Nitrogen Information

What is 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, more tire mileage, better fuel economy, and increased safety.

Why use Nitrogen?

More consistent tire pressure.

Reduced wheel corrosion.

Prevents inner-liner rubber deterioration due to oxidation.

Tires run cooler.

Increases tread life.

Increases fuel mileage.

Helps prevent uneven wear .

Oxygen in compressed air permeates through the wall of the tire, thus reducing the tire's inflation pressure. During it's 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, extends valve core life, and will help the tire to run cooler.

Effects of Under Inflation on Tire Wear and Fuel Use
Percentage of Under Inflation	Percentage of Wear Increase	Fuel Use Increase
10%	5%	2%
20%	16%	4%
30%	33%	6%
40%	57%	8%
50%	78%	10%

Correct inflation is highly significant when considering tire life and performance. It is not always possible to look at a tire and detect under-inflation. However, under-inflation can cause many tire-related problems.

As inflation pressure largely determines a tires load capacity, under-inflation results in an overloaded tire.

An under-inflated tire operates at high deflection, resulting in increased drag and mechanical flexing of the tire. This often leads to excessive heat buildup, and may result in catastrophic tire failure.

Experts in the tire industry indicate that oxidative aging is one of the primary causes of decreased tire life. Oxidative aging is caused by the diffusion of oxygen 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.

   Air is about 1/5 Oxygen, and oxygen, especially at high pressures and temperatures, is a very reactive element.
   When oxygen reacts with things, the process is called oxidation. When oxidation is extremely rapid, it's called "burning".
   That's one reason nitrogen is used in off-highway and aircraft tires. These tires run so hot they can actually catch on fire. Nitrogen doesn't support combustion, so nitrogen-filled tires don't add fuel to the flames. And nitrogen helps prevent slower forms of oxidation also.

Oxygen and moisture corrodes aluminum and steel wheels. Oxygen also reacts with rubber, another type of "corrosion". When this corrosion starts, the small particles break off and form rust and dust, which can clog vavle cores, causing them to leak. The rough surfaces created from the corrosive action on the wheels leads to tire beads that don't seal properly, causing additional leaks .

Oxygen also ages the inner liner, the thin layer of rubber inside the tire whose function is to keep air away from the carcass. As the inner liner ages, more and more air molecules can pass through it, causing more pressure losses. These pressure losses in a truck tire can average 2 psi a month as a result of the air passing through the sidewalls. As it passes through the rubber, the oxygen can also corrode the steel cords, causing them to rust too.

While both nitrogen and oxygen can permeate rubber, nitrogen does it much more slowly. It might take 6 months to lose 2 psi with nitrogen, compared to just a month with air. And nitrogen is far less reactive. It doesn't cause rust or corrosion on steel or aluminum, and it doesn't degrade rubber. Wheel surfaces stay smooth and clean, rubber remains supple and resilient.

Water vapor in compressed air acts as a catalyst, accelerating rust and corrosion. Water vapor also absorbs and holds heat. And when it changes from liquid to vapor, water expands tremendously in volume.

As a result, tires inflated with wet air tend to run hotter and fluctuate in pressure more. That's one of the reasons why racing tires, where fractions of a psi can radically change the handling characteristics, are inflated with dry nitrogen.

In reality, no. The Ingersoll-Rand Nitrogen Generator puts out 98% pure Nitrogen. On an uninflated tire, there is still some air present, so after you refill with nitrogen, you'll end up with about 95% nitrogen, which is enough to do the job.

That can be increased slightly by filling up the tire with nitrogen without a valve core in the valve stem, and then letting the tire delate. Then install the valve core and refill to normal pressure with the nitrogen. (purging)

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 retreaded
multiple times, with confidence and reliability.

Inflating tires with nitrogen to eliminate oxidative aging can extend tire life by up to 25%.

Increasing tire life to 337,500 miles would save $120 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.

An article from the Wall Street Journal states:

“One thing government and tire-industry officials agree on is the
importance of keeping tires properly inflated. The risks of underinflation, which stresses tires by causing their sidewalls to flex more and the air temperature inside to rise, were highlighted during congressional hearings two years ago into the Firestone tire problems. Underinflation was identified as a factor in the failure of Firestone tires.”

Wall Street Journal, September 25, 2002.

Sizing guidelines
Model	Compressor HP	Normal PSI	Ouput CFM	Input CFM	T.P.H. Passenger 30-45 psi	T.P.H. Large Truck Commercial 90 – 110 psi
		160	4	8	30	10
			8	16	60	20
			12	24	90	30
			16	32	120	40
Note: Compressor HP can be total of multiple units

Wall Street Journal
Wednesday, April 6, 2005

Agency to Order Cars be Equipped With Tire Sensors
[ by Amy Schatz ]

WASHINGTON – Acting to prevent tire failures linked to deadly rollovers of sport-utility vehicles, federal regulators will issue a final rule this week requiring all new passenger cars and trucks to have individual tire-pressure-monitoring sensors by the 2008 model year.

Tiny microchip sensors attached to each wheel will signal if any tire falls 25% below the recommended inflation pressure and trigger a dashboard warning light. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has estimated cost per vehicle to manufacturers at about $70.00.

Auto makers must begin phasing in the tire-safety devices into new models in September. All new vehicles weighing 10,000 pounds or less will be required to come equipped with them by the 2008 model year.
…

Manufacturers recognize that installing Nitrogen into tires instead of air is the most compatible solution for TPMS Systems.
"Michelin supports the use of nitrogen based on its ability to better retain air over a period of time." (Michelin Technical Bulletin Nov 2003)
"Goodyear supports the use of nitrogen, as an inflation gas, in all Goodyear, Dunlop, Kelly,
Associate Brand and Private Brand products, based on the ability for a tire to retain pressure for a longer period of time." (GoodYear Bulletin - June 14, 2004)
Nitrogen has a minimal expansion / contraction with temperature, which is ideal for TPMS systems to keep tire pressures accurate under all temperature conditions.
A great many of your customers already have these systems, and will be looking for a location that can keep their tires filled with Nitrogen. Advertise, Advertise!!
There is a huge younger customer-base out there that is technologically savvy, and they will look to purchase tires from dealers who can fill those tires with Nitrogen.