[brduke]

My tire pressure has slightly dropped as a result of the cooler temperatures.
I live in GA so the ZL1 1LE can be used and driven hard all year round.

Should I top the tires off with Nitrogen or Air?
Which is more preferred, why?
Do our Chevy dealers supply it for free compared to the $5.00 per tire some places want for only a few pounds to 'top them off'?

When I replace the tires should I go with Nitrogen or Air?

Any other comments are welcomed.
Please send Holiday $ for tires.

[Stephen12ZL1]

100% nitrogen is nice but really a gimmick. Nascar uses it for obvious reasons. You do realize atmospheric air is 78% nitrogen?

[waterman]

Originally Posted by Stephen12ZL1

100% nitrogen is nice but really a gimmick. Nascar uses it for obvious reasons. You do realize atmospheric air is 78% nitrogen?

+1

Osmosis and diffusion are omnipresent. There is no getting around equalization on planet Earth, especially with varying temperatures. Good ol' straight air is your best bet in most applications.

Save your money.

[Vigilante375]

Save your money.

The ONLY real benefit is the tire pressure stability that nitrogen. Which is very good for racing. It doesn't offer anything else in terms of performance.

For day to day driving. Using regular air from any pump will be fine.

For the avid racer then nitrogen would be beneficial to keep a more stable tire pressure during races.

[Gunkk]

Unless you live in the desert, regular compressed shop air is nearly saturated with water and has a much higher dP/dT effect. When racing at 10/10ths, it matters. For everyone else, it's a way for tire shops and dealers to take more of your money.

[Rodan]

As noted, the air you are breathing is nearly 80% nitrogen.

I use a nitrogen bottle for adjusting at the track, but mostly because it's more convenient than a compressor.

Just use whatever is easily available.

[URBAN LEGEND]

Sellers laughing all the way to the bank.

[Aliveguy5]

One of the main reasons tires lose or gain pressure is due to the moisture on the inside not the air. As others have stated a full nitrogen fill up is only helpful on a race course and I can personally attest to that. For daily driving, regular air is the best as it's almost impossible to keep the moisture out.

[Mountain]

The more important thing is making sure there is as little moisture as possible in the air of your tires.

For street cars, nitrogen or air is fine. Just keep the amount of moisture as close to none or at none as possible.

For track, air is more preferred the more you are messing with pressure, but if you can't get the moisture out, nitrogen is going to be the better route.


With moisture in your tire's air, you have air AND water being affected with temperature. This plays a larger effect on a tire that is seeing demanding racing conditions, or aggressive driving than your typical daily driving. However, with daily driving conditions, you can experience odd pressure changes as you get to temperature extremes of seasons.

[kttxz06]

Helium is the way to go honestly.

[Emoto]

I run a blend in my tires that is a little shy of 80% nitrogen.

[crosive]

without boring everyone to tears about the dynamic pressure losses of molecules through rubber and the differences between compressed air and nitrogen, I'll just say this;

nitrogen is better. compressed air is *perfectly* fine.

never pay for nitrogen. Ever. Not even once. (unless it's cheaper to buy a tank of nitrogen vs compressed air, and you have to buy one or the other)

[Badmojo]

Nitrogen is dry and compressed air can be saturated with moisture. It only matters on the track, when you can typically expect 5-10 psig increase from cold to hot tire temps. Costco will do nitrogen fill for $12 and you can enjoy a $2.00 coke and hotdog while you wait.