What about the use of nitrogen to fill the tires on a Mercedes Benz? Will the hold pressure 3 years?

Answer 1

Nitrogen is a consumer rip-off. Let's do some debunking:

1) Most racers don't use nitrogen. I've raced for years on air filled tires, never had a problem. Those racers that do use nitrogen usually do so because they have nitrogen pressure cylinders for some other purpose. If you have it, there's no sense in carrying an air compressor to the track. Very high speed racers such as LSR and F1 prefer a dry fill, since any condensed water will vaporize when the tire gets hot, and possibly cause unbalanced pressures. Tank nitrogen is usually dry, but it's also acceptable to put a drier inline with an air compressor to achieve the same thing. This effect is too tiny to notice at normal road speeds, it has nothing to do with your Merc.

2) Nitrogen fill doesn't last any longer than air. The rationale they'll give for this is that nitrogen is heavier than oxygen, so it doesn't squeeze out through the rubber. Well, air is 80% nitrogen. So if oxygen squeezes out through the rubber, then in time, you will have a pure nitrogen fill. Top it off with air, and after a few times you will have a tire full of nitrogen. It's nonsense, rubber is pretty much impermeable to oxygen, nitrogen, or air.

3) Nitrogen doesn't run cooler. It simply doesn't. It will follow the gas laws, just like oxygen, and has similar thermal characteristics. So pressure will increase as the tires heat.

4) Nitrogen is used in aircraft tires mainly because pressurized nitrogen is available in commercial aircraft hangars, used to pressurize hydraulics. Since aircraft tires are pressurized to 300lbs, filling them from a 1500 lb cylinder of nitrogen is a lot more sensible than installing a high pressure air pump. Also, aircraft fly at altitudes where the ambient temperature is far below zero. Any water would freeze, throwing the tire out of balance on landing. Filling with dry nitrogen avoids this problem. Finally, when landing at 200 mph, there is a tendeny for tires to catch fire, and a nitrogen fill has fire retardant value. What does any of this have to do with cars? Nothing.

5) A pure nitrogen fill doesn't make it less likely that a tire rots from the inside out. If a tire fails due to chemical degradation, it's going to fail from the outside in. The outside of the tire lives in air and sunlight. Not to mention a regular bath of road salt, detergents, and acid rain. By contrast, the inside of the tire is rubber heaven.

6) No matter what gas you fill your tires with, pressure will change with ambient temperature. If the temperature dips to 10 degrees, will you have a nitrogen station handy to increase your pressure?

Answer 2

anywhere is spot on. It is a waste of money and time. Nitrogen is actually lighter than air or oxygen but the diff between it and air is maybe a few hundred milligrams in a large tyre. All the stuff I've seen about it in car tyres is male bovine excreta intended to deceive those who have forgotten their high school chemistry.

Oh, and BTW the thermal conductivity of nitrogen is slightly different to that of oxygen, but again only very slightly, so running nitrogen will not get your tyres hot or keep them cool. The difference between nitrogen and air is miniscule. The only gases that might, just might, make a difference are hydrogen and helium but they will seep through rubber almost like it wasn't there.

Answer 3

Air is about 79% Nitrogen so why don't you try air, just a thought. Racers use nitrogen because if they crash a tire blowing will not introduce more oxygen to fan the fire. Nitrogen will not make the tire hold pressure longer.

Answer 4

Nitrogen is fine. Just cuz you use nitrogen doesn't mean some air won't leak out. I've had to refill the air on our Merc in under 3 years, even with nitrogen in it.

It's not that expensive. Costco uses nitrogen in at least some of their locations.

Answer 5

nitrogen is so over rated 70-80% nitrogen already exist in the air we breath it is a scam i tell you.and no for a tire to hold air for three years by that time you would have replaced them

Answer 6

DO they run that hot, Racers use Nitrogen as their tires get too hot and regular air expands too fast for them.
Pretty expensive way to say is that coool or what

Answer 7

N filling applies to all kind of cars(even antique models).No harm done.Pressure holding depends on the quality of the sealant used.Nitrogen is used only because it is a light gas;it reduces the weight of the wheel.

Answer 8

Nitro helps keep the tyres cooler but chances are that you will at some point have to top up on it. Just a fact of life.