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SUV-Tires
Tire Information World : your friendly
independent source of tire help
Nitrogen for SUV Tires
 Things
to know about SUV-Tires
If you don't spend a lot of time thinking about your SUV tires, maybe
what follows will give you some reason
to do so.
Something new that may, or may not, catch on is filling tires with
nitrogen. Let’s say a rough ballpark figure would be that the air
we breathe is three-quarters nitrogen anyway, but proponents of
nitrogen inflation will tell you a tire full of pure nitrogen will
enjoy many benefits.
 Many tire shops and race teams already do it by using a filter
system to separate the nitrogen from ambient air. The claims are that,
through better retention, tires remain fully inflated longer because
the nitrogen will not slowly escape through the tire walls.
Pure nitrogen will not heat up as much, so the rolling resistance is reduced.
A cooler tire is a longer lasting tire and nitrogen will not contribute to rust on the insides of wheels or valve stems.
But, is it worth it?
It costs money to completely fill your tires with nitrogen.
Let’s face it, there is always going to be roughly 75% nitrogen
content coming through the free air hose at your garage or fuel stop,
anyway.
And, if the nitrogen won’t escape the tire wall that
wouldn't that
mean that only the oxygen escapes, and the next time you top up your
tires your nitrogen content would increase?
Debate is heating up over nitrogen, I have a close friend that deals
in it so I enjoy the passionate debates that ensue
with a broaching of the
topic.
Popular consensus at this stage is that tires are designed to be filled
with ambient air, wheels and valves are designed to resist a little bit
of rust. However, if you are like my wife is about her SUV tires, you
probably like to try anything that can save a little money, keep you a
little safer and help the environment a little bit. At the moment,
charges seem to be on average $7.00 per tire to fill up on
nitrogen each
time.
My argument is this; if you check your tires
consistently, you
should not need nitrogen. Especially at seven bucks a wheel!
Wheel and Tire Deal
If your tire shop does have a nitrogen system, try to get a deal
where they top up your tires in the future free of charge to service
the SUV tires you purchased from them. You shouldn’t need many
top-ups if nitrogen never escapes the tire walls. Maybe that’s a
way of selling it to them?
Although, I believe that these nitrogen systems cost between five
and twelve thousand dollars, so my guess is that they have not spent
that money as charity.
Note: Tireguy reserves the right to vent about certain tire-related,
marital issues rather than face the issue at home
where his wife appears to be
the boss.
A non-hospitable sleeping environment within Rex’s
(Tireguy’s loyal canine) house also contributes to his
hesitation to disagree with his wife’s opinion.
Until such a time
that Rex’s snoring and fleas are cured, Tireguy might
occasionally bring up tire-related issues from home on this site.
Did you know we have a special
place to show-off your favorite wheels?
See the Hot Wheels Show Room
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