Hello! "earth calling everyone": Maybe this is just me.... but air is mostly Nitrogen in the first place and tyre fitters don't work in a vacuum, folks. Has everyone forgotten basic science?

As someone with a BSc in Chemistry, plus an MSc, I only need a primary school gold star to say these claims are almost entirely spurious rubbish in real-world conditions.

When a tyre is fitted and is flat it contains 1 x atmosphere of air. That air is air (shock). To add pure nitrogen, simply increases the proportion of Nitrogen, it cannot get rid of the air in the tyre... or do they use some black magic sucking the tyre into a squashed vacuum shape before inserting the pure Nitrogen?

The energy in supplying cylinders of pure compressed Nitrogen just to mix it with existing air. is a complete waste. All you do is increase the proportion of Nitrogen, not have a tyre full of Nitrogen. It is all marketing hype and as usual, rubbish :).

Sorry to burst your tyre, Kwik Fit. Try filling them with Helium, make the car lighter :) Or Hydrogen, that would go with a bang!

Ling

Never thought I'd say it . . .but Ling is bang on! the composition of air is basically 78% Nitrogen, but hey . . Nissan have set the ball rolling by supplying the new GTR with Nitrogen filled tyres. . . lets face it - it is really difficult to check the pressure in your "air filled" tyres on a regular basis, especially when your car starts beeping at you throughout the winter as the temperature has caused a fractional pressure srop in your tyres ;-)

Never thought I'd say it either. For once Ling is not just mouthing off a pile of crap. Nitrogen tyre services are not just a gimmick, They are worse. They insult the customers intelligence. Find something else Kwikfit. How about free nitrogen. At least you wouldn't be charging your customers for insulting their intelligence. After all it costs virtually nothing. If you get enough of it in it can stabalize tyre pressures. That's about it.

Wow! It would be funnier if they would use Nitrous Oxide. What a laugh!

Less funny is that rapid release of nitrogen gas into an enclosed space can displace oxygen, and therefore represents an asphyxiation hazard. So, make sure your room is well ventilated when deflating these tyres, Kwik Fit, although I doubt it's as dangerous as the OFN cylinder falling on your toe.

Will we see "nitrogen points" at petrol stations replacing compressed air? Only £5 a shot to top up your tyres!

I don't see molecular air seepage as a major cause of tyre deflation. A rusty nail or corroded wheel or dodgy valve is far more likely to let air out.

Surely these questions are what the j-o-u-r-n-a-l-i-s-t-s should be asking?

Hey all IMHO I think you guys have missed the point here!!! I have known about Nitrogen for some time and it does what it says on the tin!! It's not bottles, these systems generate Nitrogen on site and have been used in F1 since 1992.... anyway, rather than me going on, this is what Bridgestone say http://www.getnitrogen.org/pdf/Bridgestone.pdf