CAgine

Costco does it for free for its members and generally tire places charge 20-30 bucks.

pretty much it suppose to keep the pressure in your tires stabilized in all weather, improve mpg, and save tread.

Thinking of doing it, 30 bucks is cheap, but seems like a cold air intake...meaning...It does nothing lol.

alexb92

Do it if its free. You're an idiot if you pay anything for it.

Why? Because 78% of the air on earth is nitrogen

TacoBello

It is a bit of a marketing gimmick. Yes, your tire pressure may stay more consistent, but honestly, if you have to adjust your tire pressure more than once a year, there's likely a bigger issue with the tire/rim.

I can pay $1 here at a gas station, or use my own compressor for free, once a year, or pay someone 20-30 bucks for it. Forget it. Especially if your car has TPMS. You can effortlessly keep an eye on your tire pressure.

I too buy my tires from Costco and they always put nitrogen in, but after that, I really don't care. It's really not worth the effort to drive down there.

ulrblitzer

<p>It's certainly a big sell in areas of the country where they experience a high change from hot to cold temps ... and for people who don't check their tires or don't know what the TPMS indicator looks like when it flashes.</p>

TacoBello

So do these tire shops suck out ALL of the air in the tires before filling them with nitrogen? Because if not... Marketing gimmick.

I live in a climate that goes from one side of the spectrum, to the other. The nitrogen made little improvements, if any.

ulrblitzer

<p></p><p>I doubt they are doing a 100% flush. Consider all the cars who drop tire pressure .. I don't think all the owners&nbsp;are going to find a shop to fill up with nitrogen. I'm sure most just pump in air. This is why I opt out of nitrogen. More of a hassle topping off.</p><p>Shoot, most consumers don't even know that the green valve stem caps mean Nitrogen.</p>

HookEM_TSX

I would honestly be surprised to learn that most of the people working at the type of shop a lot of consumers get their tires re-filled at(Jiffy Lube etc.) know that the green caps mean nitrogen either.

If it free and convenient I would do it but I have yet to find myself in a situation where that is the case. I always just check my tires every couple of weeks on my vehicles that don't have TPMS and fill with my compressor as necessary.

BROlando

Costco dries out their nitrogen almost completely before filling it. So even if they don't purge all the air out of the tires, you won't have added humidity in the tire. This keeps the pressures more stable, prevents water from puddling in the tires and causing vibration, and does a LOT to keep the rims from corroding on the inner (tire mating/covered) surfaces.

You can pump regular air in there when you want. It won't harm the tire, but will recuce the nitrogen's effectivity.

If its free/included, it does have an advantage over air.

6speedtsx

You'd be surprised how much air co2 exits through rubber. That's the reason nitrogen is used in aircrafts and the trucking industry. In order for the nitrogen to fill correctly, technically you need two valve stems or a vacuum chamber.

mgiltm

I'd have to agree with the seeming consensus above, where if the nitrogen fill is free, it helps a little, but if you have to pay, the return on that investment would never go positive.


I do a fairly long daily commute at highway speeds, and it was very difficult to see any difference in gas mileage when my tires had the nitrogen fill vs when they were filled with compressed air.


On the other hand, I can almost always call it to the day when my first fill-up with winter gas happens, as my mileage is 2 - 3 mpg worse.


So if I could change one thing about Kalifornia, I'd get rid of the winter gas.

Ck98vteC

Interesting, this may explain why I had to get my rims sanded to fix an air leak I had last winter. Also, the water puddling explains random cold start vibration on my Conti's...I will have to give this nitrogen a shot.

Simba91102

If there's enough water (from condensation) inside your tires, you have bigger problems. Then vibration you speak of is strictly from the tires developing a "set" from the cold temperatures. Depending on the type of tire (meaning their specific materials)("summer" tires are most susceptible to this), some will literally "freeze" out of round temporarily. Once they warm a little from rotational friction, they will be fine (or as fine as they'll ever be).