Somebody educate me on "Nitrogen" in the tires ?

Harvey51 wrote:
However, the Costco I go to has a large compressor in the back of the tire shop - I wonder what it is for.

Probably for the air impact wrenches.

It's mostly a way of separating you from your hard earned cash, and then shifting some of the latter to the merchant's bank account.

There are some advantages to using nitrogen vs. ordinary air in tires, but they're entirely immaterial for ordinary uses. If you're a formula 1 racer or a jet pilot, then you may actually start seeing some real benefits.

I suspect nitrogen of the purity that would be used for tires is more frequently generated by removing the oxygen from the air with an oxygen concentrator than by liquifying the nitrogen. I may be entirely wrong, though. (It's doubtful in any case that they would liquify the oxygen in extracting the nitrogen, since that requires a much much lower temperature.)

It's a useful tool for transferring that green stuff in your billfold into the hands of the service station putting nitrogen in your tires. Other than that, just hype.

I've had tires come out with Nitrogen, but in my small community there is no Nitrogen. Thus mine all end up with regular air just like I've used all my life.

Mine had helium and the GVW was 1000 pounds more than a stock Sahara.

Gimmick.

We put it in all the tires at our shop. its a sales gimmick! unless your racing there is no use for it in everyday cars!

It means the oxygen has been removed from the air to reduce chemical reactions with the inside of the tire. Costco famously uses nothing but nitrogen. Nitrogen is produced by cooling air to liquify it, forming separate layers of pure nitrogen and oxygen. Not something that can be done in a store so nitrogen must be delivered in high pressure tanks. However, the Costco I go to has a large compressor in the back of the tire shop - I wonder what it is for.

Some say the main advantage is that the nitrogen gas has a very low moisture content.
Much more here: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=191&affiliate=IT2&s_kwcid=AL!3756!3!67192535288!b!!g!!_cat:tires&ef_id=ViZl0wAABG0LmA8c:20161101003739:s

I keep a precise mixture of 78 percent nitrogen in all my tires:B

nitrogen is supposed to be better for the tires and less sensitive to temp changes but unless you have a supply of nitrogen it is a pain. Mine came with nitrogen but I have added regular air since I have had it.

Doug