![\"Charger](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rickdebruhl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Charger-SRT8-Tire-300x266.jpg?resize=300%2C266\")
So if it’s better, why isn’t it worth the extra money? Because nitrogen is not\u00a0significantly better than plain old air and simply checking your tire’s pressure every now and then is a lot cheaper.<\/p>\n
Let’s start with explaining why nitrogen is better. It’s more stable than regular air (which is already 78% nitrogen). The\u00a0molecules are fatter than oxygen\u00a0so they don’t leak out as\u00a0easily. \u00a0As a result, your tire will lose less pressure over time.\u00a0Also, the oxygen content in your tire’s air can cause an accumulation of moisture which can\u00a0create corrosion in your wheel (the metal part, not the rubber).<\/p>\n Nitrogen is always used at the highest levels of racing because they depend on the tire maintaining it’s pressure. If the team decides to raise or lower the pressure by half a PSI (pound per square inch) to change the handling, they want to know that’s exactly what they’re getting. Because nitrogen is less susceptible to temperature, the pressures are also\u00a0more stable during the race.<\/p>\n That’s great for the Indy 500, but it’s not so critical for the tires on your car. Don’t get me wrong, you want to have the right air pressure. Running too low or too high can cause early tire wear or, worse yet, create a handling problem. But the reality is that air loss for the average tire is so small that monthly checks with a simple tire gauge are more than sufficient (assuming you don’t have some type of leak).<\/p>\n Besides, a year-long study by Consumer Reports<\/a> back in 2007 found that tires filled with nitrogen still leaked. It wasn’t as much as\u00a0in the tires filled with regular air, but\u00a0the nitrogen didn’t eliminate the need to\u00a0regularly check air pressure.<\/p>\n There’s also a question about whether the moisture build-up in a wheel is actually a concern. These days most wheels are alloy and corrosion just isn’t a problem. I worked my way through college as a tire buster at Sears Automotive and I don’t remember a\u00a0crisis created by rusty wheels corroded by moisture.<\/p>\n According to the GetNitrogen.org <\/a>website, it should cost between $3 and $10 to switch to nitrogen. Unfortunately, I’ve also heard of some places that charge a lot more. Which means that the salesman pitching the nitrogen upgrade\u00a0may be\u00a0more interested in profit that safety.<\/p>\n As with so many things, it simply comes down to the cost\/benefit ratio. Is nitrogen\u00a0so much better that it’s worth the additional cost? If you’re running a fleet of trucks around the country and racking up thousands of miles every day, the answer is probably yes. But if you’re just an average driver,\u00a0then the answer to that is\u00a0likely no. Invest in a decent tire pressure gauge and make sure you check your\u00a0air on a regular basis.<\/p>\n It doesn’t sound nearly as cool as having nitrogen filled tires, but it’s definitely a lot cheaper.<\/p>\n Here’s an article from Edmunds.com<\/a> about the pros and cons of nitrogen.<\/p>\n![\"Dario](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rickdebruhl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Franchitti-Indycar-Practice-20121-300x199.jpg?resize=300%2C199\")
![\"Tire](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rickdebruhl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/viair_tire_gauges-230x300.jpg?resize=230%2C300\")