Should you inflate your tyres with nitrogen instead of air? The longer your tyres keep to the recommended tyre pressure, the stronger likelihood they are going to have an improved tyre life. Traditionally tyres have always been inflated with compressed air. However people are now inflating their tyres with Nitrogen & there are several good reasons why people are doing so.
Filling car tyres with Nitrogen is becoming more and more popular throughout the UK. It has been used in Aviation and Motor racing, including Formula 1 for some years now. Our Nitrogen inflating machine will first pull a vacuum from your tyre before inflating it with pure nitrogen.
What should you know about filling your tyres with nitrogen?
- Nitrogen is inert, non-combustible and non-corrosive
- Nitrogen maintains tyre pressure longer as nitrogen molecules are larger than oxygen molecules
- Improvement to fuel economy due to maintained tyre pressures
- Protects the insides of the rim from corrosion and oxidation
- Costs £5 per tyre with free top-ups for the life of the tyre!
Cars are normally filled with compressed air which is roughly 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen & a little bit of water vapor, Co2 & small concentration of noble gases.
Most cars have a recommended tyre pressure of 31-35 PSI when the tyres are cold with an average tyre life of 3-5 years. But how much longer can inflating your tyres with pure nitrogen help improve this & what are the advantages?
One of the main advantages of having pure nitrogen inflated tyres is slower loss of tyre pressure, normally resulting in a longer lasting tyre life. This also results in less tyre wear as your car will be moving on fully inflated tyres for longer periods of time.
Another advantage of using pure nitrogen to inflate your tyres includes improved fuel consumption. This is because of a resulting more consistent tyre pressure as pure nitrogen leaks from tyres at a 40% slower rate than compressed air.
People often worry whether if you can fill your tyres with compressed air once you’ve inflated them with Nitrogen. Not to worry, if your tyre’s have been previously inflated with nitrogen & are low on pressure you can still inflate them with regular compressed air to bring up your PSI.
Although pure nitrogen filled tyres last longer than those filled with compressed air. You should still always check your tyre pressure regularly; we recommend you do this once a month. Always do this when the tyres are cold in the morning.
Although filling your tyres with compressed air filled is very cheap or sometimes even free & the cost of filling up your tyres with pure nitrogen costs more money. In the long run nitrogen can save you money because of the pure nitrogen benefits. Including longer tyre life & improved fuel consumption.
Visual inspection of your tyres may not indicate if your tyre is over or under inflated. A correctly inflated tyre will keep you safe as well ensure better fuel economy. If you are unsure how to check your tyre pressure or don’t have the tools to do so, pop down to one of our autocentres and one of the Lindleys team will be happy to assist you.
In conclusion. Depending on your vehicle & driving style, nitrogen will most likely keep your tyres in better conditions for longer periods of time. Although inflating your tyres with pure nitrogen will be more costly to inflate compared to regular compressed air. Even if your tyres are inflated with pure nitrogen, you should still regularly check your tyre pressure to make sure your tyres are safe.
