Don't forget that if you put regular air in a nitrogen only filled tire,there goes the benefit of the nitrogen fill.

 

If there's any reasonable argument that the other components of the air that we all can use for free either leaks out or reacts with the rubber ( but I don't lose more than 2psi drop per year, si it can't be that bad), then consider this - if you lost all the non-nitrogen (the ratio is about 78-80% nitrogen, and the big majority of the remainder is oxygen), you'd be left with 80% of the volume you started with that was pure nitrogen. Top that up, and you've got 96% nitrogen, which would eventually lose the other stuff, and after a second top up, you've got >99% nitrogen, thanks to the selective diffusion or other loss mechanism...OK, so you may have some oxidation of the rubber, but wouldn't you get that while they were exposed to regular air on the outside?
Maybe rub some snake oil in to stop that, I don't think a roadgoing vehicle will ever have a detectable benefit, unless you're prepared to pay real money to have your tires filled instead of making the effort to keep the pressures right by regular checking.

 

Being a track rat the nitrogen in the tires thing for street cars is BS. It's dribbled down from the racers who do it for the reason that the nitrogen is more stable to increasing the tire pressure as the tire heats up. So in the world of if the racers do it it must be good shops have started trying to pass it off to daily drivers. Now Costco does it for free, but if your paying someone for it, don't.

 

Guys,

Do you have to use it, no. Does it work? Sure!

Ever see wide swings on your tire pressures like I do in cold vs hot weather.....want that to stop? Nitrogen.

Buy your tires at Costco (whose Ingersol machine makes it) and get it for free anytime.

True it isn;t convenient but it can be free.

QuickRick

 

a lot of places who charge for Nitrogen offer 'free refills' for the life of the tire, but...
what happens when you're out of town, and need to top off a tire? (or in town? you have to make a special trip to the tire shop to fill your tires?)
I'm also curious as to how they purge the "plain air" out of your tires before they fill them with Nitrogen.

 

They don't unless you have special 2 valve stem wheels. All they do is let all the air out and refill with nitrogen, there will still be air in the tire.

 

I already have a compressor so it is a no brainer for me.

 

We bought wheels and tires from a wholesaler in So Calif, and the tires came filled. I found a local dealer about 15mins away, and they regulate for me for free.

B/c of the great customer service from this Caddy dealership, I bought the 1yr package for the HHR SS @ $65 for all four tires.

I never had a problem with the nitrogen staying at a consistent level on the 20 inch rims on the Silverado. But when it came down to the HHR SS, it was almost a trick, but it was the sensor that wasn't reading correctly.

So since then... no probs. Well I have one. There's a finishing nail in the sidewall to the driverside rear tire. CRAP!!!

 

Oddly enough, back in the 60s I worked on SR-71's and we filled that plane's tires with 700 psi of nitrogen. They told us it was to prevent the tires from overheating.

FWIW