Nitrogen in the Tires?

My 2014 S came with new Ecopia Plus tires from Costco, which have green valve stem caps, meaning they are nitrogen filled.

1) When did Costco start doing that, and
2) Is it a total scam, as suggested by Fifth Gear's video?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmnZ4-EUbIk

I personally think it's a waste. I live in a very cold area, and regular old air (which is 78% Nitrogen anyway), does me just fine. You lose or gain about 1 psi for every 10 degrees Fahrenheit change in outside temperature. So if you last checked your tires at say 50 degrees and you were right at the psi you want, and it drops to 20 degrees, you will now be about 3 psi less then the last time you checked. Just adjust your psi accordingly to the season and you'll be fine.

I have thought any savings you might gain by having nitrogen in the tires would be lost with the cost of the initial and subsequent filling. I have seen some stations charge $5 just to top off your tires in nitrogen. What a waste!

Is it better? Probably. Is it enough better to warrant spending a nickel on it? Doubtful.

At our Costco in Kona on the Big Island they leave hoses out to fill tires for free.

There might be a slight benefit in urban areas where ozone levels can be high, but in most places I wouldn't bother.

I top off my tires with Argon, performed by virgins only on nights with a full moon.

erco said:

1) When did Costco start doing that, and

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Costco has done that for as long as I can remember.

2) Is it a total scam, as suggested by Fifth Gear's video?

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If you pay more money for nitrogen than you would for regular air, then yes, it's a scam.
If you're filling up with nitrogen for no additional charge, it's perfectly fine.

I can think of one small benefit - if the nitrogen really is fairly pure, it means you won't be adding any water vapor into your tire. And that means that there's less of a chance of the TPMS sensor getting iced over in the winter. I've had that happen to me - fixes itself after parking in a warm garage for a while.

Filling tires with nitrogen started in the aircraft industry. It was an added safety precaution when landing heavy aircraft at 180-200 mph. Removal of the oxygen to reduce fire risk and elimination of water vapor to stabilize tire pressure. In an automobile, it makes no sense except to extract dollars from your pocket. The Nissan Dealer actually tried to charge me an additional $600 for this "service" when I bought the car. After I finished laughing and said "no" the salesman admitted it was a scam. Also, how could you tell if they actually put nitrogen in or just plain air and charged you anyway? You only have their word for it and we know what a dealer"s word is worth.

Nubo said:

I top off my tires with Argon, performed by virgins only on nights with a full moon.

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Full moon Argon refill party at Nubo's!