Car tire question

I bought my son a Nissan Versa two weeks ago. We have put a total of about 61 miles on it, but already the right rear tire is low. I look at it and there is a huge nail in it.

Well, the new cars now come with nitrogen in them rather than air, so as to make them keep inflated longer (so much for that!). Anyway, the tire is too low to drive the car to the tire shop. I don't have a nitrogen pumping machine at my house.

My plan was to fill it up with air and drive it there to get it repaired. My thought process goes like this:

a) Air is 78% nitrogen anyway
b) I have somehow managed to survive with air in my tires for many years
c) It costs a lot of money to get tires refilled with nitrogen
d) I don't want to have to pay for a tow
e) The tire is at half its pressure; after I fill it with air, it will still be 90% nitrogen

What do you think? OK to do this, right?

thanks in advance

You are exactly right regarding this nitrogen business. Fill it up with air and drive it to the shop.

Or, buy one of those self repair kits at Walmart etc, and do it yourself. Those kits were made for nail punctures.

a)Yes, air is 78% N, but it's the other stuff that can hold moisture and oxidize the inner liner of the tire.

b)nothing wrong with air. As you state, it's worked for years.

c)If your shop charges extra for Nitrogen fill, find a new one.

d)If your shop is close, this shouldn't require a tow. Top it off and go straight there.

e)True, but doesn't matter. It will be evacuated and refilled with Nitrogen after the repair.

Your plan is, IMHO, fine.

I always thought the N fill was to assist with keeping the tire pressure even during temperature swings. The following article may be relevant.

http://www.cartalk.com/content/columns/Archive/2005/February/02.html

I guess that I hadn't noticed my local tire shop filling my tires with anything unusual. Fill 'er up and head for the shop...

I Googled and found a link to some info from Consumer Reports. This is some sort of Q&A blog that you can access even without a CR subscription. (see http://blogs.consumerreports.org/cars/2007/10/nitrogen-tires-.html). Some interesting info can be gleaned just from reading the Q&A.

Some points:

1. As mentioned above air is about 78% nitrogen anyway. BUT, plain air is usually not so pure, especially with respect to moisture content.
2. It is the presence of oxygen that is a concern -- a very reactive element that can both permeate and degrade tire compounds. But I'm pretty sure tires wear from the outside much faster than from the inside due to any oxygen effect.
3. Over time, as you replenish the tire pressure more and more of the escaped oxygen gets replaced by 78% Nitrogen so tires with plain air will increase their nitrogen content anyway.
4. Pressure loss over a year for air was 3.5 PSI and for nitrogen 2.2 psi, not really a big deal. With periodic air refills (usually done for free with oil changes) there will be even less difference. I get oil changes every three months, or four times a year so the max difference in pressure loss will be one fourth of 3.5-2.2, or less than 1/3 PSI.

Bottom line, as far as I can see, is that nitrogen for your tires is way over-hyped. There are a lot more important things in life to spend time on.

Robert Paulsen said:

Bottom line, as far as I can see, is that nitrogen for your tires is way over-hyped. There are a lot more important things in life to spend time on.

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