air at gas stations (to buy, cost, car wash)

[MaryS80]

Originally Posted by Bostonian08

Dunno about free air but I'll bet if it is to be found, it would be at those car washes that give you free vacuums. Buckingham and Shiloh or Preston and Frankford. $3 car wash at P&F btw.

The manager at the car wash on Buckingham and Shiloh is a jerk. There are huge signs all over the place that say free vacuums. My husband went to use the vacuums one day and the guy said it was only free for people who purchased a car wash.

[Metro Matt]

Originally Posted by GayleTX

One of my husband's pet peeves!! but a convenience store mgr told me that they get their rubber air hoses get cut off almost nightly so they really don't want to encourage people to use them or even look for them.

What would somebody want with a rubber air hose? Make a beer bong out of one?

[BstYet2Be]

Originally Posted by knotquiteawake

Wow was I surprised when I tried to get some air for my tires yesterday! I came from California a couple months ago where air/water are free at most service stations (its a state law now) and all you had to do was ask the attendant to turn it on.

I KNOW that services stations have a way to turn it on for customers. Anyone know of any chains out here that generally will give you free air? I'm not paying for something i'm breathing for free.

Yes, indeed, some DO have a magic button inside here, too! At least the Exxon at the corner of Walnut Hill and MacArthur in Las Colinas does. And, if you're a customer for most anything there, just ask and they gladly turn it on for ya!

Granted, it's been awhile, but the station located at the SW corner of Jupiter and Arapaho in Garland (the one w/the McDonald's inside), still had their tire air as a freebie when I was there last.

FYI, spend a few bucks on an air pressure gauge of your own... they have 'em at all of the auto parts stores, usually at the counter, because most of these air-thingies either don't have one attached or it's broken... pay or no.

We ain't Californians, but we is swuft, too!

[xS☺B☺s]

Ya know, paying 50 cents for air doesn't faze me one bit. Not too long ago, on any given day, I paid upwards to a hundred dollars just for parking. Fifty cents? Foahgeddabouditt!

[momof2dfw]

Someone already mentioned the tire stores as well as purchasing an air compressor. Just buy one of the small ones that you can easily keep in your car and can use it anywhere. If you come out one morning and it is low you can air it up right then and there. No need to drive on a tire w/ low air pressure. They are pretty cheap and portable and can be used for your car tires, bike tires, air mattresses, pool floats, etc. Comes in handy and you don't have to hunt for air from one of those machines anyway that has WAY TOO MUCH moisture in it anyway. Which too much moisture inside your tires isn't a good thing . That is why some use nitrogen inside their tires instead of compressed air, no moisture. I have those stupid run flats on one vehicle. Good I suppose but can be a PITA as they are EXPENSIVE and they don't last very long.

[DFWgal]

Originally Posted by knotquiteawake

I KNOW that services stations have a way to turn it on for customers. Anyone know of any chains out here that generally will give you free air? I'm not paying for something i'm breathing for free.

Yeap, it was a surprise when we came to Dallas.

We usually go to TETCO and they have the "magic button" for regular customers. We know some Shell stations have free air but you need to look for them.

Originally Posted by DaveG99

racetrack will give you free air.

I haven't noticed. Good to know, considering there is one near college

[Mister Nifty]

Originally Posted by knotquiteawake

Wow was I surprised when I tried to get some air for my tires yesterday! I came from California a couple months ago where air/water are free at most service stations (its a state law now) and all you had to do was ask the attendant to turn it on.
I tried to get air and the gas station employee treated me like an idiot for even asking about getting air. I didn't believe him at first, he swore that there was no "magic button" to press to make it come on unless I had 50 cents.
Stupid stoner, totally ignored me when I came in at first too, he was busy playing on his laptop.
I KNOW that services stations have a way to turn it on for customers. Anyone know of any chains out here that generally will give you free air? I'm not paying for something i'm breathing for free.

Okay, think of it this way. Look, we have sold our American souls. We are just as too fast to listen to the unappreciative foreigners when they talk about the superior cultures that they claim to have brought in with them as new citizens as we are too fast too listen to the long-haired professors when they talk about how inferior American culture is when compared to Utopia.
Simply put, these seemingly nice folks are just acting customarily so. While they will sell you something to eat or drink out of the goodness of their own hearts, at the same time they won't allow you to use their bathrooms to relieve yourself.
It ain't going to do me no good to give me a drink of water if you ain't going to allow me to later **** it out somewhere! We should not continue allowing foreigners to express the tyranny they brought in with them over the better system our Founding Fathers established and the millions of other faceless and nameless Americans so selfishly gave their lives to maintain.

[kreeyax]

Moderator cut: orphaned quote
Nitrogen in your tires is a money making gimmick that does nothing for your average commuter car. Now if you are talking about NASCAR or other race cars, then there is some benefit there for maintaining a more consistent tire pressure with the extreme temperature changes during a race.

[burrogs]

QuikTrip has free air.

BTW, air is 78% nitrogen anyway. The same people who put nitrogen in their tires probably change the air in their tires between seasons. Gotta get rid of that summer air when winter comes around

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by burrogs

QuikTrip has free air.

BTW, air is 78% nitrogen anyway. The same people who put nitrogen in their tires probably change the air in their tires between seasons. Gotta get rid of that summer air when winter comes around

The difference being that Nitrogen does not have the moisture in it that compressed air does nor the oxygen. While the air around us does have a high level of nitrogen it still contains a high level of moisture and oxygen. Nitrogen on the other hand replaces all of those oxygen molecules w/ nitrogen and there is no moisture in it. Therefore, it keeps your tires at the optimium pressure longer than filling them with compressed air. Blow some of that compressed air on your hand next time you are at the gas station and you can feel the moisture. Do the same with nitrogen and you will see the difference. Unless you use liquid nitrogen and then you will be seeking the nearest medical facility for some serious burns.

While the theory that using nitrogen in your tires helps performance and gas mileage has not been proven. It is knowns that properly inflated tires do help in the performance and mpg on your vehicle. Keeping them inflated properly all the time is one way to help. Using nitrogen you don't have to constantly be filling them with air all the time. Which, based on what I see on the road daily and actual data....... most people do NOT regularly check the pressure of their tires. If someone is really bad about checking the air pressure of their tires then filling up w/ nitrogen might be best so that they can go longer between needing "air" than they would w/ compressed air.

Moisture is also bad on tires. Unless one is going to park the vehicle for a long period of time or they are bad about getting tires when they really should then this is not an issue. If they are the ones that run on bare threads....... then this can be an issue. Or they park their car for months at a time. Then there are other issues to deal with then and the least of their worries is the moisture in the tires.

Then there is the issue of fire. While this is VERY VERY VERY unlikely to be a problem for 99.999999% of people it is a danger. Oxygen is combustible while nitrogen is not. Still not a valid reason for every joe blow to have nitrogen in their tires.

Yes, I have nitrogen in my tires. I have a nitrogen tank in my garage . Little inside connection and it's free for me . And no, I do not change out the air in the tires between seasons.