Nitrogen Inflation

• Extends tire life by up to 25%
• Improves fuel efficiency by up to 3.3%
• Provides more consistent tire pressure
• Prevents auto-ignition of tires
• Eliminates rim corrosion
• Results in tires operating at lower temperature

Why Use Nitrogen?

Nitrogen is a dry, inert gas used to inflate airplane tires, off-road truck tires, military vehicle tires, and race car tires for improved performance. Oxygen in compressed air permeates through the wall of the tire, thus reducing the tire's inflation pressure. During its journey through the tire wall, oxygen oxidizes the rubber compounds in the tire, causing under-inflation and deterioration of the rubber. Dry nitrogen will maintain proper inflation pressure and will prevent auto-ignition, will not corrode rims, and will help the tire to run cooler. The result is increased safety and reduced operating cost.

Improved Tire Life

Nitrogen will help to extend tire life by reducing premature failure of the tire. The causes of premature tire failure which are affected by oxygen include:

• Rubber deterioration by oxidation
• Rim corrosion
• Under-inflation
• Overheating
• Pressure increase due to heat build up
• Uneven wear due to improper inflation

Experts in the tire industry indicate that oxidative aging is one of the primary causes of limited tire life. Oxidative aging is caused by the diffusion of air from the pressurized air cavity of the tire to the outside atmosphere. Tests have shown that if tires are inflated with nitrogen, there is a significant reduction in tire failure.

Reduced Operating Cost

Tires are one of the primary costs of operating a fleet of vehicles. Tire costs include procurement, maintenance and the cost of blowouts. A typical truck tire with two retreads costs $480.00 and lasts approximately 270,000 miles. Inflating tires with nitrogen will help to prevent premature casing failure and allow tires to be retread multiple times, with confidence and reliability. Inflating tires with nitrogen to eliminate oxidative aging might extend tire life by up to 25%. Increasing tire life to 337,500 miles would save $12 per tire. A fleet with 50 trucks and 900 wheel positions would save over $100,000 in tire cost by inflating with nitrogen.

The primary cost of maintaining tires is the cost of labor to check tire pressures and top off tires with compressed air on a periodic basis. Tire pressure must be checked and the tires topped off due to the diffusion of air through the tire. Tires filled with nitrogen will not experience this diffusion and resulting loss of pressure. Tires filled with nitrogen maintain pressure for a much longer period of time than tires filled with air. If a truck fleet conducts preventative maintenance on 5 trucks per day and presently spends 30 minutes per truck topping off tires, they could realize savings of $31,250 per year based on a labor rate of $50 per hour and 250 work days per year, by inflating tires with nitrogen.

Enhanced Safety for Vehicles

The most significant benefit of filling tires with nitrogen on automobiles is enhanced safety. Underinflation of tires due to the diffusion of air through the tire was identified as a significant cause of recent tire failures. In fact, the TREAD Act recently passed by the US Congress requires the National Highway and Transportation Safety Agency (NHTSA) to develop an on board warning of low tire pressure in all automobiles.