How can you prove if a service station inflated your tires with nitrogen or if they just used regular air?

Answer 1

Difficult to prove since normal air is nearly 80% nitrogen anyway.

Yes, I suppose you could sample the air the see if it supported combustion, but how would you insure that you didn't introduce oxygen into the mix while running that test?

It really doesn't make any difference anyway. Does it? They say you get better performance, longer tire life, better fuel economy, but this is all based on tire pressures and the notion that Nitrogen molecules are bigger and won't leak out as fast as air.

Normal compressed air is nearly 80% nitrogen, so based on that logic, fill your tire up with air. Then check the pressure again in a few weeks, if it's leaked off any, it must be the oxygen leaking right? So if you fill it up again your filling whatever loss you had with 80% nitrogen. After one or two trips, you would be at well over 90% nitrogen anyway. Right?

But you know what? It's all bull anyways, because if it were true, no tire would leak down past 80% full for the same reasons, and we all know they do! Also, as you move down the periodic table of the elements, the atoms get larger and heavier as you move, right? Any first year chemisty student will tell you this. Hydrogen is the lightest with the atomic number of 1, followed by helium with the atomic number of 2. This is why helium balloons leak thier gas faster than balloons filled with air, because the air has bigger molecules. Guess how close N2 is to O2? Nitrogen's atomic number is 7 and oxygen is 8! They are VIRTUALLY THE SAME SIZE and all of the other elements present in normal air would be larger!

Don't buy into the scam!

Answer 2

Remove the gas and capture it into some kind of container. If it supports combustion, it contains oxygen, a component of air. Of course, that only proves that it is not pure nitrogen but not necessarily air. On second thought, why do you care? Otherwise, any competent laboratory could perform the qualitative and quantitative analysis necessary to determine the exact components and the relative contents of each.

Answer 3

Generally you'll have to take it on faith that they used nitrogen. You could witness the servicing to verify the source of the gas used.

Nitrogen has some value in tires used under extreme conditions such as aircraft tires or racing tires. For the average motorist, it's a needless expense. Don't be suckered into the myth, it just ain't so for the Average Joe.

Answer 4

Unless you're prepared to pay to have whatever is in your tires analyzed/identified, the best bet is still to research who you're doing business with by asking friends, checking better business bureau and consumer websites, and sticking with reputable dealerships and shops.