Nitrogen in tires

[Arizonacouple]

When I bought my Montana the owner said he had filled the tires with nitrogen. He gave me a couple of reasons why he did this which for the life of me I can't remember (less seepage maybe?). He suggested I get an air tank and fill it with nitrogen for the times I may need to add "air" to the tires. That's how the tires are now and no, I haven't got an air tank.....yet. Second opinions please. Thanks

[jlb27537]

Nitrogen in tires, the air you are presently breathing is about 78% Nitrogen. Great in airplane tires where you have extreme temp and pressure changes. A total waste of time, effort and money in a passenger vehicle or any other land based vehicle.

The air we inhale is roughly composed of (by volume):

78.04% nitrogen
21% oxygen
0.96% argon

Just another snake oil the dealers sell you, like the paint protection, etc.

[jfaberna]

You will get various opinions, but the reality is it's next to impossible to keep 100% nitrogen in your Monty's tires. Many people run with straight air mixture with no issue and it's a lot easier to get. Overloading, high-speed, etc. are bigger issues for your tires.

The only time the air leaked out measurably from my tires was when the valve stem core got loose. If you have Chinese bomb tires, nitrogen will not save them and if you have G614s or something that good, then nitrogen won't make any difference. If it's for your F1 race car, I'll have a different answer.

[BB_TX]

No argument from me. Airplanes, race cars, and maybe a few other special cases might benefit. Just top them off with air if they drop a few pounds.

[Arizonacouple]

Thank you all. I'll heading to the nearest gas station the next time I need air.

[scattershot]

I agree, it's some kind of scam, and it seems to have about run its course. I think folks are catching on.

[DQDick]

Have run straight air in tires for more years than I care to mention without any problems not caused by nails and screws. Don't think there's any valid reason to go nitrogen.

[1retired06]

Waste of money, my opinion

[Phil P]

Hi

Nitrogen in aircraft and race cars is used because tire becomes combustible at high temperatures. The nitrogen prevents combustion from taking place.

So if you plan on pulling your trailer at 150 mph + for extended periods of time I would strongly suggest you fill your tires with nitrogen. LOL

Phil P

[Arizonacouple]

Merry Christmas to ALL!

Thanks Phil. A good laugh first thing in the morning sets us up for the rest of the day. I can face the grandkids now. LOL

[richard66]

Something else tire dealers can charge for.

[sapest]

There is a bit of science behind why you might consider nitrogen in your RV tires. These ARE marginal at best, but if your tire shop is willing to give you a nitrogen fill, then why not take it?

1)Nitrogen is dry gas, it does not support oxidation or combine with hydrogen to make water. This makes it non corrosive, and therefore will minimize wheel corrosion. The same goes for the steel components of tires. Good idea for vehicles that sit in storage for long periods.
(offsetting this - atmospheric pressure is pushing moisture into the tire from outside)

2)Nitrogen has a harder time passing thru the materials that modern tires are made of. Tires will hold pressure longer when filled with nitrogen.

The other benefits of nitrogen don't apply in the RV world.
I would not pay for a nitrogen fill. I would not hesitate to use standard air to inflate a nitrogen filled tire if need be while travelling. I would still check tire pressures on a regular basis.

I would not suggest buying a tank and/or keeping nitrogen on hand. Not worth the $.

-Steve

[Phil P]

Steve has a good point with the dry gas idea. I use nitrogen to pickle my wife’s model steam train boiler with during the summer when she doesn’t use it.

In my case putting 80,000 miles on the trailer in 4 years kind of relives me of moisture in the tire problem.

Phil P

[DmaxDually]

That is the reason why nitrogen is used in aircraft tires. Nitrogen does not contain moisture. Comercial Jet Aircraft tires get very hot on take off roll. If the tires were filled with air the very rapid hot to cold temperature change the hot air in the tire would experience going from sea level to 30 to 35,000 ft (-40 degs)would cause the moisture in the air in the tires to condensate and freeze. You would have ice inside your tires. Not a good thing to have on landing. That is why nitrogen is used,no moisture to condensate and freeze.

[Rondo]

Unless the dealer has a purging machine to purge all of the air out of the tire before adding nitrogen gas to the tires you are only getting a fraction of a percent extra nitrogen in your tires rather than the regular air you get from the compressor at home or at a service station. Nitrogen and the green caps are a waste of money as far as I'm concerned. Do you carry a nitrogen tank with you to fill your tire if it is low? If not, what do you fill it with-- air and that totally defeats the purpose of it in the tires and as posted previously, unless you are using an airplane, race car, or dragster nitrogen has no benefit at all at the speeds we are traveling.

[Willy Bee]

So glad to see this post. The same is true for me my dealer set the tries up with nitrogen and I was given the option of buying a tank from them at the cost of all most $500. I flipped out and told them to change the tries over to air or I was walking away from the deal. I glad to see that I think I did right by that.

[sapest]

If your tire supplier is using vacuum to purge a tire before filling it with nitrogen, find a new dealer. Unless done very carefully, any deformation of the tire will result in internal damage to the tires components. Just like driving into a pothole or other road hazard. Deflating down to a few psi and inflating with nitrogen two or three times is the correct method. 93 to 95% nitrogen is generally considered 'good enough' for street vehicles.

[Avofarmer66]

I use nitrogen in the TV and the 3400RL. We did 25K miles last year and plan on about the same in 2015. It just one more item that give me confidence in the rig going down the road.
The Nitrogen tank and gauge set up was about $250.00. To refill or exchange my tank is $30.00 which last a year.
Tires run cooler and deflation is less. I do check my tire pressure before leaving the CG or at home. Just an old habbit.

Costco and most tires dealer don't charge for the nitrogen in Calif.

[scott-pati]

Nitrogen is a gas and is still affected by changes in ambient temperature (about one psi for every 10° Fahrenheit). Nitrogen filled tires will require pressure be added during the fall/winter months as ambient temperatures and tire pressures drop. Nitrogen is good but can't change the laws of physics.

Nitrogen reduces the loss of tire pressure due to permeation through rubber over time by about 1/3. This helps maintain the vehicle's required tire pressures a little longer, but doesn’t eliminate the need for monthly tire pressure checks. This is good for people who don’t maintain their vehicles well.

Nitrogen is non-corrosive and will reduce oxidation and rust due to the absence of oxygen and moisture. This will help minimize wheel corrosion to promote better bead sealing. Tires that are used routinely will be replaced long before any life benefit would be received by using Nitrogen. This is most beneficial for drivers who drive their vehicles infrequently (car collectors, track drivers, snow tire users, motor home owners, etc).

Nitrogen is a dry gas and will not support moisture that could contribute to corrosion of the tire’s steel components (bead, sidewall reinforcement and belts) due to the absence of moisture over extended periods of time. However it’s important to remember that atmospheric pressure is constantly pushing oxygen and moisture into the rubber from the outside of the tire. This is especially good for low mileage drivers who don't wear out their tires quickly or those that run average annual mileages but use long wearing radial (60K and 80K warranted) tires.

Nitrogen assures more consistent pressure increases due to increases in operating temperatures in a racing environment because of the absence of moisture. This is especially good for participants in track days, high-performance drivers education schools and road racing.
Drivers should use standard air if pressure adjustments are required when a local source of nitrogen can’t be found during a trip. While this reduces the benefit of higher nitrogen content, it is far better than running the tires underinflated in search of a source. Often the original nitrogen provider will refill the tires for free or a nominal cost when the driver returns to his hometown.

While inflating tires with nitrogen never results in 100% purity, most nitrogen service equipment providers advise that reaching at least a 93% to 95% purity is necessary to receive the desired benefits. This ratio is normally achieved by initially purging the tires of existing air (down to just a few psi) and then refilling them with nitrogen. The purge/fill cycle is often repeated to achieve the desired level of nitrogen purity.

Overall, inflating tires with nitrogen won't hurt them and may provide some minimal benefits.

Is it worth it? If you go someplace that provides free nitrogen with new tires, why not? Additionally we’ve seen some service providers offering reasonable prices of about $5 per tire (including periodic adjustments for the life of the tire) to a less reasonable $10 per tire (with additional costs for subsequent pressure adjustments) or more as part of a service contract, which we believe exceeds the value of nitrogen’s benefit.

Rather than pay extra for nitrogen, most drivers would be better off buying an accurate tire pressure gauge and checking and adjusting their tire pressures regularly.

Tire Rack