I am wondering if there are some Malibus that are using Nitrogen in the tires. Many imply that using Nitrogen is just a chance for dealers to make more money and there is no real benefit over air. I am driving a 2000 Dodge Caravan and have found the nitrogen holds the tire pressure a lot better than does air.

I took the following from a Honda Forum I belong to, it's from a Sept, 2006 Honda Service News article.

Nitrogen Inflation: What’s Our Position?

Surf any automobile tire-related website these days, and you’ll likely see something mentioned about nitrogen inflation. It’s becoming a hot topic.
We’ve gotten a number of inquiries lately concerning American Honda’s position on this practice.

When it comes to inflating automobile tires, it’s our position that ordinary, dry compressed air—which is about 80 percent nitrogen already—is the best choice. That’s because it’s more readily available, and the benefits of using nitrogen simply don’t appear to outweigh those of using compressed air.

The practice of inflating tires with nitrogen really isn’t anything new; it’s been around a long time. It’s been commonly used on aerospace vehicles,
commercial and military aircraft, military vehicles, race cars, and even heavy off-road construction equipment. Here’s why:

• To meet rigid safety and performance specs, the required tire inflation pressures are often very high, especially in the aerospace industry.
The tire inflation pressure for NASA’s space shuttle, for instance, is a whopping 315 psi!

• Nitrogen is an inert gas; it doesn’t combust or oxidize.

• The process used to compress nitrogen excludes water vapor. Water vapor can expand if the temperature climbs above 212°F.

• Tires inflated with nitrogen leak slower over time than those inflated with compressed air. Automobile tires, on the other hand, are subjected to an entirely different set of conditions.

Here’s why inflating tires with nitrogen offers no real advantages:

• Although tires inflated with nitrogen leak slower over time than those inflated with compressed air, they still leak and need to be reinflated to maintain proper pressure. If you can’t find a place that offers nitrogen inflation—and there aren’t yet all that many places that do—your only option left is to reinflate with compressed air. Doing that drops the nitrogen purity.

• Nitrogen offers no better protection against road hazards such as cuts and punctures. So no matter what you inflate the tire with, you still need to check the condition and pressure of the tires at least once a month as recommended in the O/M.

• Tires that are inflated with compressed air and properly maintained offer the same fuel economy, tread wear, and ride comfort as those inflated with nitrogen.

• Nitrogen for automobile tires is produced by nitrogen generators, which typically get about 95 percent purity. But to actually get that level of purity into an automobile tire, you would have to deflate and inflate that tire with nitrogen several times. If you’re not careful doing this repeated deflation and inflation process, the purity level winds up being closer to 90 percent compared to the approximate 80 percent nitrogen already in compressed air). Because of this, those claims of less pressure loss with nitrogen aren’t valid.

So here’s the bottom line: Nitrogen is an ideal gas for inflating tires in aircraft, military vehicles, race cars, and heavy off-road equipment, but when it comes to automobile tires, it offers no apparent advantages over ordinary, dry compressed air.

Our advice to you: Just stick with the air you breathe.

IMHO, the benefits do not justify the expense…for the reasons stated above.

But, nitrogen was my gas of choice when I spent my summers at the racetracks where there were no utilities in the paddock.

Each spring I would rent a nitrogen cylinder. It was easier to load into the tow vehicle or trailer and it provided all the compressed “air” I needed for the entire season. I used it to run pneumatic wrenches and to fill the racer’s tires.

On that car, nitrogen filled tires made a huge difference. With compressed air, my lap times would increase a few 10ths every lap after just a few laps. We would see as much as 15 psi increases by race end. That much increase created an ill-handling car…loss of grip, understeer and oversteer. I would typically lose one or two positions late in the race because of all the slipping and sliding.

Then, a paddock neighbor offered his cylinder gas after I bemoaned my handling issues. I was amazed at the difference. The tires gained only 1 PSI after a 10 lap qualifying session and 3 psi at the end of the 100 mile race. That resulted in my first podium finish! And, my tires were still useable for practice and testing sessions…not ripped to shreds from all the scrubbing and skidding.

But, with a compressor in the garage, and for “normal” passenger car driving, nitrogen is just not justified.

I have nitrogen in my tires, but my dealer put it in for free. They always fill the tires with Nitrogen when you come in.

I feel like we're about to break open a can of whipped cream and start inhaling -- whipits anyone?

Ironically, I was walking a dealer lot yesterday and came upon a Dodge Avenger that had a nitrogen sticker on it that touted all the benefits of having nitrogen in tires, and that the dealer always fills with nitrogen. I know that NASCAR has been using this for years, but never had heard about production cars having nitrogen in their tires. Sounds like just another gimmick.

Has anyone filled their tires up with nitrogen and if so did you see a significant difference in mpg? I saw this on Yahoo news today and was looking for real world numbers.

if you have to pay money for the nitrogen, it will probably never be worth the 1mpg increase.

Point taken! Thanks

There's another Thread on this same topic. I'll find it and merge them together. There is some good info on the other thread.

Both threads are merged. See post #2 for Honda's position on Nitrogen.

Anybody using this in their tires :D
http://www.livescience.com/environment/080712-nitrogen-tires.html

Malo, I combined your new thread with the existing nitrogen threads.

nitrogen stays cooler

Malo, I combined your new thread with the existing nitrogen threads.
No problem Pizza ;)

I have nitrogen in my tires. Came free from the dealer. Keep in mind that nitrogen is already 78% of air anyways.

I have heard that its supposed to keep your tires more evenly inflated as well as not being reactive with the rubber since its an inert gas.