Switching to Nitrogen in your tires

[Jamie V]

Has anyone switched over to running nitrogen in your tires vs regular old atmospheric air? If so did you notice any change in the pressure swings of the tires?

I currently run 50psi front & rear (cold) and it usually averages 56-57psi once the tires warm up. I'm curious how much that would change going to strait nitrogen.

 

[NL-Tremor]

It's really not worth it in my opinion, just for the fact that you can't air up and air down at your leisure - you'll always be reliant to do that somewhere that provides nitrogen. A lot of people run onboard air - not many with onboard Nitrogen systems though!

Pure nitrogen is only slightly less dense than ambient air (which is already almost 80% nitrogen). Just my $0.02 anyway

 

[Jamie V]

I understand that atmospheric air is 78% nitrogen already (and 21% oxygen and 1% "other stuff) but what most do not factor in is the amount of moisture in that air. The moisture I believe is what is expanding and contracting the most from my understanding (hopefully someone much smarter then I am can confirm).

For guys that air up and down constantly it for sure wouldn't be a good option. I'm more thinking for guys like me that don't air up/down at all. I'm trying to get the pressure to not raise so much going from a cold tire to hot tire so I can run lower tire pressures for everyday empty truck driving.

 

[jpeckinp]

Nitrogen Truths and Myths

Lately there seems to be more and more hype about nitrogen gas for tires offered by tire companies and nitrogen services. Some services will "purge" your tires of air and replace it with near pure nitrogen for $20 per tire. Some tire shops are charging as much as $5 -10 per tire to fill them...

powertank.com

 

[Jamie V]

Comparison of nitrogen versus air in your tires | TireBuyer.com

Tire nerds have been debating this question for years – is it better to fill your tires with Nitrogen or air? We investigated. Read on to find out what we learned.

www.tirebuyer.com

I read this one along with that one. Their gas test was good except their bottles were so small I personally don't think they were ever going to get a good representation of moisture content in that vs a 35" truck tire.

Going from the 275/55R20 tires on my old 2018 F150 to these 35" monsters on my Tremor there is an enormous difference in the amount of pressure rise going from cold to hot. I'm looking to see if anyone has any real world information that they can give us if they have made the switch.

 

[BroncOh]

I have a 300cf cylinder of N2 at home and still don't bother to fill my tires with it.

 

[Jamie V]

I have a 300cf tank of N2 at home and still don't bother to fill my tires with it.

I do as well (part of the reason I'm asking). Have you tried it or just going by what you think will happen?

I was hoping for some answers from guys who have actually tried it before I give it a try. If the only responses are from guys with no first hand experience I'll have to give it a try. I'm thinking of doing just two tires so I can compare them to each other.

 

[Modman]

Someone else in a similar thread brought up the fact that if the main reason to use nitrogen is reducing the pressure decay, you will inherently achieve this for free just by refilling your tires over time. In theory you will lose Oxygen faster than Nitrogen so you are increasing the overall mixture by replacing with 78%/21% Nitrogen/Oxygen ratio.

Example of the ratios (if you let the Oxygen full deplete twice):

Fill:	% Nitrogen	% Oxygen
Initial	78	21
2nd	94	5
3rd	99	<1

Now that is a bit theoretical, but the point is that you either have:
1) Tires that don't lose any appreciable amount of air or
2) Tires that need to be refilled occasionally to maintain pressure

What problem is Nitrogen trying to solve? #1 doesn't need a solution, #2 rectifies itself eventually...

 

[BroncOh]

I do as well (part of the reason I'm asking). Have you tried it or just going by what you think will happen?

I was hoping for some answers from guys who have actually tried it before I give it a try. If the only responses are from guys with no first hand experience I'll have to give it a try. I'm thinking of doing just two tires so I can compare them to each other.

I just find it wasteful and don't see the value. There is always going to be a portion of regular air in the tire that you won't fully be able to remove.

 

[RedZilla]

I just find it wasteful and don't see the value. There is always going to be a portion of regular air in the tire that you won't fully be able to remove.

Exactly! And the other example given above shows that oxygen migration out of the tires inevitably results in higher nitrogen percentage over time.

 

[NL-Tremor]

There are some information sources out there:

Are Nitrogen-Filled Tires Worth the Cost? - Les Schwab

Wondering whether nitrogen-filled tires are worth the money? Here’s your answer.

www.lesschwab.com

According to this:

Q. Do they run cooler?
A. There’s no significant difference between air-filled and nitrogen-filled tires in terms of running temperature.

Some Drivers Put Nitrogen in Their Car Tires Instead of Air

There are several compelling reasons to use pure nitrogen in tires, but it’s not a must-have.

www.popularmechanics.com

Racers also figured out that tires filled with nitrogen rather than air react less to temperature swings. Gases expand with heat and contract with cold, which is why your road car’s tire pressure warning light usually comes on when colder fall temperatures hit. For racing teams, using nitrogen means their tires will have more consistent inflation pressures during a race as the tires heat up with use. When you’re tweaking a race car’s handling with half-psi changes, that’s important.

Top 4 Myths Vs Facts About Using Nitrogen To Inflate Car Tires

Want to know if it’s better to use compressed air or nitrogen to inflate your car tires?

www.aaa.com

Myth: Nitrogen is not affected by temperature changes, and therefore maintains proper tire pressure regardless of climate.

Fact: Tires filled with nitrogen maintain inflation pressure longer than compressed air-filled tires in fluctuating temperatures. This is why nitrogen is used to fill airplane tires, as temperatures can change dramatically between takeoff and landing. Since nitrogen does not completely eliminate temperature-related pressure changes under normal driving conditions, it is of little benefit to vehicle owners who properly maintain their tires.

 

[Jamie V]

There is always going to be a portion of regular air in the tire that you won't fully be able to remove.

Years ago I removed all the air from a set of original wheels & tires from a low milage collector truck and filled them with nitrogen. I never drove the truck on those wheels & tires I did it just for storage purposes and I'm not sure if it did anything. The tires had 2,300 original miles and were 26 years old so I was just trying to preserve them the best I could until I sold the vehicle.

I hooked my vacuum pump to those wheels to suck as much of the air (and moisture) out of those tires before filling the tires with Nitrogen. If I were to use Nitrogen in these tires I would use the same method to try and get the moisture out.

Exactly! And the other example given above shows that oxygen migration out of the tires inevitably results in higher nitrogen percentage over time.

My thinking is that it's not just about the lack of oxygen in the tires but the lack of moisture along with the lack of all other gases but nitrogen.


Here are some pictures of when I did the evacuation before Nitrogen fill. I did a test run on an old spare tire with the vacuum pump before I used it on my low mileage wheels/tires.

 

[Modman]

I'm not sure if it did anything

Can you expand on this statement?

 

[Jamie V]

Can you expand on this statement?

I pulled the wheels & tires off that truck just to store them because the tires are no longer made and if something were to happen to them the value of the truck would have gone down. After putting the nitrogen in them I put them in tire bags and stored them on my shelf. Years later when I decided to sell the truck I pulled them off the shelf and put them back on the truck to sell it. I have no idea if the nitrogen did anything to preserve them or not, I just figured it couldn't hurt.

 

[Modman]

I pulled the wheels & tires off that truck just to store them because the tires are no longer made and if something were to happen to them the value of the truck would have gone down. After putting the nitrogen in them I put them in tire bags and stored them on my shelf. Years later when I decided to sell the truck I pulled them off the shelf and put them back on the truck to sell it. I have no idea if the nitrogen did anything to preserve them or not, I just figured it couldn't hurt.

Got it! Thanks...