Aug 06 2010
But It’s Already There!
Okay.. This has been on my mind for the last few weeks, so I’ve decided to vent.. 
I recently bought a new truck. The sales guy told me that the tires were filled with nitrogen. So, of course I asked him what the benefit of this was. He was going on about how it gives you better mileage on the tires and treadwear and blah, blah, blah. I asked him what happens when I need to add air. He said that I could fill them with air, and then the next time I brought the truck in for service they would drain the tires and refill with nitrogen.
Since then, I’ve seen a number of places that advertise this “amazing” product! NITROGEN FILLED TIRES! A MUST HAVE!
But wait… Something doesn’t add up here..
Now, I don’t remember that much from high school science, but I do remember that air is already 78% nitrogen. How much more benefit could having that extra 22% really provide..
I decided to ask my landlord who is a mechanic. I haven’t known him more than a few months, but I’ve come to learn that he’s pretty honest about all this car stuff. And when it comes to vehicles, I’m dumb as a post.. He said that there may be a slight benefit to putting pure nitrogen in there, but not enough to warrant the cost.
So, I’m just going to put air in there. Seriously! I can find better ways to spend/waste my money than on that..
This is just another fine example of a marketing ploy. Much like the box of saran wrap here that says “BPA Free” (with in very small letters above it saying “As always”). Or olive oil bottles saying that they are now “Cholesterol Free”.. umm.. Olive oil never has had cholesterol in it..
That’s it.. A short rant from me.. for once..