Should You Use Nitrogen in Your Car Tires? | Hacker News Reader

Should You Use Nitrogen in Your Car Tires?

consumerreports.org

8 pointsreaperducer7 comments

Yes, you absolutely should use nitrogen in your car tires.

I always do --- but I never pay extra for it.

My secret --- I just use ordinary air --- which is 78% nitrogen. Or at least it used to be before humanity started pumping carbon out of the ground and burning it in the atmosphere.

I call into question the ability to “remove all air” before you fill it with nitrogen. Just how are you going to do that with a mounted tire?

The title and the article comply with Betteridge's law.

From my reading, even according to Consumer Reports nitrogen can be preferable to air, but Consumer Reports believes the hassle of finding nitrogen, and the added expense, make monthly fill-ups with regular air a better option.

But that doesn't really apply to Costco members: the ready availability of free nitrogen at Costco eliminates any downside.

On that note, a related tip for Costco members (only because I always see people fail to read the instructions): on Costco's tire-inflation pumps, if your tires are hot (meaning you have driven at least 3 miles to arrive at the pump) you're supposed to set the pressure to 4 psi more than the pressure recommended on the label in your vehicle's door jamb.

I get an unlimited supply of 78% pure nitrogen from my own compressor. No need for a Costco visit.

I'd bet money Costco sources their "nitrogen" the same way I do.

Possible! But I tend to trust Costco when it makes a statement of quality/content because it has actually earned a level of my trust over the years. Misrepresenting something so innocuous (in the big scheme of things) would have far more downside than upside — particularly where Costco provides the tire stations as an additional value / at no additional cost.

There is no "misrepresentation" here by Costco.

Using one of their tire stations does in fact fill your tires with a compressed gas that is mostly nitrogen.

There is a potential "misunderstanding" by those who don't realize that ordinary compressed air is 78% pure nitrogen gas.

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