"Viperdoc" wrote:
My hypothesis is that nitrogen or argon is in some way superior to dry
air is simply an old wive's tale, not substantiated by data. So far, I
have heard a lot of rationales, but not seen any data.

The following research paper has data and a conclusion:

"Effects of Nitrogen Inflation on Tire Aging and Performance"
By John M. Baldwin
David R. Bauer
Kevin R. Ellwood
Ford Motor Company

Presented at a meeting of the
Rubber Division, American Chemical Society
Grand Rapids, MI
May 17-19, 2004

It shouldn't be hard to find. It's on the web.