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Should You Fill Your Car's Tires With Nitrogen? | Edmunds

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,316
edited May 2019 in General

imageShould You Fill Your Car's Tires With Nitrogen? | Edmunds

Proponents claim that filling your car's tires with nitrogen will save you money on fuel, prevent wheel rot and yield better performance. But in reality, nitrogen has few benefits and much higher costs.

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Comments

  • benbreazealebenbreazeale Member Posts: 1
    I did the math on it... https://bensgarageblog.wordpress.com/2019/05/07/the-nitrogen-lie/
  • JohnGo7JohnGo7 Member Posts: 1
    When I have tires that have been repaired but still loose pressure overtime, Nitrogen saves me from fixing them again, air loss stops. Also since I drive close to 100k miles a year, Nitrogen saves me in tires wear and tear, a cost not taken in account in this article. I have compared durability with a year I stopped using nitrogen and was a good reason to go back to it plus it’s only about $25 at Costco for all 4 tires. In Miami there are gas stations with nitrogen fill stations at the same price of air.
  • texasestexases Member Posts: 11,049
    edited May 2019
    None of that should occur. Nitrogen has no impact on tire wear and tear, and the pressure loss with air vs. nitrogen is almost identical (about one psi more with air in a YEAR's time, according to a test by Consumer Reports).

    I could go chapter and verse on why, but I'll ask you - why would nitrogen have these great effects you claim?
  • Eric2845Eric2845 Member Posts: 2
    edited July 2019
    You also can check that tire website https://www.4tires.ca for more info in Canada.
  • naveen1241naveen1241 Member Posts: 1
    How about this one apart from the direct cost comparison? This is all about the 78% Nitrogen vs 93%. As the air pressure drops, the percentage of Nitrogen molecules that escape would be lesser which means the nitrogen molecule concentration keeps going in the tires with time. Eventually you end up having a larger percentage of Nitrogen molecules.
  • texasestexases Member Posts: 11,049
    That’s correct. If oxygen leaking out was a real problem, it would quickly solve itself as you topped off the tire.
  • EricCalgaryEricCalgary Member Posts: 1

    I like nitrogen. The benefit for me has been not having to top up my tires in nearly 20 years, except once with a set of tires bought from Kal Tire. Tires were great but they don't use nitrogen. That was when I realized aluminum valve stems in -30 suck.
    Aluminum valve stems in -30 to +5 to -40 to +10 several times a week suck more. Nearly every morning tires were down 15-20 psi. Out we got to find air. What a pita. And always hear some of my neighbors start up their little tire fill compressors, hear them in the garage.
    Sure nitrogen fluctuates but I've not seen my tires lose that much. Never had to top off my nitrogen filled tires.

  • texasestexases Member Posts: 11,049
    If you don't adjust your tire pressure from summer to winter you're either running overinflated in summer or underinflated in winter. Nitrogen and air change pressure identically with temperature.
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