I
know I'm going to regret posting this, but what the hell...
I use 99% High-purity Nitrogen gas in my tires.
Now you have to stick with it for a long time period to see any of the real benefits. That's the key. You cannot 'mix' it with regular compressed air, or you might as well forget about doing it at all.
Normal compressed air has ~78% nitrogen content. You wouldn't think that extra 21% of nitrogen would make a difference...but it does.
Here is what I have observed over the years, since I switched over to using nitrogen in my tires.
a) My tire pressures are more stable, and they rarely require pressure 'adjustments' to maintain my target air pressures. (38f, 41r) During one stretch, I did not have to add any nitrogen to my tire for a period of 7 months. I was amazed that it actually maintained the tire pressure!
b) My tire tread life has increased, since I started using nitrogen instead of compressed shop air.
Now I know you guys are going to call BS on this...but it's true.
I believe it has something to do with maintaining the shape of the tire and the contact patch. (less scrubbing in the corners) I was told by a tire engineer at Goodyear, that maintaining a stable consistent tire pressure will increase your tire wear. (by a few thousand miles on some tire compounds) He also told me the tire doesn't deform as much when you use nitrogen, because the gas doesn't expand or contract quite as much as normal compressed air does when the tire heats up. Therefore, I suspect it will help the tire maintain it's shape even when it's under heavy cornering loads. (when a typical under-inflated tire would roll over on it's sidewall) Proper consistent inflation pressure will minimize this effect, which leads to better (longer) tire wear.
c) My BLACK rubber tires stay black for the duration of their service life.
Now this one may not matter at all to you guys, but I hate when my black tires start turning dark brown. This is because the moisture that is typically found in compressed air will eventually turn your tires black rubber compound brown over time. I see this as an eyesore and i was happy to find out that nitrogen also keeps this from occurring. The nitrogen gas displaces the 02 in the normal compressed air, which removes the moisture content as well. Your nitrogen air is completely 'dry' from a moisture standpoint, and it does not readily absorb it either.
So that's why I decided to switch to nitrogen fill in my high performance tires.
I know some of you will never believe it makes ANY difference...and that's okay, but for those who have used this alternative for a long period of time...you know what I'm saying is the gospel truth.
