27
Feb
In its pure form nitrogen has been used primarily because it doesnt support moisture or combustion. On the other hand a nitrogen-filled tire isnt 100 percent pure.
Underover-inflated tires are more difficult to handle and increase.
Nitrogen versus air in tires. Nitrogen molecules are larger and slower moving than those of compressed air. Because of this nitrogen wont seep out of your tires as quickly as air will helping to maintain proper pressure for a longer period of time. The benefits of proper tire pressure are numerous.
Keeping the correct air pressure in your tires helps them last longer helps your car handle better and could even help maximize your fuel economy. Underover-inflated tires are more difficult to handle and increase. Although many tire shops might tell you nitrogen-filled tires maintain better fuel economy than regular air there simply isnt any evidence to support this claim.
According to the EPA the major contributing factor to reduced fuel economy with tires is air pressure. As noted above nitrogen offers a slight advantage in that category. Which is Best for Your Tires.
Big advantage for air. Air for tire inflation is almost universally available at a reasonable cost. Maintaining tire pressure over time.
Small advantage for nitrogen. All tires have microscopic pores through which any. Using Nitrogen in Tires.
So why is nitrogen used. In its pure form nitrogen has been used primarily because it doesnt support moisture or combustion. Nitrogen is an inert non-flammable gas basically nothing more than dry air with oxygen removed.
In fact ambient air contains about 78 nitrogen 21 oxygen and 1 miscellaneous gas. The most common way to determine if your tires have compressed air or nitrogen is by the color of your tires valve caps. A nitrogen-filled tire will likely have a green-colored valve cap or include an N2 emblem.
A typical air-filled tire will have the more traditional black or chrome valve cap. Traditionally car tires have been filled with compressed air. Air is 78 percent nitrogen and just under 21 percent oxygen and the rest is water vapor CO2 and small concentrations of noble gases.
Nitrogen on the other hand is a much drier substance and doesnt summon as much moisture as regular air when compressed into a tire. Because nitrogen-filled tires dont have as much moisture. The NHTSA study also found that regular air escapes tires at a higher rate than pure nitrogen.
The government agency concluded that using nitrogen does reduce tire degradation by limiting. The air is already 78-80 nitrogen although it has to be at least 93 in a tire to call it nitrogen-filled. Well there is no risk in mixing nitrogen and air in tires.
You can pump air in nitrogen tires and vice versa. On the other hand a nitrogen-filled tire isnt 100 percent pure. About 93 to 95 percent of whats inside is nitrogen but the rest is air.
Ordinary air is 78 percent nitrogen so the difference. Air in Tires Cost Differences. Nitrogen tire inflation typically costs more than inflating your tires with air.
When you use standard air-filled tires youll want to check your air pressure at least twice. If your tire. Whether or not thats true for you depends on a number of factors.
Consider that the air we breathe is 78 percent nitrogen and a nitrogen-filled tire is about 93 to 95 percent nitrogen. The composition of air thats usually used to inflate tires is roughly 78 nitrogen 21 oxygen and 1 miscellaneous gases. While the majority of this normal air is nitrogen there is still a decent amount of oxygen which is much less desirable when it comes to inflating tires.
The air we breathe is made up of 78 percent nitrogen 21 percent oxygen and a few other elements. In order to get the desired benefits for tires the nitrogen used needs to be at least 93 percent. Air is 78 nitrogen and 21 oxygen with the remainder being trace gases.
Oxygen can retain moisture inside your tires and eventually can oxidize the internal tire wall casing causing premature tire aging. In extreme cases the moisture can even cause the tires steel reinforcing belts to rust. You may have to pay as much as 10 per tire to put pure nitrogen 95 percent or better in your tires whereas you can get regular air for free or maybe 1.
Heres a quick a breakdown of the advantages and disadvantages of each.