinely. No evaluation was done to assess the aging claim.

Bottom line: Overall, consumers can use nitrogen and might enjoy the slight improvement in air retention provided, but it's not a substitute for regular inflation checks."

Big Andy

I've got helium in my tyres - the car is lighter and when I go over speed humps you should see how far I fly!

Giggity

Nitrogen is an inert gas and thus will not be effected by temperature variations...
but that does not mean you won't see small drops in tire pressure over time due to small leaks from the valve or the tire bead.

Brian231

Very nice rational and you are correct. Due to the molecular compund within nitrogen and the larger molecules, this contributes to less air seapage over time. The dealer installed the nitrogen fill for me as a courtesy, but I would not pay for this service at $60. It works well in the extreme cold of the winter. The tires definitley do not fluctuate when the temps really start to drop and molecular constriction is evident.

dw8787

Not really sure if I see paying $60 for it either.

I think it also helps reduce/prevent the moisture build-up you get when adding air to the tire. If you are really **** I guess that could affect the balance of the tire. I know, that's a stretch!!!!!

Stokdgs

Nitrogen vs the size of regular air, and the fact that Nitrogen doesnt come loaded with moisture as air can because of the heat in the hose/airlines, and the lack of proper moisture filtering of said air source. Nitrogen having larger molecules, is supposed to not find its way out of the tire/wheel as easy.

I believe Discount Tire or is it Costco uses Nitrogen as well.. Up here in the cold Northwest, it would be a good thing to not have to air tires up in winter often, because of the lower temps at times. DanF

Brian231

Hey Dan,

Discount Tire and Costco have nitrogen in the PNW (LOL)? I wish they did in the midwest.

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

I'm pretty sure that violates one of the basic laws of chemistry as relates to gasses.

If you increase the temp of a fixed quantity of gas with a fixed volume it -must- increase the pressure.

PV=nRT

Where
P=pressure
V=volume
n=number of moles of gas
R=the universal gas constant (8.3145 J/mol K)
T=Temp

Inert means it's not chemically reactive (ie it can't burn or explode or rust or whatnot)

Insanerb25

There is a few benefits but to understand it properly there is a lot of good info here from Jason at engineering explained and some others

http://www.bvmotorsports.com/nitrogen-filled-tires.html

flowrider

iTrader: (9)

^^^^Bringing back an EIGHT Year Old Thread

Lou

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

^^^^^^^ Yes, but the Ideal Gas Law apparently needed to be re-stated!