What are Nitrogen Filled Tires?

What are Nitrogen Filled Tires

Nitrogen filled tires is becoming more and more popular each year. But what does it mean, and why would you want them?

Filling your tires with nitrogen has several benefits over traditional air-filled pneumatic tires. In this article, we will discuss some of those benefits and help you decide if nitrogen-filled tires are right for you!

What are Nitrogen filled tires?

Nitrogen filled tires is when you fill your tires with pure nitrogen instead of normal air. There are a number of reason why you might want to do this and we have listen them below!

What is Nitrogen?

Nitrogen is a gas that is found in the air we breathe. It is inert, meaning it doesn’t react with other substances and is becoming increasingly popular to use as tire filler.

The air we breathe contains approximately 78% nitrogen, with the remainder being around 21% Oxygen and the last 1% is made of other gases like Argon and Carbon Dioxide.

While this mix of gases is fine for us to breathe, it has properties that aren’t the most desirable in tires.

Due to the oxygen in regular air, it makes the air inside your tires more susceptible to moisture and temperature changes. Therefore some people have taken the step to replace the air in their tires with pure nitrogen instead.

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How does Nitrogen Filled tires differ from air-filled tires?

The properties of Nitrogen, being an inert gas, prevent it from deteriorating or leaking out of the tire like regular air does. When used to fill a tire, nitrogen displaces the air that was previously in there. This has several benefits over traditional air-filled tires.

As pure Nitrogen will not be affected by moisture and temperature changes, it helps keep your tire pressure more stable. Using air in your tires can lead to pressure changes in your tires which can cause them to under or over-inflate as well as cause your vehicles handling to react differently.

This is because tire pressure is a vital factor in determining how your tires interact with the road. Tires that are under or over inflated will mean that your tread pattern will be making contact with the road differently depending on what the pressure inside your tire is.

This can have profound differences in how your vehicle handles, drives around corners, as well as accelerates and brakes.

Another difference relating to nitrogen not expanding and contracting with changes in temperature like regular air, means that if you live in an area with extreme temperature changes, your tire pressure will be more consistent with nitrogen that with air. This can improve fuel efficiency and help your tires last longer.

Another difference between regular air and pure nitrogen is that nitrogen is less likely to leak out of the tire. That’s because nitrogen molecules are larger than oxygen molecules, so they escape through the tire walls at a slower rate.

Because of this, it means you won’t have to check your tire pressure as often. This can be a big time-saver, and it also means your tires will last longer.

Benefits of Nitrogen filled tires

We have seen first hand how nitrogen tire can help some people achieve a better fuel economy and longer tire life when their tires are always properly inflated with nitrogen.

Here is a list of benefits of using nitrogen instead of air to fill your tires are:

  • Nitrogen is less likely to leak out of the tire than air
  • The temperature inside a tire filled with nitrogen is more consistent than one filled with air.
  • The pressure in a nitrogen-filled tire will not fluctuate as much in hot or cold weather.
  • Due to less fluctuations in your tire pressure, it can lead to better fuel economy and needing to fill them up less often.
  • More suitable for high performance vehicles which are capable of hitting very high speeds due to its more stable properties.

If you own a high performance car, filling your tires with nitrogen instead of air is recommended if you plan to be taking it onto the racetrack, dragstrip or driving at high speeds.

The tires on a Formula one car regularly reach over 100 degrees and using air instead of nitrogen filled tires could lead to large changes in pressure and therefore unpredictable handling and results.

Should you switch to nitrogen filled tires?

Before immediately making the switch to nitrogen filled tires, there are a few things to consider.

Firstly, nitrogen is much more expensive than air. So if you’re on a budget, it might not be the best option for you.

Secondly, while nitrogen-filled tires will last longer and provide better fuel economy, they will not necessarily improve your driving experience or make your car go faster. So if you’re happy with the way your car is handling and you’re not concerned about fuel economy, then there’s no need to switch to nitrogen-filled tires.

Thirdly, if you do decide to switch to nitrogen, be aware that most tire shops do not have the equipment to fill your tires with nitrogen. So you’ll either need to find a shop that specializes in nitrogen-filled tires or buy your own nitrogen filling kit.

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Nitrogen or air : Final Verdict

Weighing the pros and cons, if you’re looking for better fuel economy and longer tire life, switching to nitrogen-filled tires might be the right choice for you. But if you’re not concerned about those things, then there’s no need to switch.

Do some research and decide what’s best for you and your car. If you’re thinking about making the switch to nitrogen-filled tires, talk to your trusted mechanic. They can help you decide if it’s the right choice for you and your vehicle! Drive safely!

We hope this article has helped to inform you about what nitrogen filled tires are and some of the benefits they offer. If you have any questions or would like to share your own experiences with nitrogen filled tires, please leave a comment below or get in touch via email or through social media and we will do our best to get back to you. Thanks for reading!

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