Nitrogen in Car Tires: I mentioned the friend who has been looking for a new car for a year or more. Yesterday, she said that a Honda dealer told her that all Hondas get nitrogen in...

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I mentioned the friend who has been looking for a new car for a year or more. Yesterday, she said that a Honda dealer told her that all Hondas get nitrogen in their tires at the factory. That's not quite true. Some dealers recommend it because they can charge for it. They also say that if you mix air and nitrogen in your tires, the dealer has to remove the mixture and fill the tires with nitrogen. Would they do that for free? 🤣 🤣 🤣

https://frogwheeler.com/honda-use-nitrogen-in-tires/

Lots more online.

thegrover Loc: Yorba Linda, CA

The air in Earth's atmosphere is made up of approximately 78 percent nitrogen and 21 percent oxygen.Sep 12, 2016

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

I believe nitrogen in race car tires works well, but for average road guys like us, it's a gimmick.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

jerryc41 wrote:

I mentioned the friend who has been looking for a ... (show quote)

There is SO much misunderstanding and misinformation on this subject. The real reason nitrogen is used is that it contains no oxygen, and more importantly, no water vapor and the advantage of that is that it’s less corrosive for tire pressure sensors that many cars use. Our Lexus came with Nitrogen in 2008, and I made no effort to continue using it after I changed tires. Btw, it makes no difference about maintaining tire pressure. air is ~ 78% nitrogen anyway and all gases expand in the same way per the universal gas constant. Waiting for the arguments on this one…

sodapop Loc: Bel Air, MD

It is a croc. Marketing scheme only.

thegrover Loc: Yorba Linda, CA

Since the air we breath and fill our tires with is 78 percent nitrogen, yes every car tire has nitrogen in it.

tradio Loc: Oxford, Ohio

I fill my tires with acetylene.

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Jerry, There is a reason why one does not want to mix the gases in their tires and it is due to Dalton’s law, which is the statement that the total pressure of a mixture of gases is equal to the sum of the partial pressures of the individual component gases. The partial pressure is the pressure that each gas would exert if it alone occupied the volume of the mixture at the same temperature.

In simple terms, each gas produces a specific pressure based on its temperature. In a mixture of gases, it means that the resulting pressure will be the sum of each of those gas's pressures. Because the tire is a confined space, those pressures will be the aggregate of the pressure of each of the gases in the tire.

Toby

Sometime in elementary school my teacher said the air we breath is about 80% Nitrogen. Nice to see that those of you who can think remembered that and could apply a bit of logic. As I see it the only reason to use Nitrogen might be because you like the cute little green caps.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

TriX wrote:

There is SO much misunderstanding and misinformati... (show quote)

Ollieboy

It makes no sense to me. (Scam) What about the air on the outside of the tire? It doesn't need nitrogen too? What do you do when the tires gradually loose air naturally? Does anyone keep a nitrogen tank in their garage for maintaining their tires? $$$$$$ for the stealerships.
🤔🤔

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Ollieboy wrote:

It makes no sense to me. (Scam) What about the air on the outside of the tire? It doesn't need nitrogen too? What do you do when the tires gradually loose air naturally? Does anyone keep a nitrogen tank in their garage for maintaining their tires? $$$$$$ for the stealerships.
🤔🤔

Fill them with liquid nitrogen, and see how that works.

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

tradio wrote:

I fill my tires with acetylene.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Ollieboy wrote:

It makes no sense to me. (Scam) What about the air on the outside of the tire? It doesn't need nitrogen too? What do you do when the tires gradually loose air naturally? Does anyone keep a nitrogen tank in their garage for maintaining their tires? $$$$$$ for the stealerships.
🤔🤔

I just use air.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Ollieboy wrote:

It makes no sense to me. (Scam) What about the air on the outside of the tire? It doesn't need nitrogen too? What do you do when the tires gradually loose air naturally? Does anyone keep a nitrogen tank in their garage for maintaining their tires? $$$$$$ for the stealerships.
🤔🤔

Exactly. Much more important to keep the correct air pressure in your tires. That requires an accurate gauge and a source of compressed air. I check and adjust the pressure in both cars every 2 months or so (I have an air compressor, so it’s easy). A large percentage of prematurely worn tires are due to under inflation. Many manufacturers are now recommending higher pressures in the 35-38 PSI region (cold), but that’s not to increase tire life, it’s to decrease rolling resistance and make a small improvement in gas mileage at the expense of ride comfort and sometimes handling and tire wear. There’s an optimal tire pressure for max grip in cornering, and too high can decrease grip just like being too low. Also, running tires at high inflation pressure can cause wear down the center of the tire.