hondamore

I was walking past the local Costco, when I noticed a sign by their tire department advertising the fact that they are equipped to inflate tires with 100% Nitrogen instead of regular compressed air(yes I am aware that air is 78% nitrogen anyway) . Since I am just loving the wonderful new Pirelli PZeroNeroM&S tires that I just bought (at the recommendation of several very helpful members of this forum) for my RL, I was wondering if this is something that I should look into. A quick google resulted in my finding the following claims of benefits of Nitrogen tire inflation:

1.Better tire pressure retention - Nitrogen migrates through a tire 3 to 4 times slower than oxygen. The claim is that it may take 6 months to lose 2 psi with nitrogen compared to less than a month with oxygen.
2. Cooler running tires - tires inflated with nitrogen run cooler than tires inflated with normal air, mainly because of the moisture content of the air.
3.Removal of Oxidation potential - removing the oxygen from the tire removes the potential damage of oxidation of the inner liners and belts.

I know that F1 teams use Nitrogen to inflate their tires, but I am just wondering if this is something that I should consider for my road car?? I don't think that their is a huge cost involved in making the change or topping up the tires with Nitrogen (it's not like Nitrogen is a rare element in our atmosphere). Has anyone had any experience with this? Just curious.

Ken1997TL

To me.. its a waste of money. Yes, there ARE benefits but in my experience its not worth the cost. In the world of racing where every last advantage counts.. it makes sense.

vp911

Just curious, how much do they charge for it?

hondamore

I called Costco, but they said that it is only offered on new tires purchased there. My wife said she heard a "car maintenance guy" that does a spot on the radio taking about the benefits of using Nitrogen in tires, but she didn't recall them discussing a cost either. My gut feeling is that it is about 5 or 10 dollars per tire. I realize that it is not going to make a huge difference in the tires, but since I drive only 5000-6000 miles per year, my tires tend to last a long time and I was just wondering if Nitrogen would make a difference to the long term performance of the tires.
Ken1997TL may be right and it may be more of a gimmick or marketing tool when used in street cars.

Bitium

I know I no only recomended the tires, but almost force you to buy them

I have been wating for a review from you, did you make one and I missed it or you are just waiting a little longer.

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Skip it...it's a waste. The nitrogen is only useful if you're racing and need greater thermal stability.

hondamore

Thanks guys, I'm going to pass on the Nitrogen thing. I was just curious.
Bitium, what review were you waiting for?

Fabvsix

My cousin husband swears by it ! They have an BMW X3. My response was I only put about 5000 miles a year, therefore it not worth it.....but he swears by it......

Bitium

The Tires...............I did a search and I guess you did have a small review.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...highlight=nero

jdone

Truth. A racing team will search for any edge, however tiny. For civilians like us it's just a gimmick.

Thai.95LCoupe

I use it on my Legend. Although I get it for free.

Professor

I inflate with helium... hardly no wear on the tires as they float over the road.

hondamore

Professor, if you hit a pot-hole, do your tires sound like Daffy Duck or Alvin the Chipmunk?

jdone

I get better lift with hydrogen and it's cheaper.