To say that the difference is not measurable is just wrong — it is not factual. The difference may be minute, it may be minuscule, it may not be noticeable, but it is measurable.
The friction comment was more in regards to the lighter gas not being as heavy and lessening the weight of the vehicle. Anything that lessens the weight of a vehicle has the potential to increase gas mileage among other benefits. Fill 4 tires with argon and tell me if it helps or hurts your gas mileage. (And yes, I’m aware that small amounts of argon are present in atmospheric air) also, again, if you filled a mounted tire with n2 you could likely achieve 98-99% or more straight n2 content especially by purging it with n2 before filling. To see what would actually be achievable would require an experiment or two and more coffee than what I’ve had today.
If there was absolutely no benefit, n2 would never be used in ANY application ever. The fact that it is used in specialized, racing, and other applications proves outright that under *certain* conditions, there is a benefit. Will it benefit us and our Tahoe’s making runs to Waffle House and hauling kids to practice ? Maybe , maybe not. Chances are…. not …. but it could.
Bottom line is, the OP asked if there was any reason NOT to do it, I provided the only argument to why there is no good reason NOT to if you can get it cheap enough which is certainly possible if not going thru a stealership.
So my final conclusion is that is that scientifically speaking, and in a factual matter, nitrogen IS better than compressed air in tires. Practically speaking, it is *usually* NOT, but it *could* be.
The interesting thing here is that I literally agree with every person here that the benefits are negligible. I also think it’s irresponsible to just say “no, there’s no benefit period.” . It is regrettable that most of you disagree, and that’s OK. There’s no problems here; and as Joseph Garcia said, this is what makes forums great: the opportunity for conversation. Thanks for the chat fellas, I do appreciate the dialogue.
*tips hat
