Your experience with nitrogen filled tires
 

All,

This is my first car with nitrogen-filled tires, and still too new to draw any conclusions. So I would like to know, long term, is it worth it to keep filling them with N2 instead of air? Is tire pressure more stable with N2 instead of air? Hard to believe, given the relative small composition difference between air and pure N2.

What has been your experience?

Meh, my tires have mostly nitrogen now.

In my world I have seen zilch difference between regular air (containing 78% nitrogen) and the 100% nitrogen (maybe) some tire dealers put in new tires (marketing gimmick I think). Aircraft use nitrogen fill in tires to help them run cooler and maybe retain the pressure just a little longer, but I doubt your tires will ever get as hot as those unless you track your car. You're going to lose some of that nitrogen anyway, and you'll have to return to whomever refills with nitrogen, when it does leak out. A PIA in my opinion. I have my own little garage with lift, compressor, etc. so I much prefer to do my own, using Mother Nature's air. PS- I dislike the green valve stem covers that some well-known tire dealers use to show you have nitrogen. What a joke. And, oh, I did not know that the Maxima had nitrogen fill. So much for that.

End of lesson............. :-)

Thank you, both confirming what I suspected. With all physical properties of air vs 95% nitrogen so close, it's a scam for the likes of me who are regular, not race car, drivers.

Those with pure Nitrogen swear that there are no pressure variances from very cold to warm weather. Costco tire shops offer this for free when you get tires there. That means you have to go back there if you need more Nitrogen. Like others I wonder how pure N is added to purge regular air.

You will still see pressure changes with nitrogen while driving, but overall your tires will run cooler and at a more consistent pressure than if they were filled with air. Nitrogen does not contain the moisture and other contaminants found in compressed air, so nitrogen filled tires will fluctuate less in temperature and pressure than air filled tires under driving conditions, even at high speed and at high temps. Whether this difference in pressure is significant to you or the operating characteristics of your tires is up for debate.

The reality is that the real problem with airing up tires with a conventional compressor is that you are putting water into the tire. Over time you can have a puddle of water inside the tire. So they compressor you use should have a Dryer system attached to make sure you're not adding water with every adjustment fillup. Of course the "nitrogen only service" is largely water free, so of course there's no chance of water pooling inside. So if you have a compressor at home, add a dryer attachment to it. If it's just a little dinky hand held, you might be taking a chance, but not that big a deal. I am pretty sure that most of the decent gas station air pumps have dryers in them, but you really don't know unless you ask, and even then, the clerk may not be aware either way.

As a driver who is totally anal about my psi, and who is constantly adjusting my psi in order to keep all four tires at the same psi, and who lives thirty-five miles from my primary dealer (nitrogen source), nitrogen is not a logical option. To properly replace either pure air or a mixture of pure air and nitrogen with nitrogen, the tire must be filled and drained with nitrogen several times. That seems like a pain in the *** to me. If I ran my car on tracks or owned an airplane, then yes, nitrogen would be my choice.

I've had Nitrogen in my 2017 since I got it in May of 2018, and I have not had to do anything to the tires at all. They still look full and firm and the tire pressure when I drive will start out low (not alarmingly low) but will rise as I'm driving. I love having it in my tires, especially in the cold weather having had the experiences in the past with losing pressure during the winter. I carry a portable air pump and I haven't used it since before my 7th Gen was traded.

Thank you all, very helpful feedback.

What you say is true, and probably good advice, but that said, I have done this for years, getting rid of cars at about the 10 yr. mark. I've watched my tires being changed and I have never noticed moisture pooled up in them, and my compressor does not have a "dryer" attached.

Pooling water was an extreme note, just to point out the possibility especially if you air up regularly in a humid condition without a dryer. That said, there is still a very high humidity rate going into the tire without a dryer, thus the air quality isn't pure which can have minor impact on tire overall performance.

And if you're running low, you can always siphon some H from a Hyundai Nexo's fuel cell to top of your tires... ;)

Liquid or gas? ;-)

Hydrogen in your tires?

Please stop giving blatantly dangerous advice. Look up the flammability of hydrogen and report back if you still have questions.

Lionel, this is all in fun. No one will find a source of hydrogen for car tires, much less finding some illigit to install it. :-)
Remember the Hindenburg! :-(

OK hahahaha you totally got me with this one, 100%! :-) I thought you were serious ...

How do you even know you have nitrogen in there? I have a bridge I wanna sell you.

Interesting that my 2019 Maxima and 2019 Honda Odyssey both have nitrogen-filled tires from the factory.

If I had a convenient, free or very cheap location near me then sure, I'll use nitrogen in all fours.

I'm indifferent to it, overall.

Just got mine topped off today, for the first time. One of them was at 26 psig, it's been very cold here. Did it at Costco in five minutes, at no cost, and I'm not even a member.

You are mistaken. You can get a flat with sand filled tires, however the flat will just be on the bottom of the tire.

Think I might try helium in an attempt to counteract unsprung weight... :chrisman:

Just make real sure you tell the tire change people about what you've done, otherwise they may have to retrieve your tires from the ceiling if they let go of them upon removal. I've seen this happen, and it gets real ugly.

Everyone seems to have a funny voice!

Compressing helium REDUCES lifting power. So like does a tank of helium float in the air? Of course it does. In the Dollar Store, why do you think those helium tanks are tied down with huge concrete blocks? Gawd, thinking silly like this get politics off my mind. Fun to do for awhile and keeps the brain cells active. All in good fun.

Hm. 50 lbs of Helium. Sounds to me like it weighs 50 lbs! Also I believe Helium is used as a leak detector as the molecule is very small and will find ways to leak out.

<<Also I believe Helium is used as a leak detector as the molecule is very small and will find ways to leak out.>>

Spot on, coming from a chemical engineer. No, I would definitely not want He in my tires for precisely this reason.