Has anyone had nitrogen put in the tires and does it work as advertised? Do you see any extended life on the tires?

 

The life of the tire is extended by keeping them properly inflated. Nitrogen is suppose to stay in the tire longer than regular air. This will keep them at the right pressure longer.

You can accomplish the same thing by simply monitoring your tire pressure and keeping them properly inflated. Good thing for most RX owners is that we have tire pressure monitoring.

 

Air is 78% nitrogen anyways. You'll be wasting money if you wanted pure 100% nitrogen. The difference is negligible except for your wallet. Keep them properly inflated, rotate the tires when necessary, and your tires will last.

 

I still don't understand the logic behind nitrogen inflation.

- Regular old air is 78% nitrogen anyway, so you're paying for 22% (or less, due to existing ambient pressure, there will always be some air left behind)

- Nitrogen (N2) molecules are actually smaller than Oxygen (O2). Smaller particles effuse faster than larger ones (Graham's Law)

- It costs money

- You have to go to special pumps to fill up.

As the previous poster said, it's better to monitor your tires frequently and fill up with a compressor at home.

 

I worked at a dealership that offered the magic air and they charged $65.00 to hook the machine to your tires and turn on the smoke & mirror show. The machine was broken for a year and the owner was too cheap to repair the keypad so the service writers would upsell this service anyway because they were paid $25.00 for every sale of voo-doo air. I agree with the previous post, buy a good tire pressure gauge and check your pressures once in a while.

 

The main advantage is that nitrogen will stay stable as the temperatures changes. Air from the atmosphere wont. Plus, many shops will do it for free if you get your tires with them.

 

I think I remember reading somewhere that pure nitrogen does not absorb water (humidity) as does air, so less deterioration on the inside of the tire, wheel, and tpms sensor.

Personally, I don't think it's worth the money or effort for a street tire, as the others have already said.

 

Larrs hit it with compress air you also have water vapor with the air. At plants that use a lot of air they have large drying units to help remove most of the water from the system. Tire stores you get what you get along the cost were the humidity can be above 85% on a clear day you get more water vapor than in the southwest but you are paying a lot of money for this service that might help keep your tires on the car a few more years but you will probable have to replace them because of high miles on the tires over time on the ground.

 

Nobody has mentioned the really cool valve stem caps you get too!

I've seen them green or slightly more expensive(?) ones have the word nitrogen on them. Wouldn't want someone putting in cheap air!

Like premium fuel, some auto manufactures recommend nitrogen. Especially those cars with the low profile tires.

 

For what it's worth my tires have the nitrogen in them, came that way from the Dealership. I have not had to play with the tire pressure at all since getting the RX. We have good temp swings here in AZ. On my 4Runner I was having to adjust the pressure when the seasons changed, not so with the nitrogen in the RX tires.

My 2 cents