[pup73]

Just noticed my valve stem caps...

Any clue what this means?

-c

[jtodd_fl]

Originally Posted by pup73

Just noticed my valve stem caps...

Any clue what this means?

-c

Yep. N2 is nitrogen. Usually they are just green caps. That must be the MPower nitrogen cap - adds 2.5 hp.

[Nine Lives]

I prefer a mix

Around 78% N2 is just fine by me

[zenmaster]

Got to ensure the argon content reaches 0.934%

[jtodd_fl]

I fill mine with Neon, yo. (Yes, more than .0018%, Nine Lives - haha)

[PrematureApex]

Originally Posted by Nine Lives

I prefer a mix

Around 78% N2 is just fine by me

[pup73]

Originally Posted by jtodd_fl

Yep. N2 is nitrogen. Usually they are just green caps. That must be the MPower nitrogen cap - adds 2.5 hp.

Yeah, I work in a hospital, thought it may be nitrogen, but was thinking the caps would be green...

-c

[Transfer]

Make sure you pay the $25/tire (or whatever they're scamming for N2 these days) to get them filled properly in the future.

[Pyrat 2]

...or if you are willing to settle for 78% nitrogen save $100 and just use air. Especially since their is no secondary purge valve to evacuate the tire when refilling with the pure nitrogen.

[pruettfan]

The nitrogen hype is a good profit center for the dealers, most want 80 to 100 bucks for it. I am sure in most cases they aren't even attempting to put nitrogen in, as stated above short of having the tire purged there isn't much improvement in percentage of nitrogen. Having said that there are applications such as very high performance cars (formula one, Indycar) and aviation where 100% nitrogen is of value. When I bought my wife's car they tried to charge me 85 bucks for it, I told them I would pass and they could take their nitrogen back. It was an interesting little argument, they eventually gave in a removed it from the price but it was amazing to see how committed they were to the swindle.

[Spa2k]

My tires were filled with nitrogen at delivery, which I didn't know was going to happen and didn't ask for. I'm a fan of the 78% solution and regularly adjust the tire pressures when the temperatures change. Now that we're going into the cooler, "add more air" season (a temperature swing of 80 degrees or more) - and I'll be storing the car for winter with the tires at maximum pressure - do I need to do anything special other than just add air?

I've seen a couple of articles saying you should purge your tires of the nitrogen before refilling them with air, which seems bogus and doesn't make any sense to me. (I understand why you should do a purge if you're filling with nitrogen.) I realize through all of the adding and subtracting of air from the tires that the percentage of nitrogen will be reduced from the 90-something percent it is now, but I don't really care (plus the green valve caps are stupid-looking) - nor do I see any reason to remove the nitrogen-heavy air from the tires.

Comments?

[ZPrime]

You can mix "air" and nitrogen. Air is 78% nitrogen anyway.

I've never heard of storing a car with tires at max pressure, but I suppose it's not a bad idea. Better would be to put it up on stands so you don't have to worry about flatspotting the tires.

[nd2002]

Bout $20 on top of car MSRP?

[Spa2k]

Originally Posted by ZPrime

I've never heard of storing a car with tires at max pressure, but I suppose it's not a bad idea. Better would be to put it up on stands so you don't have to worry about flatspotting the tires.

Been doing it for years. Fill tires to max pressure and roll the car 1/4 turn of the tires every couple of weeks. It supposedly keeps the sidewalls from "settling." Somebody (probably the same somebody who's the expert on everything) said putting the car on stands can adversely affect the springs by unloading them for too long a stretch. (Pun intended.) YMMV, even if you're storing the car.