Nitrogen tyre inflation explained: Pros and cons of using nitrogen in car tyres

In case you didn’t know already, the practice of inflating car tyres with nitrogen has been around for many years. Though not everyone is fond of this idea, some insist on using nitrogen for tyre inflation, especially in off-road cars and for vehicles that operate in risky environments like mines. This article goes over the various advantages and disadvantages of nitrogen in tyres.

Benefits of nitrogen-inflated car tyres

The main reasons people go for nitrogen tyre inflation are its unique benefits. Some of the advantages of nitrogen-inflated car tyres are:

1. Consistent fuel economy: Car tyres filled with nitrogen have less rolling resistance. Also, nitrogen stays in the tyres for long durations, all of which combined leads to an increased and consistent fuel economy.

2. Durability: The corrosive qualities that are present in car tyres filled with air remain absent in nitrogen-filled car tyres. This leads to no damage to the inner side of the rim, extending its durability.

3. Decreased wear and tear: While air contains water vapour, nitrogen does not. So, when your car tyre heats up, the pressure inside doesn’t alter that much due to the absence of water vapour. Also, it leads to no rusting or corrosion within the car wheel or on the tyre-pressure monitoring sensors.

4. Steady tyre pressure: The variation of car tyre pressure with temperature change is low with nitrogen, enabling it to maintain a stable tyre pressure for long durations. This is one of the main reasons why nitrogen is preferred for tyre inflation in racing, where there is frequent change in tyre pressure.

5. Eco-friendly: As per statistics, more than 300 million tyres get dumped every year and in most of them, the air is used for inflation. However, nitrogen-inflated car tyres can reduce this amount by 30%, all while minimising the carbon impact of fuel burning. This makes nitrogen-inflated car tyres a much more environment-friendly choice.

Disadvantages of nitrogen-inflated car tyres

With good things come a few bad parts and the same is the case with nitrogen-inflated car tyres. Here are some disadvantages of nitrogen in tyres:

1. Cost: While the cost of traditional car tyre inflation with air is cheap, the same can’t be said for nitrogen. The cost of inflating a single tyre with nitrogen is more than INR 500, making it very expensive.

2. Time-consumption: The time required to inflate car tyres with nitrogen is more than that of filling them traditionally. It is an extensive process, that requires multiple fill-ups and bleed outs to remove as much air as possible. However, this time can be reduced with filter equipment.

3. Unavailability: A major problem of using nitrogen for tyre inflation is its unavailability. It is not in widespread use, and not all service stations have it in their facility. You can only get this feature in a select few shops and institutions.

4. Maintenance: One of the main disadvantages of nitrogen in tyres is the maintenance that comes with it. Frequent pressure checks and timely maintenance are required for it to work optimally.

Conclusion

While there are certain disadvantages of nitrogen in tyres, it also has several benefits. It is not something that your car needs but is more of a preference. So, make sure to go through its merits and demerits and decide for yourself before opting for it.