You might have heard somewhere that it’s better to fill your tires with pure nitrogen than it is to fill them with air. While the arguments for filling your tires with nitrogen are rooted in truth, the benefits are minimal, and in most cases you won't even be able to tell the difference between nitrogen and air.
The air pumps that you can use for free at many gas stations will fill your tires with a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and a few other gases. The nitrogen content ends up being almost 80%, with the remainder being mostly oxygen. There is a belief that taking your car into a garage and filling you tires with 100% pure nitrogen is much more beneficial than using a muddled mixture of different gases.
So what are the supposed benefits of a nitrogen tire fill? Apparently the moisture in oxygen degrades tire rubber at a faster rate than pure, moisture-free nitrogen does. Also, that moisture can potentially heat up while you're driving, which will affect the pressure in your tires. Plus, nitrogen molecules are larger than oxygen molecules, meaning that your tires won’t leak as rapidly, and will maintain pressure better than air-filled tires. When you hear the list of benefits, filling your tires with nitrogen seems like a great idea.
This Q&A from the Car Talk website sheds some light on the question of nitrogen-filled tires. Basically, it explains why the arguments for putting pure nitrogen in your tires are no good.For one thing, the outside of your tires will be exposed to air, so keeping oxygen away from the inside of the tires can't make that much difference.
Ultimately, filling your tires with nitrogen can provide a slight advantage over filling your tires with air, but as the Car Talk Q&A mentions, unless you’re racecar driver, you’re probably not even going to be able to perceive the difference. Filling your tires with nitrogen is significantly more expensive than the free, or 50 cent, air pumps at the gas station. So if you’re all about maximizing the performance of your tires and sparing no expense, no matter how slight the difference, go for the nitro-fill. If you’re fine with your tires operating at 99.99% efficiency, stick with the air.
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