I've heard about filling your tyres with nitrogen could help you to reduce fuel comsuption, is this true?

Answer 1

Gassing up your car is about to take on a new meaning.

Fill your tires with pure nitrogen and you'll get better gas mileage, advocates of the practice say. Your tires will be safer, and they'll last longer.

A colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that makes up about 78 percent of the Earth's atmosphere, nitrogen could cost you as much as $10 a tire. But what you save on gas, tire replacement and peace of mind will make up the difference, according to the pitch.

Already, retailers like Costco and Olin Mott stores offer nitrogen, and Pep Boys has test-marketed it.

Starting Saturday, buyers of all new cars sold at select Crown dealerships in the Tampa Bay area will find their tires filled with nitrogen. Eventually, all 13 dealerships will offer it.

The thinking is that nitrogen's larger molecules prevent it from seeping out of a tire as quickly as air. So inflating tires with nearly pure nitrogen - which has been done for years in race cars, commercial airliners and long-distance trucks - allows them to retain correct pressure longer.

Pressure is vital because a properly inflated tire is a safer, more efficient tire. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says most drivers can improve gas mileage by nearly 3 percent by keeping their vehicle tires within the recommended pressure range. The government also estimates the nation loses more than 2 million gallons of gas every day due to underinflated tires.

Enter nitrogen. Chemical No. 7 on your periodic chart of the elements. At anywhere from $2 to $10 per tire.

Besides attracting customers and addressing safety concerns, it's a way to fight inflation. Or rather, the lack of it, said Jim Myers, Crown's chief operating officer.

"The whole theory is that air bleeds through the tire slowly," Myers said. "And if someone isn't diligent, any tire will lose air over time. But because of nitrogen's properties, that doesn't happen as quickly."

Myers said Crown will also offer to replace air with nitrogen on any vehicle for $39.

What happens if tire pressure drops and the driver is not near a garage or tire store that sells nitrogen?

Topping off with compressed air won't hurt, tire experts say, and the tire can be purged and refilled with nitrogen later.

So should motorists feel ... pressured to put nitrogen in their tires?

"It sounds like it has mostly positive points," said Randy Bly, director of community relations for AAA Auto Club South in Tampa. "Nitrogen helps keep tires cooler under open highway conditions, and it's less likely to leak out, so that would help with fuel mileage.

"The only negative would be the cost. But it may well be worth it."

Nitrogen-filled tires stay inflated about three times as long as than air-filled tires, advocates say, and while a typical tire inflated with compressed air might lose 2.7 pounds of pressure monthly, one filled with nitrogen loses 0.7 pound.

But Jim Davis, public relations manager for Goodyear Tire and Rubber, says replacing air with nitrogen is "a tough call."

"The objective is to have the correct air pressure," Davis said. "And over time, minute amounts of air do leak out.

"There is no harm to the tire from using regular air. But we urge people to check their tires monthly."

What happens, Davis said, is that decreased air pressure flattens a tire, creating more surface area between the tire and the road. That added friction can make the engine work harder and cause tires to overheat, possibly leading to a blowout.

"More tire surface means it takes more power to roll that tire," Davis said. "A correctly inflated tire is going to roll more easily."

Checking tires for correct pressure also has a side benefit.

"When you're down there, look at the tires," Davis said. "You may notice a nail or tread that is wearing abnormally, and you can catch it before the problem becomes worse."

At least one tire manufacturer is even more skeptical about the advantages of nitrogen in the family car.

Michelin officials recommend nitrogen only for tires used "in a high risk environment and/or when the user wants to reduce the consequences of a potential abnormal overheating of the tire-wheel assembly (for example in some aircraft applications)," according to a company statement.

But for all other tires in normal use, nitrogen "is not required and does not necessarily bring the expected benefit.

"It is true that the physical properties of nitrogen reduce the pressure loss due to the natural permeability of the materials of the tire and thus the broad use of nitrogen will in general assist motorists with pressure maintenance.

"Nevertheless, the existence of several other possible sources of leaks (tire/rim interface, valve, valve/rim interface and the wheel) prevents the guarantee of better pressure maintenance for individuals using nitrogen inflation."

So we can save the expense if we just check our tires regularly.

The trouble is, we don't.

As recently as two years ago, government and tire industry surveys showed close to 30 percent of cars, vans, pickups and SUVs on the road had at least one tire that was substantially underinflated, at least 8 psi below the recommended minimum pressure.

But high gas prices and consumer education may be cutting into that number. According to a survey by Uniroyal Tire in mid August, nearly 50 percent of Americans said they are now checking the air pressure in their tires once a month.

Still, that leaves millions of unchecked tires.

"Most people don't take care of their tires on a regular basis," said Dave Zielasko, editor and publisher of Tire Business , an Akron, Ohio, trade publication. "Tires are one of the most underappreciated part of the vehicle. People take them for granted. But the reality is they do need to be checked.

"Remember, it's the only part of the vehicle that touches the road."

Answer 2

It would have no effect on fuel mileage. 32psi of nitrogen is the same as 32 psi air
Where it could make a difference is that the nitrogen is not effected by changes in temperature. Pressure is more consistent.
Nitrogen is denser than air. It will not leak out of the pores of the rubber. Will not lose pressure as fast as air.
Simply checking your tire pressure regularly would have the same effect.
Nitrogen is an inert gas. It is non flammable, non combustible, non explosive. It will not cause your tires to explode.

Answer 3

Sarah Dear, it's Nitrogen not Hydrogen.

Nitrogen just protects the tyre from aging (oxygen from air contributes to this). It has nothing to do with the fuel consumption of the vehicle. Tire pressure does though.

Answer 4

Yes it is absolutely true. Nitrogen is an "inert" gas and it doesn't react to rubber. This allows tires to maintain proper pressure longer; and run cooler, minimizing the possibility of blowouts.

Some/most airlines use Nitrogen in their tires, and so do quite a bit of auto racing entities.

At some locations they will cap your valve stem with a green cap instead of the normal black to signify they are filled with Nitrogen.

Answer 5

No, all nitrogen will do is maintain your tire pressures better. In fact, because there is no moisture in nitrogen, the tires will not increase in pressure as they heat up and a tire with higher pressure will reduce fuel consumption. The reason they use nitrogen on race car tires is for better pressure control. Aircraft use nitrogen in the tires so they won't loose pressure at higher altitudes.

Answer 6

It's crap. When you fill your tires, you fill them to a certain amount of air pressure (e.g. 55 psi-pounds per square inch). So if you fill the tires with 55 psi of oxygen, or 55 psi of nitrogen, you are still filling it with the same amount of pressure, creating the same amount of weight.
Also, how expensive is nitrogen? If you buy a large bottle of it for say,,, $100, you now have spent $100. Any difference it makes is going to be measured in pennies, not dollars, so you will probably never make up the $100 bottle cost. I have an air compressor that I bought for $30, and it will fill up my car tires until it dies.

Answer 7

You can fill your tires up with nitrogen. My nephew works at a tire store that offers that, but they do tell their customers the dangers of having nitrogen over regular air put into the tires. Chances are if you hit a pot hole with regular air, your tires have a better survival rate.

Answer 8

This is quite costly so you wouldn't do it as a fuel saving device.

Nitrogen helps to keep tyres cool and therefore the pressures more constant and it reduces tyre wear.

Jules, automotive lecturer. Australia.

Answer 9

Nitrogen is an inert gas. It will not blow up, but it does displace oxygen!! If you are not familiar with it, don't use it. One breath of nitrogen will displace all the oxygen in your lungs and you will cease to breathe!!!! You will not cough, you just won't breathe and you will die.

EMERGENCY OVERVIEW: Nitrogen is a colorless, odorless gas. The main health hazard associated with overexposure of this gas is asphyxiation, by displacement of oxygen. This gas presents no hazard of flammability

Answer 10

Sounds positively dangerous!
No don't do it.
Think U'll find it's a pie-in-the-sky idea.
Nice idea, but doubt it'll work.
But Nitrous Oxide is funny. Aka Laughing gas

Answer 11

Yes, but very slightly. It probaably won't save you any money, though, unless you can get the nitrogen for free.