Jump to content
Create New...

Anyone use Nitrogen in their Tires?


Recommended Posts

Hey everyone,

There's a thread on Gearhead Central about using N2 in your tires. Supposedly there is evidence that it reduces deflation from seepage and can give you a 1% gain on MPG overall. The claim is that the N2 is larger than O2 but just looking at the Period Table you see that N has a weight of 7 and O has a weight of 8. These gases are diatomic so that means N2 weighs in at 14 and molecular oxygen at 16.From the weights at leat it seems that oxygen might be the bigger molecule so it should seep less. Then again it's been awhile so there may be more to this than meets the eye (think VSEPR theory). Thoughts anyone?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's not just the weight, it is the "closeness" of the atoms in the molecule. So while the N2 molecules might weigh less, they are physically larger.

I use N2 in my tires, but only incidentally. I don't seek out N2, but since I have my tires installed and maintained by Costco, I end up with N2 in all of my tires anyway. I do notice I can go longer between re-inflations, typically all the way to my 5k tire rotations during which Costco checks the pressure and re-inflates as needed anyway.

  • Agree 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

From what I understand, Costco only uses nitrogen to inflate tires there.

I am a big advocate of Costco for tire service. Unless you need some sort of specialty racing tire, they'll probably have a good tire for you. In addition to the standard mount/balance, they include road hazard warranty, nitrogen inflation, and free rotation/re-balance for every tire they sell.

They are also really good about the tread life warranty. I just had tires put on my CR-V on Saturday. I only got 33,000 miles out of an 80,000 mile tread life warranty and because I had proof with Costco that they had been maintained/balanced/rotated properly, They gave me $56 back per tire towards the purchase of a new set. My new tires have a 90,000 mile tread life warranty, but the car will be sold well before I cover even 1/4 of that distance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My dealer (I swap tires there because non-OEM changes have a tendency to screw up the tire pressure sensors) uses air, therefore I use air. Though N2 does reduce deflation, none (or virtually none) of the roadeside fuel stations here have it, so it doesn't make much sense to use it...

  • Agree 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have to say that I have found N2 to in extreme cold go lower requiring more N2 to be added to the tire. I know that Costco uses it but the expense of buying N2 and that not everyone uses it in addition to my own air pump at home. I just mix it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...

Hey there, we noticed you're using an ad-blocker. We're a small site that is supported by ads or subscriptions. We rely on these to pay for server costs and vehicle reviews.  Please consider whitelisting us in your ad-blocker, or if you really like what you see, you can pick up one of our subscriptions for just $1.75 a month or $15 a year. It may not seem like a lot, but it goes a long way to help support real, honest content, that isn't generated by an AI bot.

See you out there.

Drew
Editor-in-Chief

Write what you are looking for and press enter or click the search icon to begin your search

Change privacy settings