Air or Nitrogen when topping up tires

[ElpacoSV]

I'm sticking with good old 78% Nitrogen ;-)

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[saz468]

I have nitro filled tires a lot of cars have nitro fill down here in Florida and there’s a lot of nitro stations at car washes at least were I live

 

[Civics4Ever]

I use helium. Car floats above the pavement.

 

[mvela]

I agree that probably the most important thing is that it’s dry. Moisture in a tire will cause them to expand and retract in different temperatures just like a balloon does. I’m using a balloon as an example. Because if a balloon is blown up with moist air and you put it in the freezer you will see it shrink. Then pull it out in the warmth and it will expand. So I guess if either the nitrogen or air is dry then you should be ok

 

[saz468]

I use helium. Car floats above the pavement.

It’s one of those flying cars we’ve been waiting for

 

[SCOPESYS]

I agree that probably the most important thing is that it’s dry. Moisture in a tire will cause them to expand and retract in different temperatures just like a balloon does. I’m using a balloon as an example. Because if a balloon is blown up with moist air and you put it in the freezer you will see it shrink. Then pull it out in the warmth and it will expand. So I guess if either the nitrogen or air is dry then you should be ok

Nitrogen top ups are FREE at Cosco, so why not use their dry nitrogen

Also, at the local Cosco (at least), you just drive up to the bay entrance, and they come out straight away, and fill you up to whatever pressure you request.. Literally in and out in 2-3 minutes as opposed to 2-3 hours at the Dealer.

The car is never out of your sight at Cosco, and you can chat with the Auto Mechanics and watch them fill the tires... a very difference experience to having the dealer "mess with" your tires "out the back" somewhere.

Last time I was at Cosco, TWO mechanics came out and did one side each.
It was like a PIT STOP !!!! Lightening fast !!!

 

[BarracksSi]

I'm sticking with good old 78% Nitrogen ;-)

That's what I use. Cheap as hell. Even my portable 12V compressor is compatible.

 

[Hollywoo0220]

The differences are ZERO.
Pressure still needs to be checked / filled.
When you are in a formula 1 race car (or similar) - the difference in time spent adding air can be the difference in a race. Other than that, air is air.

 

[BarracksSi]

The differences are ZERO.
Pressure still needs to be checked / filled.
When you are in a formula 1 race car (or similar) - the difference in time spent adding air can be the difference in a race. Other than that, air is air.

And I'll guaran-doggone-tee that the drivers at the autocross paddock aren't walking around with tanks of compressed nitrogen when they set their tire pressures. One of the noises you always hear is the rattly "BRZRZRZRZRZRZRZRZRBZRBZRBZR" of portable tire inflators.

 

[jgreen16]

The differences are ZERO.
Pressure still needs to be checked / filled.
When you are in a formula 1 race car (or similar) - the difference in time spent adding air can be the difference in a race. Other than that, air is air.

Yes and no.

Yes, tire pressure still needs to be checked and adjusted. Ambient temperature still has an effect on tire pressure whether it is air or nitrogen. There will be about a 1 psi change in pressure for every 10 degrees of ambient temperature change. This is true with both air and N2.

No, there is not zero difference. Even if the air and N2 are both dry, N2 is less likely to migrate through the rubber in the tires, so the pressure will stay stable for a longer duration than air. The difference is very small, but not zero.

And no, Formula 1 does not adjust tire pressure while the tires are on the car. When they pit, the tires are just changed completely. The pressures have been pre-adjusted based on ambient conditions, such as air temp, track temp, etc. The tires are kept in warming blankets until just before the car reaches its spot in pit lane. The tires are pre-warmed so that they will come up to operating temperature much more quickly.

Ideally, what you want to avoid is moisture in the air. You're just not going to avoid moisture with the portable air compressors you see autocrossers use at the track. The portability factor is more important in this case.

 

[charleswrivers]

I use what's I have ready access to in my driveway. I do think N2 alone is better than dry air... and dry air is better than air with a lot of humidity in it. I won't take my car somewhere or pay anything extra to ever get what I can get in my driveway... which is not-all-that-dry free air. I check my air pressure after wild temperature swings... and the TPMS isn't bad in the vehicles that have it... whether it's dedicated sensors or the wheel speed sensors. Either one works... though the speed sensors seem to require a pretty gross difference. I'm used to it though. My 9th gen was the same thing.

I hate Hyundais (who doesn't! Amahright!?) but one thing my mom's Sonata does that I do like is that it's TPMS tells you the pressure inside the wheels to the pound and is actually pretty accurate. If I could take those sensors and the 1's and 0's to make it work... burn the rest of that car... then put that in my Civic, I'd be fine with that.

 

[mechaniconsunday]

Notrogen is a total bullshit, normal air is composed of 79% oxygen. So for those who really believe that at our atmospher putting nitrogen in tires will be better than normal air, sorry but you're wrong. It doesnt improve anything. But, if you plan to fly with your car at 30000 feet above the ground, yeah you might consider nitrogen.

 

[ElpacoSV]

Notrogen is a total bullshit, normal air is composed of 79% oxygen. So for those who really believe that at our atmospher putting nitrogen in tires will be better than normal air, sorry but you're wrong. It doesnt improve anything. But, if you plan to fly with your car at 30000 feet above the ground, yeah you might consider nitrogen.

So funny and right on!

 

[SCOPESYS]

Each to their own.

I "choose" to top up my Nitrogen Filled Tires, with DRY Nitrogen.
It's no more costly (FREE), and does not take any extra effort (Cosco will fill quickly for Free).

You are free to do whatever you want .. nobody is twisting your arm

If you saw the water content that comes out of most garage compressors, you might consider the option as well.

While some garage compressors might have dryers on them, so the air they dispense is Dry, most do not.

So every time you put "AIR" in your tires, you are increasing the retained water content in the tire,
Water in the tire is NOT Good... but if you don't care, or think it's BS, then fine.

Maybe OD is BS as well ??? Some will claim it is, especially those that really do not understand the Causes and Effects of OD.

Nitrogen is BS, Radio is CRAP, OD is RUBBISH ... that's fine if that is what you choose to believe, but unless you can express the issues better than BS, CRAP, RUBBISH you are are literally talking SHIT.

 

[BarracksSi]

Don't forget that the reason why a nitrogen fill is more dry is NOT because it's all nitrogen, but because the processing to get rid of all the other gases in air also gets rid of the moisture.

And, really, it's a scam. You're not going to see enough change in pressure while driving by using regular air. Pressure change due to seasonal temperature changes is more dramatic anyway.

And besides, shouldn't you be regularly checking your tire pressures anyway? All of you guys have a tire gauge in your glovebox, right? And you at least eyeball the tires before you drive, too, right?

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