How do you check the pressure, how often, and how do you refill them?
Got a friend who bought a used car with Nitro tires with green caps.

Well you can go back to the same place that installed the tires.  I had mine filled with nitrogen too but have not had to check pressure yet.

to find a Nitrogen dealer check this site
getnitrogen.org

Thanks for the link David. So you have to go there to check them? OR can you just use a gauge?
Are pressure requirements different than OEM on the door bracket?

If you get your tires at Costco, it's worth it. I wouldn't pay for it. Nitrogen and regular air measure pound for pound - the air we breathe is 78% N2.

When I worked at Honda, we charged new car buyers $250 for nitrogen fill in the tires.

Yeah, this is a 2006 Honda, bought used 20 miles away with new New Nitro tires. Do you just not worry about them? Or you have to take them to a Big or Honda dealer to check them? Does it cost to check them?

Big O

You can do it yourself. Just get a good tire gauge - a $5 Slime dial gauge from Kragen or Wal-Mart works nicely.

And the tires a dealership will throw a on a used car are garbage too - usually they'll chuck on Prime Wells, Epic Tours, or Dorals.

what is the advantage of filling your tires with Nitro???

so yeah it seems like a scam, you will wear out your tires from road use before the rubber degrades due to oxidation...and just check your tires every other month or so.

You do not need to check pressure since it stays at a constant pressure thus the gas savings.. And when you drive, less road noise.

If you do the spare tire option, take the spare tire out for them. Most will not even bother and just charge you for it anyways..

Charging for N2 is basically a scam.  Any comparisons to O2 are false since....who fills their tires with oxygen?

Sure some places will tell you about the advantages of "dry air" but really it's about convenience of the cylinder tanks and filling equipment than any measurable difference in the performance of the tires on your car.

Also, checking your tire pressures and wear on a regular basis is one of the easiest ways to ensure good milage, performance and safety.  To ignore it, regardless of what's in your tires, is foolish and eventually, more expensive.

let me guess

this is a new option car dealership service departments are offering?.....that in and of its own makes it a scam

If you have a tire pressure monitor in your car, the monitor in the tire is less prone to fail because nitro has less moisture than air. That is what I heard.

G "(keeping on the D)" L. says:

let me guess

this is a new option car dealership service departments are offering?.....that in and of its own makes it a scam

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Costco FTW...

Costo refills your tires free with nitrogen. Nitrogen is mostly used for cars that drive pretty hard. It is all pretty much the same though for regular driving conditions.
I did hear it does help in the winter

16 minutes ago Navi T. says:

G "(keeping on the D)" L. says:

let me guess

this is a new option car dealership service departments are offering?.....that in and of its own makes it a scam

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Costco FTW...
===========
ok my bad it's not a scam then

it doesn't expand / contract as much with heat / cold so your tire pressures won't drop on cold days like today.

you can check the pressure with any standard air pressure gauge.

N2 is also used in airplanes and race cars - a 200+ ton Boeing 747/777 touching down at 200+mph or a NASCAR stock car running laps at 180+mph in the hot South is NO PLACE for tire failures...

And if you're a scuba diver, you can fill your tires from a scuba tank. The air in those are class D/E compressed air which is dry and free of contaminants.

Screw nitrogen.  I fill mine with argon.  Titanium lined seat recliner ratchet yo.

Helium....makes the car float

Actually, this was a 2006 Honda Accord 6 cyl bought used, excellent condition. The dealer spruced it up for resale and I guess put brand new Michelins with N2. It does ride pretty smooth and quiet, not sure if that is Honda, Michelin or N2 or a combo. Good power for a plain Japanese sedan, and nice upgrades like cruise, XM, heated leather seats, etc.

I think the whole N2 deal is to help the tire dealers. You go back to them periodically to refill your tires, and they have a chance to get more business from you. Big O seems to be the main chain that offers them. $250 seems high though. Had another friend that got 4 Nitros for their 10 year old Volvo wagon from Big O. I think more like $200 ea.

You should check your headlight fluid while you are at it...

I'm thinking the PO took it to Costco for tires before selling the car. NO dealership would put Michelin on a used car - they usually use cheap Chinese garbage tires like Prime Wells or Epic Tours. And if the car is a little higher class, maybe Kumhos or Toyos. I know the local Lexus dealer defaults to Bridgestone for tires on CPOs.

Andrew "cilantro = soap" C. says:

it doesn't expand / contract as much with heat / cold so your tire pressures won't drop on cold days like today.

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Really?  Nitrogen doesn't follow the same gas laws as every other gas.  Apparently no chemistry class (recently at least).  You can google or wikipedia the answer if you don't trust me.  I teach chemistry, and know that nitrogen behaves the same.

If you are worrying about the tires oxidizing, it is best not to drive your car in an atmosphere with 21% oxygen.  I would suggest mars or the moon as a safer option.

Looks like another way to get your money, at it seems to be working.

Complete waste of time and money unless you are a professional car or bike racer.

The whole "race car teams and airlines use it" argument is also part of the marketing scam. Yes it's true both airlines and race car teams use it....but not because it's somehow better performing compared to regular dry air. They use N2 (along with Costco, trucking companies, and any other high volume user) because it's far easier, cheaper, *portable*, and more reliable to have N2 cylinders than to have your own air compressor setup running all the time.  That is the real reason for having N2... only in the ratiler-to-consumer world is this thought of as some kind of value-add.

On the opposite side of the situation, you can go to any small repair shop or gas station to see how low volume air usage warrants an on premises air compressor.

*retail

You can fill for free at any Costco, that has a tire center. Like the one in
Sunnyvale
Moutain view
RED wood city

The only reason they started to use N2 is due to the fact that oxygen in the air oxidizes the rubber. There is nothing that can be done for the outside, but having less O2 on the inside may help, but it kind of a joke, as oxidation of the rubber is not the main cause of tire failure.

blogs.consumerreports.or…

straightdope.com/columns…

Each gas has a different "Partial Pressure" but that difference is insignificant at the pressure of a tire.

Larger molecules will diffuse through the rubber at a slower rate. And theoretically over time, the air in the tire will become more concentrated with Nitrogen, as the Oxygen leaks out faster.