On 11/7/2014 8:52 AM, nestork wrote:

What I'm saying is that if people are aware of a common danger that
threatens everyone, they will co-operate to protect themselves and each
other from that danger. If people know that ordinary air is more prone
to seep out of their tires, they'll be more diligent about monitoring
the air pressure in their tiresridiculous hockey player analogy removed to avoid further embarrassment
to you.

Long before nitrogen was being used for passenger car tires people were
not diligent about monitoring the air pressure in their tires. You're
not going to fix that by intentionally filling tires with a gas that
leaks out more quickly.

TPMS systems were mandated because so many vehicles were on the road
with tire pressure that was way too low. There are multiple benefits to
proper tire pressure including safety, fuel economy, and tire wear.

Here are the real questions to ask:

1. Does maintaining proper tire pressure increase mileage, increase
tread life, reduce the likelihood of a blowout, and reduce the
likelihood of damage from road hazards?

2. Is it true that a high percentage of drivers never check their tire
pressure with a gauge or have a service station check their tire pressure?

3. Given the upsides of nitrogen, which include less pressure loss over
time, should tire retailers fill new tires with nitrogen?

4. Should consumers avoid any tire retailer that charges rip-off prices
for nitrogen? More than $1 per tire is a ripoff.

5. Should consumers purchase tires at retailers that include nitrogen
fill at no extra cost?

The answer to all of these question is yes.

The argument that a consumer could just as easy check his tire pressure
more often and top up the air is bogus because most consumers won't ever
do that even though we all agree it would be better if they did. You're
not going to fix this.

The ridiculous and overused Usenet retort of "show me a double-blind
study that absolutely proves that nitrogen is better than plain air"
fails the common sense test because that's not even the actual question.
The actual question is this: "is there a benefit to filling tires with a
gas that helps maintain proper tire pressure for a longer period of time?"

Finally, there's another benefit to the whole nitrogen-fill thing. If
you find a tire dealer that's trying to charge more than $1 per tire for
nitrogen then that's an excellent indication they you're at a store
that's going to rip you off in other ways in the future--run away.