Gas Mileage (Improved with Nitrogen filled tires??)

[80 Cruiser Rod]

The tire dealer put Nitrogen in my new tires after I complained that I had some vibration as if the tires were not balanced properly. This was as a favor for the long time loyalty of bringing my vechiles to his shop. I don't think I've seen any gas milage increase but it definitely makes for a smother ride. We also had Nitrogen put in my girl friend's Camary when we replaced her tire with new tires and there too is a softer ride.

 

[Grench]

The tire dealer put Nitrogen in my new tires after I complained that I had some vibration as if the tires were not balanced properly. This was as a favor for the long time loyalty of bringing my vechiles to his shop. I don't think I've seen any gas milage increase but it definitely makes for a smother ride. We also had Nitrogen put in my girl friend's Camary when we replaced her tire with new tires and there too is a softer ride.

I think you may be getting confused to the attribution by the Nitrogen marketing.

When your wheel vibration was fixed, did they happen to also balance the tires? Those little weights that clip onto the rim or get taped up inside will make a -whole- lot more difference. My basic understanding of gases says it is impossible for changing the gas in a tire to change the balance if all other factors are controlled.

On your girl friend's Camry, new tires were put on costing a couple of hundred bucks for the set and you're attributing the better ride and handling to the gas in the tires? Was there any consideration that it might just be newer and not bald tires making the difference?

IMHO...
N2 inflation, Acetone, the tornado... All are marketing hype designed to segment the population and ensure that those who are willing or able to pay more do.

YMMV

 

[Mace]

I am gonna go get one of those fan superchargers..

Gotta boost economy by at least 80%

 

[MTBGUY]

the curve got steep around 65 and was heading skyward by 80. Tires are going to make a contribution, but at those speeds it's all about aerodynamic efficiency and the 80 body designers said "meh" to it, instead warmly embracing a big, functional beast that would do whatever you asked of it. You decide your burn rate with your right foot. At 60, that big Straight 6 will ease along and get you 17-18 mpg.

What I do like about its economy is what I'll call its "working economy". Most SUV mpg drops into the single digits when towing a big trailer. Ours gets a pretty consistent 12-13mpg pulling a 3 ton boat at 60-65
DougM

My observations are pretty similar. The sweet spot for mine (from an economy, road & wind noise and "perceived engine load" )seems to be about 63 mph with cruise on. It gets much noiser and MPG drop fast above 65- and it only takes about 90 seconds more ( Yes I timed it a few times) on the commute home to go go 63 VS 75 mph. My best highway MPG was 17.5 once in summer. Averages about 16 on winter gas and 16.8 on summer with AC on cold. My previous Heep suffered miserably (9-10 mpg) when towing 4500 lb. trailer, but like Doug the Cruiser seems to be able to tow it only dropping down to 13 or so. City MPG always stays within 12-13 depending on time of year.

We have some smart people on this board, I'm a pilot for a living and several of you were right on stating the reasons airlines use Nitrogen. I'd use Nitrogen if it was free/easy to get, but can't see it helping unless you are driving around at 20000 feet in negative 60 degree temperatures. Or perhaps really fast driving in summer in Death valley. Maybe they use it for the Everest expeditions? I think its all about hype and selling more tires than the next business personally.

The times I've thought I was getting unbelivable gas mileage have usually been due to me misusing my calculator or tire/odometer error!

 

[Bearcat80]

Beowulf,
you're probably right...
some sort of fluke...
but we filled up on gas in flagstaff and rolled down hill probably with a snowy tailwind, no cruise control, and filled up again near Gallup NM boarder some 150 miles away...

pioneer

there is the problem. I fill at the same pump where the slab you park on has about a 3% slope away from the pump. If i fill with the tank on the pump side, it takes about 19.5-20 gallons with the needle on empty. If i fill pointed the other way, I can only get 18 - 18.5 gallons in. Air pocket in the tank, I assume. So if you only ran 150 miles and filled with the tank downhill, the 1.5 gallons of extra gas you couldn't fit takes your mileage from 20 mpg to 16.67 mpg. Still purty good, but in the range of normal for a stock rig. Consistency, or lack therof, in how you fill your tank makes a big difference in your per tank mpg. An average over many tanks is the only truly accurate way.

 

[80 Cruiser Rod]

I think you may be getting confused to the attribution by the Nitrogen marketing.

When your wheel vibration was fixed, did they happen to also balance the tires? Those little weights that clip onto the rim or get taped up inside will make a -whole- lot more difference. My basic understanding of gases says it is impossible for changing the gas in a tire to change the balance if all other factors are controlled.YMMV

Not being a physicist in understanding all the properties of what Nitrogen can do for automobile tires I can only go on what I know. Since Nitrogen has been added to my tires now at any speed (not only high speeds were I was experiencing an out of balance problem) the vehicle rides like it has a softer foot on the road.

PS: Ihave no stock in Nitrogen

 

[Grench]

Not being a physicist in understanding all the properties of what Nitrogen can do for automobile tires I can only go on what I know. Since Nitrogen has been added to my tires now at any speed (not only high speeds were I was experiencing an out of balance problem) the vehicle rides like it has a softer foot on the road.

PS: Ihave no stock in Nitrogen

It -does- absolutely nothing compared to compressor dried air. It isn't doing any harm, but there is no physical reason for it to do any good.

So, are you 100% certain that the tire guy didn't balance and possibly rotate your tires? If you're on a tire warranty with those items included, I'm betting they didn't even think twice about doing it where you were complaining about vibrations.

 

[DTAYLOR]

 

[Grench]

Oh, I got this link
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/

from
http://www.whynitrofill.com/links.php

The funny part is that
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/
has no references to nitrogen and tires in the same article.

In fact, using the search on http://www.fueleconomy.gov/ yields no articles at all at http://www.fueleconomy.gov/ OR Oak Ridge national laboratories that even have the words nitrogen and tires in the same article.

The site http://www.whynitrofill.com/ is clearly using scare tactics. There is a picture of the mother and baby on the splash screen with the caption, "What NitoFill could save you is tough to put a price on." There are many wide vague statements without supporting evidence within. My personal opinion. Nice marketing, kind of short on factual information.

So much science goes into the compounds involved with and construction used in the tires we drive on.
http://www.michelinman.com/ has no reference to Nitrogen inflation.
http://www.goodyeartires.com/ has no reference to Nitrogen inflation.
http://www.dunloptire.com/ has no reference to Nitrogen inflation.

So, if you have faith that N2 inflation is working for you, more power to you. However, I have seen no evidence that positive effects of N2 inflation have any basis beyond faith and marketing. It isn't doing any harm either beyond teaching bad chemistry.

The key here, IMHO, is proper inflation, regardless of the gas used.

Again, my opinion. I am not a chemist or an engineer. I did study Chemical Engineering a bit, but it is not my degreed discipline.

Makes me go, "Hmm..." YMMV

 

[MoGas]

Nitrogen is used in aircraft tires not because of any thing great about nitrogen it is more about what is not in it, water being the biggest thing any water in a tire will be ice after a few hours at altitude, also water will cause corrosion of the rim, also pure nitrogen contains no oxygen and therefore cannot be a fire hazard,

but the biggest reason is that it is hard to fill a tire to 205 PSI using 115 PSI shop air and we have left over nitrogen cylinders with low pressure from filling 3k psi accumulators door bottles and alike.

The pressures are much higher for aircraft deployed aboard carriers. IIRC, For the EA-6B it is 270 mains and 400 nose.

 

[Grench]

The pressures are much higher for aircraft deployed aboard carriers. IIRC, For the EA-6B it is 270 mains and 400 nose.

PSI... Nitrogen...

Man I bet those suckers are loud if they let go.

 

[cary]

Kinda funny, but a young associate attorney in our office needed to get new tires for his car a couple of weeks ago. He asked for my recommendation and I helped him get a good price on some Yokohama's. The dealer recommended getting the tires filled with nitrogen, for $6 per tire extra. I told him pass which he fortunately listened to. Interestingly Costco uses nitrogen now, but they don't charge extra for it. The primary benefit as they explained was the nitrogen has no moisture so it should eliminate any issues with dry rot ocuring from the inside out.

 

[Mace]

How often do you see a tire rot from the inside out??

 

[reffug]

How often do you see a tire rot from the inside out??

OK I'll bite how often?????

 

[cary]

Personally, I haven't. I could see it potentially being an issue with the rock hard tires that last 100k+ miles on cars that are driven less than 10k a year, but frankly, my policy is to ditch any tires that are more than 5 years old, even if they have lots of tread.

 

[fzj80kidpen]

Cause its all about the sidewall anyway

 

[Pioneer]

thanks for everyone's input... i'm learnin a lot...
i also forgot to mention that the 02 sensor and egr valve had just been replaced as well and perhaps the air flow/emissions were helping out too...

Just a personal side note...
haven't had much time to reply to all these posts, cause we've been in the hospital havin our first baby boy...
he rides real well in the TLC... we feel very safe...
Man, i'm so glad i got it...
I'm done with my old Ford's and Chevy SUV's... I've had 'em all, and just sold my 04 Diesal Xcursion to get this TLC...
Were already shopping for a 98 or 99 4runner highlander edition...

 

[Grench]

Congratulations!