Nitrogen in new car tires!

[Ed-in-Maine]

First I haven't looked at new cars in many years so this may be old new but it surprised me. The Honda dealer in Jacksonville Fl, Coggin's I believe, says their cars all have N2 filled tires and top offs for life. Now I fully understand the usefulness of N2 in race car tires but I'm very dubious in street use. But hey if I were in the market and all else being equal, sure why not.
Ed

[UFO]

Sure why not, if it's no charge, but if you have to pay any extra, it'd not worth it.

[jamesqf]

On the other hand, how much mpg will you lose, riding around on underinflated tires until you can get into the dealer to have them inflated with pure nitrogen, instead of the 80% nitrogen you can get everywhere?

And I bet the dealer won't inflate them beyond the too-low manufacturer's recommended pressure, either.

[botsapper]

Marketing special brings 'em in. Dry air is already 78% nitrogen and the rest, 20% oxygen is for air-breathers.

[UFO]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

On the other hand, how much mpg will you lose, riding around on underinflated tires until you can get into the dealer to have them inflated with pure nitrogen, instead of the 80% nitrogen you can get everywhere?

And I bet the dealer won't inflate them beyond the too-low manufacturer's recommended pressure, either.

I know, I assumed they would fill them to the driver's specification. My bad.

[Ryland]

ozone and O2 in the air brakes down the rubber, so I'd be interested to know if these nitrogen filled tires last that much longer and if the pressure fluctuates much with changes in temp.
We can speculate all we want, and talk about how they are already 78% nitrogen but that other 22% has an affect! so does anyone have any info on the science behind nitrogen in tires?

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by Ryland

ozone and O2 in the air brakes down the rubber...

Well, OK, if you can figure out how to run the outside of the tire in a pure N2 atmosphere :-)

Seriously, though, is there a single instance of a tire failing because it wore out from the inside?

[mcrews]

I ran nitro in my last set of 255/45/18 kuhmos on my 02 Q45.
ran at 43 psi the whole time.
Never, never had to 'top them off'. The infiniti has a tire pressure system that posts the psi on an information screen. it fluctuated 1psi.
I got just at 40k on that set and bought a new set about 6 months ago.
now, the shop, The Radial Tire Store in Sacramento will only do nitro on new tires. They wont fill existing tires.
My understanding is that the nitro tank has (almost) zero moisture, where a normal air tank has some moisture.

I made 3 trips to Texas from CA with those tires. 2 times during the heat of the summer.
I didnt pay for the nitro so I had no real vested interest.
THe Shop is aware of my concern for mpg and that was part of the reason they suggested it.

[Ladogaboy]

My understanding is that main benefits to running nitrogen is that its pressure doesn't fluctuate as much. I just remember a story about the new Nissan GT-R. The tires come filled with nitrogen stock, and some reviewers had a scare when a tire blew out at 180 mph. It turns out that they had replaced the tires, but used regular air instead.

I've never heard about the oxygen/ozone concern.

[redpoint5]

New cars are aren't worth the premium, even if they come with an extra 22% nitrogen in their tires for life. It's a ploy to get your service done at their service center, which is the second ripoff - dealerships. That said, I bought my current car at a stealership just because the particular car I wanted is so darned difficult to find.

I took the car in for a recall replacement of a power steering hose and they came up with half a dozen things to work on even though I had just purchased the car months ago.

In summary, N2 is fine if it's free, but dealerships are to be avoided.

Originally Posted by Ladogaboy

...some reviewers had a scare when a tire blew out at 180 mph. It turns out that they had replaced the tires, but used regular air instead.

I'm sure it was due to the 20% O2 and not due to the 180mph.