Does your Ford Mustang have Nitrogen-filled [FONT=Lucida Grande]tires[/FONT] rolling rapidly on the road, track, or strip? Likely not, but if your Mustang (or another automobile) has the “bigger” gas in its tires, you’re well aware of the advantages Nitrogen has over the atmospheric alternative. Long-term pressurization, less oxidation & [FONT=Lucida Grande]tread [/FONT][FONT=Lucida Grande]wear[/FONT], reduced risk of blowout from overheating are just a few of the benefits of utilizing Nitrogen for tire inflation. The team over at [FONT=Lucida Grande]American [/FONT][FONT=Lucida Grande]Muscle[/FONT] recently jumped onto the idea of providing Nitrogen-filled tires for Mustang fans shopping for wheels and tires and so far, the concept has been well received. There’s a reason why fleet vehicles, off-road motorsports, NASCAR, Formula 1, and many others have utilized Nitrogen for years: it’s a sensible update that saves money spent on replacing tires while increasing overall performance. Take a peek at the Press Release for more information on this offering from American Muscle.
It’s a gimmick being peddled by dealerships and tire showrooms to squeeze more cash from you. Nitrogen is used in racing because it has less moisture than air. Under extreme load, it is less susceptible to pressure variations as less moisture means less expansion/contraction.
On the road, you’ll likely never experience the conditions where using nitrogen will make a difference in tire performance. Also, if you take your car in and drop $40 or however much you’ll be charged, they’ll just drain the air and replace it with nitrogen. This will hardly be a pure concentrate because there’s still moisture inside the tire from the expelled air.
The REASON car manufacturers starting using nitrogen is that the condensation that was forming in all these cars as they sat on the lot was corroding tire pressure sensors. Warranty claims were adding up. At least thats what thay had printed on a board in a bathroom of all places, at the factory I visited last year.
Of course the lack of pressure increase when hot can be a good measurement and adjustment tool for racing.
im still on the fence with this one. the facts make sense about it, but i dont have experience with nitrogen filled tires in the long run, of say 80kmi run on a set of tires. all my tires wear out in like 30kmi or less, so i cant say yes or no. i had my new tires on the 19s filled with nitrogen, spent a crapload on it and smashed the 19 in under a week of having them on the car. thats all ive gotten out of mine. so far, im in a HUGE minus with that situation. i basically spent an extra whatever amount on something i got 0 use out of. im not saying its bad and dnot do it, no no. im just saying for me, not worth it.
Air is almost 80% Nitrogen in content anyways, so putting in Nitrogen with 97% or 98% purity and assuming you get a full purge of the air that’s in there (perhaps difficult unless you have two valve stems found on some wheels), you’re not changing a whole lot.
If you don’t need to regulate tire pressure to within 1/4 lb, hot and cold, then it’s not worth it.
It may be said that not having to check tire pressures every once in awhile is an advantage, but remember that most “leaks” take place between the tire and the rim or the valve stem itself. So checking pressures is a good thing. These leaks are something that filling with Nitrogen, or pretty much any other gas with molecules smaller than that gap itself, is not going to prevent against in any case…
LOL reminds me, a few jobs ago we realized that the gas company gave us a wrong bottle once, and we had been servicing aircraft tires with argon for like a month:shifty
that i dont know.
i think a car like my dad’s or my mom’s would be a good test subject with a set of 60-80kmi tires on it. Maybe we could see a difference then, maybe.
