thats why i wld do it

 

Wow I got an education today, I never knew people did this..

 

While nitrogen molecules are larger than oxygen molecules and should leak through tire sidewals less easily, the supposed advantages are way far out on a limb.
The reason racers use nitrogen is the coeficient of expansion doesn't change as much with temperature as air (80% N2) you're not likely to run your tires at 200F+ where the difference matters.
Its all marketing.

 

If your tire place has it for free, get it, there's no downside to it.

But don't pay for it, or go out of your way.

 

QFT - and that's why it's important for service stations to maintain their compressors properly, so they don't spit oily rusty water into your tyres along with the air. Probably the oil is more dmaging to tyres than the water actually. IF you get air from a well maintained compressor, with a properly maintained dryer, it's just as good as straight nitrogen from a bottle.

That's a pretty big if though...

 

Anyway, when a wheel shop changes the tyres, it is not done in a "humid free" enclosed place, so in reality, before N2 is pump into the tyre, there's already "Air" inside unless it has been "suck" out completely, so you would only get about 90% max of N2... jut my 2 cents worth..

 

lawl [10 characters is so stupid. **** you FitFreak]

 

........

Air = 80% Nitrogen + 20% Oxygen + trace amounts Xenon, Krypton, Argon. Unless your Nitrogen is fortified with those trace elements, which help build much stronger and puncture resistant tire sidewalls, you are just not getting your money's worth.

 

Pretty much snake oil for the average motorist. Jay Leno lost whatever limited credibility he had with me as an automotive "expert" when he started peddling N for daily driver auto tires.

If reduced leakage with N is correct and I believe it is, then after several refillings of your tires with regular 80% N air the % of N in the air should exceed 90% which is probably all you are going to get in a typical N fill (normal air is already inside of tire before you fill with 100% N).

However dry air is important for tires, painting and air tools. I have an electric AC style dehumidifier unit for my compressed air that I use for painting whenever the reduced moisture may be critical and I can use this if the local humidity is high that day. Otherwise I don't worry about it.

If you live in a humid location, you can approximate the same results by coiling up 50 feet of cheap plastic PVC air hose in a drywall bucket. Arrange the output of the hose to go through the side wall of the bucket at the bottom. Seal the hose exit with silicone RTV. Fill the bucket with cold water. The water will condense in the hose into droplets and run down inside the hose to the bottom. Put a water trap on the output from the bucket to catch these liquid drops and you will have much dryer air available for tires, painting or air tools.

In a shop arrange your air lines to run around the shop walls to cool down and to drain condensed water in the lines to a low point where a drain valve is located. Then run the output lines up from that location. Also add a simple liquid water trap immediately after your air compressor and at the end of the cooling lines. Keep the traps and the compressed air tanks drained if you don't have automatic drain valves.

You only need the fancy refrigerated AC type dryer for some of the critical paints, not for your tires or air tools.

 

Great info BullFrog.... Thank you very much for sharing the bucket drier trick.