Nitrogen tires???
01-05-05, 03:34 PM
#1
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Nitrogen tires???
I had the tires rotated on the van at costco. Now i saw signs up at costco that said that they use nitrogen as their "air" for the tires. i forgot to ask them about it because it slipped my mind and just remembered when i saw the cover on the tires were green when i got home. Is it safe to use? Advantages? Can i check the tire pressure with a regular tire pressure gauge??
01-05-05, 06:19 PM
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I think it's just a worthless gimmick. Normally people just use compressed air from the surroundings for air tools including air compressors. Surprise surprise, guess what the number one element in the air is.....*gasp* Nitrogen!
James
James
01-05-05, 07:35 PM
#3
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Originally Posted by jet864
I think it's just a worthless gimmick. Normally people just use compressed air from the surroundings for air tools including air compressors. Surprise surprise, guess what the number one element in the air is.....*gasp* Nitrogen!
James
James
01-05-05, 08:22 PM
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oh ok, as long as it's safe, that's all i care about. Costco puts that in with the free rotation so i was just wondering if it's a good idea of theirs or not
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01-08-05, 08:52 AM
#8
Pole Position
Originally Posted by fvellani
http://www.tommcmahon.net/2004/11/fill_your_tires.html
For years, over the road truckers, auto racers and the U.S. military have been filling tires on their vehicles with pure nitrogen. Here's why. In a tire filled with compressed air, the oxygen molecules tend to "migrate" through the wall of the tire over time. That's why, when you open the garage to check on your aunt's dust-covered 1980 Pontiac the tires are often flat. But nitrogen molecules migrate 3 to 4 times more slowly than oxygen, so tires stay properly inflated longer. There are other benefits. Nitrogen retains less heat than oxygen and therefore allows tires to run cooler.
While nitrogen is dry and benign and will not combine chemically with other materials (the metal in tire rims, for instance), compressed air contains trace amounts of water and the oxygen tends to combine with other materials, causing rust and corrosion. If you were to see the inner face (the part enclosing and sealing the inside of the tire) of some fancy aluminum wheels you would be surprised at how corroded they become due to oxidation.
Tour de France bicyclists fill their tires with nitrogen. So do NASCAR, Indy and Formula One racing teams, over-the-road truckers, some fire departments and the U.S. military.
For years, over the road truckers, auto racers and the U.S. military have been filling tires on their vehicles with pure nitrogen. Here's why. In a tire filled with compressed air, the oxygen molecules tend to "migrate" through the wall of the tire over time. That's why, when you open the garage to check on your aunt's dust-covered 1980 Pontiac the tires are often flat. But nitrogen molecules migrate 3 to 4 times more slowly than oxygen, so tires stay properly inflated longer. There are other benefits. Nitrogen retains less heat than oxygen and therefore allows tires to run cooler.
While nitrogen is dry and benign and will not combine chemically with other materials (the metal in tire rims, for instance), compressed air contains trace amounts of water and the oxygen tends to combine with other materials, causing rust and corrosion. If you were to see the inner face (the part enclosing and sealing the inside of the tire) of some fancy aluminum wheels you would be surprised at how corroded they become due to oxidation.
Tour de France bicyclists fill their tires with nitrogen. So do NASCAR, Indy and Formula One racing teams, over-the-road truckers, some fire departments and the U.S. military.
I see your points where the benefits are concerned. It's too bad nore places besides Costco (IE: gas stations etc) provide this for their air pumps. It's kind of out of my way (and I'm sure many others) to go & fill up whenever I need to add air to my tires........having said that, as you mentioned the nitrogen releases 4 times slower than regular compressed air so I guess you would make 4 times fewer trips lol.
02-09-05, 02:40 PM
#9
Racer
No longer a joke- it's starting to go mainstream
...it's even in today's LA Times:
Web page link:
http://www.latimes.com/classified/au...,2330925.story
Fill 'em with pure nitrogen, please
Tires don't like oxygen. And the compressed air at a station can make rubber age faster and corrode the rims. But is it necessary to go nitro?
By Ralph Vartabedian, Times Staff Writer
At one time, every corner gas station offered free compressed air to anybody who would drive up. Eventually, the stations took that away and started to charge for the compressed air.
But all along that compressed air was less than ideal for tires. In many cases, gas station air was poorly filtered, meaning lots of moisture, oil and other crud was getting inside tires. And while the air we breathe works fairly well for the human body, it is less than ideal for car tires.
Tire retailers are beginning to offer pure nitrogen gas as an alternative to compressed air, which has been the standard as along as pneumatic tires have been on the market.
As absurdly expensive tires and wheels have become more common on vehicles, it makes greater sense to take care of them — and nitrogen does offer a number of big benefits, mainly in reducing leakage that lowers tire pressure.
Using pure nitrogen with all of the water and oxygen removed will reduce oxidation of the tire rubber and metal surfaces on the wheel.
Nitrogen is also supposed to move through tire rubber three times more slowly. Without any impurities, nitrogen also is subject to less expansion and contraction as the tire heats up and cools down during usage.
Regularly checking the air pressure in your tires is one of the most important parts of maintaining the safety of any vehicle, though many people never bother to do it. Keeping tire pressure at its proper level also dramatically improves fuel economy.
The air we breathe is about 79% nitrogen, with oxygen, carbon dioxide and other gases making up the balance. But the small amount of oxygen makes a big difference, obviously. Oxygen is highly active, causing corrosion and aging in many different types of material. By contrast, nitrogen is an inert gas, making it ideal as a filling medium where you want to retard corrosion.
It may seem like a gimmick, but nitrogen has long been used as a filling medium in the racing circuit, the military and the airline industry. But they have traditionally used bottled compressed nitrogen, which is far too exotic and expensive for tire retailers.
Nitrogen began making its first appearance on the U.S. retail market in a small way in recent years, but it took off last year as major compressor manufacturers introduced low cost systems for retailers.
Ingersoll-Rand, the nation's largest manufacturer of large compressors, introduced a system for retailers about a year ago. Other systems are on the market from smaller manufacturers, as well.
Rather than using bottled nitrogen, the Ingersoll-Rand system and others like it use membrane filters to remove the other gases from the air. It also uses three filters with charcoal and coal to remove water and oil from the gas.
"When we first began talking about this a year and a half ago, people thought it was a joke," said Ryan Lang, Ingersoll-Rand's marketing manager for the system. "Now people say it is inevitable."
So far, a tiny percentage of the tens of thousands of tire retailers in the nation are offering it. The biggest chain to jump on the nitrogen bandwagon is Costco, the discount retailer. Several other major retailers are testing the systems.
The tire industry has endorsed the system. Goodyear and Michelin have issued technical service bulletins to their retailers saying that the use of nitrogen is acceptable and good practice.
How much does it cost?
It depends on where you buy your tires. Lang said some retailers are offering the nitrogen free of charge as an enticement to selling a set of tires, while others are charging up to $5 per tire.
The membrane filter systems cost about $5,500, so the garages are making a substantial investment.
Even $5 per tire is a fairly small surcharge on a set of new tires. A set of four cheap tires will generally cost more than $300, and it is easy to spend more than $1,000 on a set of high-end performance tires.
What's more, the nitrogen also retards corrosion on wheels, particularly alloys, Lang said. That's one way that it reduces air leakage. So, if you have invested a few thousand dollars on alloy rims, the nitrogen fill can be a logical investment.
But what happens a year down the road when even some of the nitrogen has escaped and the tire is low?
You can refill the tire with regular air, though you'll lose the benefit of the pure nitrogen. Or you can return to the retailer for a nitrogen fill.
Also, nitrogen will not prevent leaks due to deformed rims, cracked wheels or punctures of the tire. All of these are common reasons why tires run low on pressure.
Nitrogen may be a good advancement, but with either compressed air or nitrogen, it is important to keep tire pressure at the correct levels.
Web page link:
http://www.latimes.com/classified/au...,2330925.story
Fill 'em with pure nitrogen, please
Tires don't like oxygen. And the compressed air at a station can make rubber age faster and corrode the rims. But is it necessary to go nitro?
By Ralph Vartabedian, Times Staff Writer
At one time, every corner gas station offered free compressed air to anybody who would drive up. Eventually, the stations took that away and started to charge for the compressed air.
But all along that compressed air was less than ideal for tires. In many cases, gas station air was poorly filtered, meaning lots of moisture, oil and other crud was getting inside tires. And while the air we breathe works fairly well for the human body, it is less than ideal for car tires.
Tire retailers are beginning to offer pure nitrogen gas as an alternative to compressed air, which has been the standard as along as pneumatic tires have been on the market.
As absurdly expensive tires and wheels have become more common on vehicles, it makes greater sense to take care of them — and nitrogen does offer a number of big benefits, mainly in reducing leakage that lowers tire pressure.
Using pure nitrogen with all of the water and oxygen removed will reduce oxidation of the tire rubber and metal surfaces on the wheel.
Nitrogen is also supposed to move through tire rubber three times more slowly. Without any impurities, nitrogen also is subject to less expansion and contraction as the tire heats up and cools down during usage.
Regularly checking the air pressure in your tires is one of the most important parts of maintaining the safety of any vehicle, though many people never bother to do it. Keeping tire pressure at its proper level also dramatically improves fuel economy.
The air we breathe is about 79% nitrogen, with oxygen, carbon dioxide and other gases making up the balance. But the small amount of oxygen makes a big difference, obviously. Oxygen is highly active, causing corrosion and aging in many different types of material. By contrast, nitrogen is an inert gas, making it ideal as a filling medium where you want to retard corrosion.
It may seem like a gimmick, but nitrogen has long been used as a filling medium in the racing circuit, the military and the airline industry. But they have traditionally used bottled compressed nitrogen, which is far too exotic and expensive for tire retailers.
Nitrogen began making its first appearance on the U.S. retail market in a small way in recent years, but it took off last year as major compressor manufacturers introduced low cost systems for retailers.
Ingersoll-Rand, the nation's largest manufacturer of large compressors, introduced a system for retailers about a year ago. Other systems are on the market from smaller manufacturers, as well.
Rather than using bottled nitrogen, the Ingersoll-Rand system and others like it use membrane filters to remove the other gases from the air. It also uses three filters with charcoal and coal to remove water and oil from the gas.
"When we first began talking about this a year and a half ago, people thought it was a joke," said Ryan Lang, Ingersoll-Rand's marketing manager for the system. "Now people say it is inevitable."
So far, a tiny percentage of the tens of thousands of tire retailers in the nation are offering it. The biggest chain to jump on the nitrogen bandwagon is Costco, the discount retailer. Several other major retailers are testing the systems.
The tire industry has endorsed the system. Goodyear and Michelin have issued technical service bulletins to their retailers saying that the use of nitrogen is acceptable and good practice.
How much does it cost?
It depends on where you buy your tires. Lang said some retailers are offering the nitrogen free of charge as an enticement to selling a set of tires, while others are charging up to $5 per tire.
The membrane filter systems cost about $5,500, so the garages are making a substantial investment.
Even $5 per tire is a fairly small surcharge on a set of new tires. A set of four cheap tires will generally cost more than $300, and it is easy to spend more than $1,000 on a set of high-end performance tires.
What's more, the nitrogen also retards corrosion on wheels, particularly alloys, Lang said. That's one way that it reduces air leakage. So, if you have invested a few thousand dollars on alloy rims, the nitrogen fill can be a logical investment.
But what happens a year down the road when even some of the nitrogen has escaped and the tire is low?
You can refill the tire with regular air, though you'll lose the benefit of the pure nitrogen. Or you can return to the retailer for a nitrogen fill.
Also, nitrogen will not prevent leaks due to deformed rims, cracked wheels or punctures of the tire. All of these are common reasons why tires run low on pressure.
Nitrogen may be a good advancement, but with either compressed air or nitrogen, it is important to keep tire pressure at the correct levels.
08-02-06, 05:34 AM
#11
Lexus Fanatic
Bump for an interesting and legitimate observation in these days of inflation and high fuel prices. Read the article below...
Drivers try another gas to save gasoline
Drivers try another gas to save gasoline
08-02-06, 06:39 AM
#13
Super Moderator
I have been using nitrogen in my RX300 since mid 2004.
I check the tire pressure every week and keep fronts at 39/44 max psi and the rears at 38/44 max psi on my 235-70-16 Michelin CrossTerrains.
Costco in Mexico started offering it, but one of the tuning shops gives it to me for free.
Now, remember I am at high altitude. Since I started my new job, I have been using a Dodge Caravan to get to work (not a nice neighborhood) and every week I see a 2 psi drop. Tuning shop was right nearby, added nitrogen, and that 2 psi drop stopped.
I can say this, the tires in my Lexus have lasted several months longer (even before it got to sit at home during the week) since I started using the stuff.
On the drag strip, times have become much more stable and I do not see the same kind of erratic tire pressure readings I used to see with air. Sometimes I did some experiments to see going back to air then nitrogen. That is very, very important when you do bracket racing and need your vehicle to run to the .1 of a second each time.
I do not know what they are charging you up there, but I would highly recommend it.
I check the tire pressure every week and keep fronts at 39/44 max psi and the rears at 38/44 max psi on my 235-70-16 Michelin CrossTerrains.
Costco in Mexico started offering it, but one of the tuning shops gives it to me for free.
Now, remember I am at high altitude. Since I started my new job, I have been using a Dodge Caravan to get to work (not a nice neighborhood) and every week I see a 2 psi drop. Tuning shop was right nearby, added nitrogen, and that 2 psi drop stopped.
I can say this, the tires in my Lexus have lasted several months longer (even before it got to sit at home during the week) since I started using the stuff.
On the drag strip, times have become much more stable and I do not see the same kind of erratic tire pressure readings I used to see with air. Sometimes I did some experiments to see going back to air then nitrogen. That is very, very important when you do bracket racing and need your vehicle to run to the .1 of a second each time.
I do not know what they are charging you up there, but I would highly recommend it.
