Nitrogen Tire Inflation

Apr 23, 2014

Inflating your tires with nitrogen provides certain benefits compared to air inflated tires.

Nitrogen is present as a component of air; it accounts for 78% followed by Oxygen at 21% and other gases at 1% and moisture being a final component of air. Nitrogen in its purest form is a naturally occurring, non flammable, dry, inert gas that can be used for tire inflation without negative environmental impacts.

Over time, air will slowly seep through the tread and sidewall of a tire, resulting in a gradual under inflation of tires, if not periodically topped up. Since a nitrogen molecule is larger than oxygen, it will not seep out as fast as it does with air inflated tires. This means that the gradual decrease in tire inflation pressure with air filled tires (approximately 1 to 2 pounds per square inch (PSI) per month) will be less for tires inflated with nitrogen.

Nitrogen inflation has another potential advantage over air. Nitrogen inflation reduces the amount of moisture, in the form of water vapour, in a tire. The presence of moisture (normally present in air) is the main reason tire inflation pressure varies with temperature. As the air in a tire heats or cools, typically inflation pressure may change by 2 PSI for every 5 degree Celsius change in temperature. This variation can normally be expected to be less for nitrogen inflated tires.

Another potential benefit of reduced levels of moisture in a nitrogen inflated tire is reduced degradation of the tire components over time, caused by oxidation. Normally, the life of a passenger tire is determined by tread wear, rather than aging of the tire, so this may not be a significant factor in many cases.

Source: http://www.fountaintire.com/tires/nitrogen

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Nitrogen Tire Inflation