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Nitrogen in tires is a scam. I've had tire shops try to sell me the stuff, but they never can come up with actual good reasons why one should pay money for it. Usually it's just nebulous statements like it's used in aircraft tires. Unfortunately, the reason that nitrogen is used in large aircraft tires has no connection to passenger car or bike tires. The other big selling point is that oxygen will work its way out of the tire due to the smaller molecule size. I check my tire pressure every few weeks and have to add some about once a month. This is not something that I'm going to pay good money for.

For anyone who still wants nitrogen filled tires, I'm going to show you how to get it for free :

First, a few relevant facts. Air is 78% nitrogen already, and commercial nitrogen processing equipment will deliver a gas which is about 95% pure nitrogen. So, from the start, you're not far from your goal.

Fill your tires with regular air. As the oxygen molecules leak out (as the nitrogen sellers claim) your tire pressure goes down, but it is now at a higher percentage of nitrogen. Top off the tires with more air. The oxygen molecules leak out, and the percentage of nitrogen is even higher than before. If you just keep doing this, you'll eventually have a gas that is better than the 95% nitrogen that the tire dealer wants to sell you.

A friend of mine did the math and figured that he'd reach commercial nitrogen concentration in about 3 months of topping off his tires.

Someone recommended that I fill my tires with krypton. I tried that. But for some reason, it kept making me weak.

RockBottom wrote:Someone recommended that I fill my tires with krypton. I tried that. But for some reason, it kept making me weak.

PacificShot327 wrote:

RockBottom wrote:Someone recommended that I fill my tires with krypton. I tried that. But for some reason, it kept making me weak.

Gee-tough crowd tonight. Tough crowd.

As a mechanic with free nitrogen in the shop, i put it in my tires. pay for it? not really. it does hold pressure much longer then just air. Another benefit of nitrogen is that it doesnt rot the tire. truckers use it, but then they are retreading the tire, so they want to keep the tires rubber sidewalls in better shape. On motorcycles that your not burning through rubber every year, it prevents the dry rot cracks that you see. My experiance with the customers that come in to the shop could benefit as id say the average customers tires are around 50-25% low on air. that means they arent ever checking their tires and im the only one putting air in their tires. it would benefit the sheep that make up most of the public. its so rare anyone has the correct tire pressure in their tires that its a shock when you acually see it. less then 2-3% easy.

RockBottom wrote:Someone recommended that I fill my tires with krypton. I tried that. But for some reason, it kept making me weak.

Crumb works better than kryptonite.

It definitely makes a difference, it's just how noticable that difference is. A change of 10% less nitrogen diving makes one hell of a big difference. For someone into performance the lesser variability of nitrogen to oxygen would give a more consistent ride.

Never been an issue in my book but I've seen racers able to pick out the nitrogen filled tire on a double blind study with over 90% efficiency. It must do something.

Seriously though, holy resurrected thread batman

storysunfolding wrote:Seriously though, holy resurrected thread batman

I know right? I've seen maybe a dozen resurrected threads all over TMW in the past month. What gives?

Anyway, back our regular nitrogen-induced programming . . .

A guy I heard of did a calculation that it would take the average person refilling their tires something like 15 times to get to the same concentration of nitrogen as the commercially sold type. Mainly because oxygen and all of the other elements leak faster than the larger Nitrogen molecules.