Nitro fill for car tires? at the dealer??

Nitrogen Filled Tires: FAQs

I'm buying a mini cooper, and its been around 6 years since I purchased a new vehicle, Now, the dealer wants to sell me all the bells and whistles...he is trying to sell me some new tire plan, at least its new to me...Nirtogen air filled tires? for extra big bucks:shocked2: go to the nitrofill air store for air pumps? So is this a must have? I thought natural air from a compresser had Nitrogen in it? I guess I'm thinkin from a diver air tank fill?
wouldn't your tire tread wire wears out before your tire will be wrecked by oxidizion from the inside. is this all hype or should I purchase this?

 

Forget it. It is a waste of money.

(BTW, I am a new car dealer and we won't sell it at any of my stores.)

 

I have only paid for that once and it was because it was IIRC $2 per tire. There was no discernable difference (well duh) so I have saved the money for myself and bought a couple beers . It was such a small amount of money I also do not regret giving it a shot.

And I believe the supposed benefit for the "special fill" was because it apparently kept the tire cooler and therefore reduced wear..... blah blah blah. An oxidizing tire? Did someone actually tell you that? Makes no sense to me but heh....what do I know?

 

It might be a waste of money if you are in the south. It isn't however if the winters get very cold where you are. I just paid $1200 for a set of tires for my truck so why not "splurge" and pay the $20 extra for the N2 even if the benefits are small. I have noticed that on cold mornings my low pressure warning sensors don't go off anymore. As you prob. know driving on low tires wears them out faster. I am not saying that it is a great and wonderful invention but if I get a few more miles out of my tires then I think its worth it.

 

Since air is 79% Nitrogen, I'd have to wonder what the extra 21% would do for you. It sounds like a scam, but I see it being offered by many dealers/tire shops that I wouldn't normally think of as blatant scam artists.

Exercising my Google Fu came up with this article:http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2694/is-it-better-to-fill-your-tires-with-nitrogen-instead-of-air

It mentions that O2 molecules are smaller than N2 molecules, so they don't leak out as easily. This goes against my understanding of Dalton's law, so I have to call BS. If it were a valid claim, O2 would diffuse through the tire and you'ld eventually be left with nothing but N2 with an air fill.

It might be easier on the rubber, but I'm not aware of a massive issue with tires or inner tubes deteriorating at a rate that comes close to the rate of wear.

 

You make some very valid points, especially the one concerning the O2. As time goes on your PN2 would continue to rise.

For the cold weather issue noted above, do this on your next air fill, use dried air, I have one in my shop at home, your pressure variations will diminish.

The hardcore car world has beat this to death, it isnt worth the money or the effort, as any topping off requires a N2 station. I have 79% N2 at home and can find it all over town.

 

Costco fills with nitrogen for free when you buy tires there or go in for flats, repairs, etc.

 

I'm afraid it will bend my rims.

 

Maybe you could ask them to make it an oxygen rich mixture to avoid the rims from getting bent

 

It is a valid fill when you have huge, extremely heavy vehicles, such as large construction or mining vehicles, where the heat inside the tires can occasionally start a fire. Getting rid of the oxygen obviously helps in this case.

In a passenger car...waste of money.