BamZipPow wrote:

I hope he would've put in Nitrogen instead of just plain air...

blahpony wrote:

BamZipPow wrote:

I hope he would've put in Nitrogen instead of just plain air...

Or helium, then you could fly.

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Race cars and airplanes have used this technology for a long time. Now, filling your car's tires with nitrogen, not just air, is the newest thing. It will cost you about $10 per tire. But if your tires are properly inflated, it could save you some gasoline and tire wear. See, nitrogen molecules are bigger than air molecules, so nitrogen might leak out of your tire more slowly. Nitrogen makes up
about 78 percent of dry air, but this new technology fills tires with a nearly pure form of the gas.

The St. Petersburg Times story on all of this reported that advocates of nitrogen tires claim that tires filled with air might lose 2.7 pounds of air per month, while nitrogen-filled tires might only lose 0.7 pounds per month.

I suppose there is a question about whether or how you could, over time, save $40 worth of gasoline by using nitrogen to even out the cost. GizMag says:

As a rough rule of thumb, if your tires are 20 percent below the optimum, you'll reduce your tire life by up to 50 percent, and the additional rolling resistance can add 10 percent or more to your fuel consumption. Across the life of a tire, that's a massive financial penalty on the driver, and it's no wonder that the U.S. Department of Energy reports that the national U.S. fleet burns 4 million gallons of gasoline unnecessarily every day due to low tire pressure.

Edmunds.com puts it this way:

The U.S. Department of Energy says for every 1 PSI [(pounds per square inch) that your tires] are under the optimal rate, you lose 0.4 percent of your miles per gallon. It estimates the average person can improve mileage by 3.3 percent by inflating their vehicle tires regularly.

Car parts stores and dealerships are all over this. You will probably soon be seeing systems, like this one, that dispense nitrogen.

Ingersoll-Rand Co., which makes nitrogen tire inflation systems, claims:

Better air pressure retention. The single biggest reason for tire failure is lack of maintenance of tire pressure. In fact, 54 percent of all vehicles on the road have low tire pressure. Oxygen in compressed air can permeate the tire wall reducing tire pressure. With nitrogen, diffusion is 30 to 40 percent slower than oxygen. As a result, nitrogen maintains tire pressure longer than ambient air.

Enhanced fuel economy. Maintaining tire pressure can boost fuel economy by as much as 6 percent. Nitrogen disperses heat more quickly than ambient air. By restraining the heat in the tire and reducing rolling resistance, you get better fuel economy.

Longer tread life. With quicker heat dispersion, you get a cooler running tire which helps extend tread life and reduce tire failure. Nitrogen also prevents oxidation which can not only lead to tread separation and belt failure but, when combined with moisture, corrode rims. In fact, moisture can result in rust flakes that can fall into the valve stem, block the valve and cause under-pressurization. It can even cause the valve stem itself to rust.

Slow chemical aging. Filling a tire with nitrogen also significantly slows the chemical aging process of the tire's rubber components. This leads to fewer catastrophic failures like blowouts. Slower aging lengthens tire core life, which yields extra retreads and lower fleet costs.

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See, nitrogen molecules are bigger than air molecules, so nitrogen might leak out of your tire more slowly.

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Nitrogen makes up
about 78 percent of dry air, but this new technology fills tires with a nearly pure form of the gas.

Slymer wrote:

I trust Walmart more than jiffy lube.

Slymer wrote:

oh don't get me wrong... I don't get tires at walmart... just oil changes.