Ziebart & Nitrogen

[Cinsue]

I just got my Sonic and it came with nitrogen in the tires (did a search here and see that some others did to).

My dealer had to get this car from another dealer. When I was going through the paperwork, I saw the window sticker. The original dealer had Ziebart -- $475 and misc. add on -- $29 listed as an additional charge. My salesman has no idea what these are.

I emailed the original dealer and got an email back from a salesman who says the Ziebart may be for detailing or window tinting (I don't think the windows are tinted) and don't understand why a dealer would have an outside company detail the car -- isn't detailing just cleaning it REALLY good? He had no idea what the misc. add on was.

Anyone have any ideas what the Ziebart could be? I looked up the website and it looks like they offer a few different things.

 

[laborsmith]

OK, I'll bite.

Zeibart charge = additional dealer profit. Extensive dealer profit. Notice I did not say excessive, but others might and probably will. Does not matter what service was provided.

Nitrogen in the tires, 100% nitrogen is used in race car tires because the nitrogen molecules are bigger than the molecules that make up the non nitrogen portion of air. This makes the air pressure more stable for the fifty or so miles the tire is used, as the non nitrogen molecules have easier escape routes, being smaller than the nitrogen molecules.

In the US, we have to settle for approx. 80% nitrogen in our tires unless we want to go the extra yard or two for 100%. Most of us who routinely never drive over 150 mph will not notice a difference in drive quality as the air in the tire will remain stable when the car is driven at slower speeds.

Whether one uses air out of the atmosphere or nitrogen enhanced, it is always a good idea to check your air pressure every so often, as those pesky little molecules, no matter their size, are always seeking a path to escape.

Laborsmith

 

[Sonic]

I would be willing to guess the Ziebart is for an underbody protective coating, and you probably paid twice what it cost the dealer to have it done.

 

[AxelRipper]

Ziebart is usually undercoating, and the dealers usually charge 2x for it what it costs if you were to have it done. It is also arguably useless on new cars, especially ones with a 6 year corrosion warranty (like the Sonic).

As for the Nitrogen, its another useless ploy to take money. It works great on racecars and airplanes where the tires heat up and the pressure changes due to the small amounts of water vapor in it. That being said, on our racecar we normally run shop air because its cheaper, and we don't run our car long enough to have to worry about it. Just make sure the hot-tire pressure is ~12-13 PSI and we're fine.

 

[Cinsue]

I read the literature on the nitrogen and it says you can add air to the tires when they need it, but the dealer would have to purge the tires and refill with nitrogen. Can I NOT have them refilled with nitrogen and gradually switch back to air.

Both of these were "bonuses"; although they appear to be useless. I was hoping the Ziebart was a paint protectant -- lots of trees = lots of sap and bird poop -- especially like the PURPLE bird poop after they eat the mulberries!

My salesman didn't know about the bonuses until I asked about them when he was setting up my Onstar after signing the paperwork at invoice price. I had thought about trying to negotiate a little lower, but my trade was starting to act up again and they were already giving me a few hundred more than blue book. So I decided it was time to take the deal and sign!

Thanks for the replies!