Filling Nitrogen in tyres instead of Air

thanks mayankupadhyay,

iam one of the dealer in kerala filling nitrogen gas, we offer 3 months, you said 3 months no need to check pressure then also it is profitable, we can simply say

Hi Alsalam, How much do you charge for Nitrogen filling?

dear krishna,

we offer it free for those who purchase tyre or tube from us, and we offer 50% discount for our regular customers . that means we r charging below 100 for one car

I would like share my experience of N2 air and a long drive from Coimbatore to Chennai and back.

N2 is free in IOC bunk near Saibaba colony Coimbatore for regular customers. While driving to Chennai i filled Nitrogen 30psi in all wheels for my new MARUTI SX4 vxi.

Advantages:

1) The Driving was smooth and comfortable

2) Turning at speed was easy

3) Since i travelled mostly on NH, there was very less bumps

Disadvantages

1)  Could not locate any bunk in Chennai easily, to check my pressure

2)  After a long search i found a bunk serving Nitrogen and checked, where it was 5 psi more ie 35 in all tyres after driving nearly 600 km.

3)  5 point removed and the comfort also gone with. I do not know which bunk provide correct calibrated air. Out of anxiety i checked the air which i feel it not necessary.

My conclusions:

Nitrogen air with proper filling definetly gives a smooth and comfortable ride. But locating of Petrol station filling Nitrogen in new places would be a headache. Even in big cities like Chennai, people are asking WHAT IS NITROGEN AIR? Even for checking they charge Rs.10 per wheel. So it is not advisable to fill Nitrogen air if you go for long trip where you are not sure where you would the same. Other wise i fill and checkup only once in a month and there is 1 or 2 point change if driven locally.

A clarifying note on kovaipurush's experience:

A long drive can heat up tyres, and nitrogen, like any other gas, expands on heating, that results in increase in pressure. If the tyres are allowed to cool down, the pressure will revert to what it was when filled up. The nominal tyre pressures are 'cold pressures', so it is better NOT to adjust to a lower standard pressure, when you have pulled up at a filling station after a really long drive like 600 km.

After adjustment to 30 PSI, naturally, the tyres went underinflated, and what he observed with the comfort was natural.

The feel of the tyres that was explained here, was due to the correct inflation (a bit of higher pressure does help handling and makes the car feel lighter because of low rolling resistance) and not because of nitrogen as such. Equivalent air pressure will result in the same benefits.

Rest of the experience speaks for itself.

I am using nitrogen since last 6 months. Ride becomes smooth to certain extent. I have not calculated milage so far. No need to check nitrogen freequently.

Personally no difference.

Effect on tyre longevity might be another issue altogether.

Well, IMHO any improvement with nitrogen is purely imaginary. It makes no difference whether you put air, N2, O2, H2, Xenon, Argon, Radon or any other gas - fill CNG if you will and there won't be any change in the ride feel. It is the pressure that matters. For most practical purposes air is the best and cheapest option - my point is why should it be such a chore to get air topped up while one tanks up the fuel - hardly takes 5 extra minutes?

Yes with H2, O2, CNG there is a different problem all together - explosions. But my point is what's filled inside determines the tyre pressure and that determines the ride quality. Pressure does not discriminate between gases - yes you do need different amounts of gas for the same pressure - but that's because of their relative densities.

Well, the guys selling N2 do sport the advertisement that N2 does not heat much and hence reduces the chance of burst due to heat-up. How far is it true?

Also, what about the friction generated by impurities in the normal air? Wont they contribute towards the friction and hence heat generated within the tyre apart from the friction and heat between tyres and road. I guess the N2 sold is claimed to be free of such impurities. How far is this true?

Please advise.

Air is 78% nitrogen. Now to have 100% nitrogen there are 2 things: (1) Having 100% nitrogen at the filling station and (2) Getting rid of all non-N2 gases from the tyre. Now given that this is all in order to just replace the 22% non-N2 content in the tyre's "gas" (i.e., ordinary air) with N2, to me seems too much of work for too little gain. Of course those selling N2 have to wax lyrical about it - otherwise how would they get people to buy it?

Talking of friction due to normal air? Dust is the only thing that comes to mind - and this will be harmless (just settles onto the bladder's inner surface) - and no question of large sized particles getting in (as it has to be put into the storage tank first - read on).

For one there is no more friction (if at all ther is such a thing) in ordinary air that in N2 - both have to be compressed to get them into the filling station's tanks, and some filtering is needed otherwise the compressor will get damaged quickly. And with N2 there's the additional step of getting rid of non-N2 contents. Again too much for too little. If its of any help its the same air we breath that's put into the tyre.

Heat? No problem - air heats up and expands. So does any gas. 78% N2 against 100% N2 only means that the 22% non-N2 content is now missing from the equation - this does contribute to a small change in the rate at which the gas inside the tyre expands, but is of no practical consequence. If, hypothetically, air expands (and therefore pressure increases) by 5% for every 10 deg rise in temp, and N2 expands by 3% for the same temp change, it does not mean N2 is better - only that N2 will expand to the same level as air at a slightly higher tyre temperature.

And the biggest clincher of all - if N2 were so good, wouldn't manufacturers themselves recommend it? After all it is in their favour to ask people to take steps that will prolong the tyres' life and take credit for it, isn't it?