Comments on: Nitrogen-Filled Tires & Better Gas Mileage?

By: jackass

jackass — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:23:09 +0000

I think this is the dumdest one i’ve read yet, please don’t write anything else on this because you can not spell or write anything that makes a damn bit of sense.

By: Cody

Cody — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 11:38:48 +0000

BluButterfly… first of all that story does not sound legit at all. If your Ford Escape was sent airborne and landed with a fence through the windshield and then turned 180 degrees into a mud embankment… there would be a lot more damage than a broken windshield and scratched hood. Your SUV would resemble a crushed coffee can. And unless your insurance agent is a complete imbecile, they would have told you it was totaled and you would have gotten a new SUV instead of worrying about getting your windshield replaced. Either you made that entire story up, or your son was exaggerating how the accident happened.

As for the tire having a “blowout,” that phrase means exactly the same thing as “blowing up” or “exploding,” but in a more technical fashion because that is the term used when it happens to tires. So please, don’t get frustrated at the Michelin people for not realizing your tires were laced with dynamite powder.

And yes, it is true that nitrogen, as well as any other gas on the planet, will expand under heat and/or pressure. However, if nitrogen expands less than oxygen under heat/pressure, doesn’t that mean oxygen is more likely to blowout a tire? Isn’t that why every major airline in the world uses nitrogen in airplane tires? NASA even uses nitrogen in the tires of the space shuttle.

Whatever mechanics told you that your tire blew up from a slow leak from a nail increasing the pressure and causing the nitrogen to explode was lying to save themselves from a lawsuit. Of course the Michelin people are going to blame it on the nitrogen, not their defective tire. Even if it was true that nitrogen explodes under pressure, a slow leak means your tire is slowly losing pressure, not gaining pressure, and will not explode.

My guess is your son ran over a nail, didn’t realize it, and then either had some extremely fat people in his car when he took that turn, or he was driving too fast when he turned. Either one of those scenarios could have put too much force on that tire, and the nail hole created a weak spot which could have torn and caused the tire to blow out. But don’t blame it on the nitrogen. It’s just a gas, being a gas like a good gas should do.

By: Cody

Cody — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 11:05:51 +0000

The only times when nitrogen filled tires are significantly beneficial is when the tires are put to extremes. Racers often put nitrogen in their tires because tires do sometimes explode from being overheated by burning out or drifting if they’re filled with atmospheric air. Since the nitrogen doesnt expand as much as air, it is much safer to use as it is less likely to blow up the tires.

Aircraft tires are also filled with nitrogen. When an airplane lands, the tire isn’t rotating before the plane touches down. So when it does touch, the tire often skids on the pavement before getting up to the speed of the aircraft, and since most jets fly at 300 mph or more, you can imagine that the heat generated from that touchdown would be impressive. That’s why airplanes need nitrogen filled tires.

As for the daily driver, most people probably wouldn’t benefit much from nitrogen, but hey, 0.5 extra mi/gal does build up over time, similar to the “penny saved is a penny earned” saying, so go ahead if you’re an economic person.

By: BluButterfly

BluButterfly — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:13:45 +0000

Dear Anonymous,
I do not profess to understand or even know all there is to know about many things. That is why, if I am entering an arena where ignorance to information can be costly and/or deadly, I do try to become a more informed consumer by researching and asking questions. In this day and age “ignorance is bliss”, doesn’t cut you any slack. It was only after the “explosion”, I found several incidents blogged by people claiming to have had a similar experience. The majority of comments focused on the hype surrounding the automotive advantages of nitro use. Line up 50 people and ask them about their last flat tire. The majority will be nothing like mine. I know this. When a Michelin corporate executive tells me the “ONLY” way any tire could “explode” in a turn would be due to excessive speed by the driver during a turn, has never asked why a Jeep or other small SUV come installed with a “Roll Bar”. Durka..Durka..DUH!!! Sure, I have considered the possibility the tire may have been defective. Do you really think Michelin is going to get that tire and then inform me of a defect? Costco’s corporate executive heading their tire division called my son and urged him to tell me NOT to relinquish the tire to anyone, for any reason.(Hmmm…)

By: George

George — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:55:51 +0000

“Regular air is already 80% nitrogen.”

A fact that the nitrogen is deadly/magic/explosive/amazing people seem to not recognize.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:15:32 +0000

Regular air is already 80% nitrogen.

By: BluButterfly

BluButterfly — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 04:47:31 +0000

So far the tire has been inspected by 3 local independent tire service and sales companies. Unanimously they have all said the tire had a slow leak from a nail puncture. They informed me that when nitrogen is forced under pressure it heats up and eventually “explodes”. I am no mechanic, but, seriously I have never seen a tire that looked like bottle rockets were set off inside the tire.

By: BluButterfly

BluButterfly — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 04:19:16 +0000

I too purchased a set of nitrogen filled tires from Costco. I thought I had done all the right homework on the subject of “new tires”. My Ford Escape was going to be taking a long haul from Virginia to Florida. My son was then taking my SUV to Orlando, to college. By my living 1 hour away in Port Orange, I knew there would be occasional weekend travels home. Also, with his chosen college focusing on an Associates Degree in Golf and Management, my son would be traveling throughout the state of Florida for qualifying matches and golf tournaments. Having a safe, durable, efficient tire was critical criteria for my purchasing decision. I had basically decided on the Michelin. When I visited the Costco Tire Department I explained to the technician what I needed. I did not mention my chosen intention. He lead me straight to the exact tire I had already intended to purchase. Even when I expressed interest in several other tires, both more and less expensive, he continued to redirect me back to this same tire. That made me feel comfortable and fairly confident I had made the right choice to begin with. Unfortunately, my confidence was short lived. My son was in his second week of school when he attempted to complete a left turn. The right front tire “exploded”, sending him airborne with the truck being his space vehicle. Now, we had not signed him up for SUV space travel, so obviously he was in some seriously uncontrollable trouble. The Ford Escape flew through a wire fence, the passenger side front windshield was impaled with the steel pole, that up to that point was supporting a previously intact fence. The force of all of this activity then caused the truck to do a 180 degree spin, with such intensity that my son’s glasses were stripped off his face and sent flying to the rear of the truck. Now the SUV was coming in for a landing….right into a muddy embankment and landing flat, crushing the undercarriage, but not deploying the airbag. When my son cell phoned me that morning with this news I immediately thanked God for saving my son from serious injury or possible death. I threw a handful of clothes in a travel tote and reached my son as fast as possible. Initially, I just wanted to grab my child to convince me he was in one piece. I must have spent the first hour of my arrival hugging him.
The following day I initiated a series of phone calls. I contacted Michelin, Costco, my insurance company and anyone else who could give me some insight into this situation. What I found to be most disturbing was Michelin kept referring to the incident as “a blow out”. Finally, frustrated and tired, I asked why no one would say the word “explode”? I was then informed that “tires don’t explode.” Then, I said, “would someone please tell me how a simple “flat tire” would send my son rifling through the air”. Still, I could get no one to use the words I was expressing. Furthermore, no one, including Costco gave interest to the fact that my son could have been fatally injured, or that I now had a vehicle laced with scratches and grooves to the entire hood and a windshield that was no longer legal to drive on Florida roads, or any other state road. Michelin wants “me” to mail them the tire, pay for the expenses of shipping, renting another vehicle, replacing the windshield, having the body work and mechanical repairs done. Then, once they have “scientifically” inspected the tire, and only IF the tire is defective, will they even CONSIDER addressing my claim for reimbursement for damage repairs. Do I have “DUHH” stamped on my forehead. “Michelin, everyone I talk to says…Can you spell L A W Y E R” ???

By: Scottsdale Bubbe

Scottsdale Bubbe — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 02:33:20 +0000

We have consistently gotten 3 mpg more on long trips after changing to nitrogen. In our Hyundai Santa Fe ‘04 6 cyl, we never got above 23 mpg on long trips. Now we get around 26 mpg. That is a better than 10% improvement.

The ride/steering control has also improved greatly since filling tires w/Nitrogen. Especially important in our very hot summers and monsoon rains.

You scientists and engineers and wannabees can theorize and pontificate and cock-spar all you want. The proof is in the results.

By: OhMYWhatNext

OhMYWhatNext — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 01:51:06 +0000

Nitrogen is an inert gas. Quite so.

I am just looking into the nitrogen fill debate, and I cannot believe some of the stuff I read. I’ll get it for free and try it out. From the real studies that I read it seems to make a difference. I do not know so it it matters for a personal vehicle.

Lets talk in a year.

By: Bigga

Bigga — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 02:15:31 +0000

Ashok Mathur, business manager for nitrogen tire inflation at Air Products and Chemicals in Allentown, Pa., said that owners could save up to $100 a year by keeping tires properly inflated, even with air, but that it’s easier with nitrogen, which takes 30 to 40 percent longer to leak out.

In its January issue, Consumer Reports magazine published data on a nitrogen experiment. Over a year, tires filled with nitrogen lost less pressure than those with air, losing 2.2 pounds a square inch, compared with 3.5 for air.

By: Keith

Keith — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:44:09 +0000

There would be NO effect if you added Air, There would be no effect if you added nitrogen. You’ve been sold a bill of goods to begin with but adding a 22% oxygen/78% nitrogen mix(air) to nitrogen at the minute levels topping your tire pressure requires would have Zero Impact. Pretty much the same impact as filling your tires with nitrogen.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 22:01:45 +0000

not heard of befor but may be a gimick

By: Doug

Doug — Sat, 30 May 2009 12:01:43 +0000

I Have never read such ignorant posts in my life. NITROGEN does NOT explode, you idiots are thinking of hydrogen as was used in the Hindenberg.
Nitrogen vs Oxygen in tires isn’t about which is better.85% of tires are underinflated according to GAO studies and thats why they mandated the TPMS in cars starting in 2007. Most drivers do not check their press every month, if you do then compressed air from a source with a dryer is ok. However, if you don’t check your pressure every month, using Nitrogen give piece of mind that you will only lose 1-2 psi every 6months to a year vs 1-2 psi per month with air.
It’s that simple, the benefits from Nitrogen have nothing to do with the gas per se, it’s that nitrogen maintains proper tire pressure resulting in less friction associated with underinflation. The result better gas mileage, better handling, cooler tires, longer tire life.

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 29 May 2009 14:46:12 +0000

I asked the Costco person, they said putting in a little regular air isn’t going to cause any problems. However, since Nitrogen is better, just go back and get it flushed and filled when you are by a Costco.