St pack have nitrogen in them ?

[ferneyhough]

Does anybody know if the 2020 Ford Explorer St pack has nitrogen in the tires my tire valves are black and I'm just wondering because two of my tires are a little bit low thank you. I know usually if they have green caps on them they have nitrogen in them. Thank you.

 

[Killface0]

Nitrogen is a gimmick. Air is 78% Nitrogen. You will see no benefit. Just add regular air.

 

[ferneyhough]

Thank you for your quick reply. I will top them off with air.

 

[F=MA]

Here are some photos of several brand new 2020 Explorers with the green (nitrogen) valve stem caps. One ford dealer in Wichita has them while the other ford dealership (my dealership) does not. I suppose this mod could be part of a pre-delivery process.

 

[racerfern]

They're installing green caps, You think they're deflating four tires and refilling them with 100% nitrogen?

 

[DoingOK]

It's 99.9% marketing/profit scheme. Avoid and just use regular air. I know of local dealerships that have the nitrogen machines in the back corner collecting dust.

 

[CoastieN70]

Nitrogen is a gimmick. Air is 78% Nitrogen. You will see no benefit. Just add regular air.

Air may be 70+% nitrogen but filling tires with 100% nitrogen is not a "gimmick" (unless some unscrupulous dealer is faking it.)
I come from an aircraft background and all we use in aircraft tires is 100% nitrogen because it is lighter than "air", it is less susceptible to temperature variances and it is almost completely moisture free.
The biggest advantage to nitrogen in automotive tires is that almost never requires pressure adjustment as long as the integrity of the tire remains intact.
I have a 2017 Mustang with nitrogen in the tires and it has never had to be "toped off" in the 4 years I have owned it. I had a 2019 Ranger without nitrogen and I was constantly adjusting (relatively speaking) it's tire pressure.
My ST has air and I have adjusted pressure with temp changes already. I will be converting to nitrogen soon...

 

[racerfern]

Aircraft tires are usually inflated with nitrogen to minimize expansion and contraction from extreme changes in ambient temperature and pressure experienced during flight. (from a Google search)

It's not so much that the nitrogen is better, it's that by using 100% nitrogen you have no moisture which is a bigger factor in expansion and contraction.

 

[QwikEVO]

Here's the question - how do you really know there's nitrogen in the tires and not just a green cap?

 

[CoastieN70]

Here's the question - how do you really know there's nitrogen in the tires and not just a green cap?

Although not "scientific" by any means, you can monitor the TPMS via the dashboard and see how much the pressure goes up as the tires heat up.

My Mustang gains 1 to 2 pounds (max) on nitrogen and the Explorer averages 5-6 pounds on air. My Explorer Sport had nitrogen and like the Mustang only gained 1 -2 pounds.

I will be converting the ST to nitrogen in the near future...

 

[UNBROKEN]

I change pressure too much to worry about it.
I drop it to 32 when I’m racing and run them at 38 when I’m out playing on the twisty roads. I daily drive it at 35.

 

[Blackssr]

I change pressure too much to worry about it.
I drop it to 32 when I’m racing and run them at 38 when I’m out playing on the twisty roads. I daily drive it at 35.

My friends gen 1 Humvee allows him to do this from the cockpit... Our Ford STs make us get out and do it like common folk..hahaha

 

[zdubyadubya]

The new Defender has a pretty trick built in air compressor for adjusting tire pressures. You have to get out of the truck so its no Humvee or Unimog, but would be cool to see more vehicles come with that.

 

[ddanwatt]

Air may be 70+% nitrogen but filling tires with 100% nitrogen is not a "gimmick" (unless some unscrupulous dealer is faking it.)
I come from an aircraft background and all we use in aircraft tires is 100% nitrogen because it is lighter than "air", it is less susceptible to temperature variances and it is almost completely moisture free.
The biggest advantage to nitrogen in automotive tires is that almost never requires pressure adjustment as long as the integrity of the tire remains intact.
I have a 2017 Mustang with nitrogen in the tires and it has never had to be "toped off" in the 4 years I have owned it. I had a 2019 Ranger without nitrogen and I was constantly adjusting (relatively speaking) it's tire pressure.
My ST has air and I have adjusted pressure with temp changes already. I will be converting to nitrogen soon...

I agree, nitrogen is not just a gimmick. Nitrogen molecules are bigger than other elements in air and does not escape as easily. I use it in my airplane tires, motorcycle tires and car tires and almost never have to add any pressure to any of them!