After seeing ads for do it yourself nitrogen tire filling tools and nitrogen tire filling stations, you might be wondering if it is better to fill your tires with nitrogen only instead of air.
The people who try to sell you the idea of filling your tires with nitrogen instead of air which is about 3/4 nitrogen will say that you will have better fuel economy and your tires will last longer.
The brochures state that the oxygen and water vapor in air will not rot out your tires. Well, most people will replace tires because of tread wear before it rots.
Also the nitrogen leaks out of the tires slower than air and a full tire longer means less fill ups and less chance of decreased fuel economy from your deflated tires.
Consumer reports did an air loss study on nitrogen filled tires and the results were that nitrogen filled tires lost 1.5 psi less than air filled tires over the time of one year.
Nitrogen filling of tires is used in aircraft because there is no water vapor that would freeze at high altitudes and is used in fleet vehicles because 18 wheel trucks can see a larger improvement in the benefits of nitrogen filled tires. Race cars use nitrogen filled tires because it can handle heat better and there is no oxygen to fuel a fire if one happens.
If your tires have a green valve stem that means they were filled with nitrogen. Adding air to nitrogen is no big deal since air is composed of mostly nitrogen. Here are some more facts from the Get Nitrogen Institute such as cost and places to get it.
Comments