Nitrogen injection for car tires - an unnecessary trend

Nitrogen's biggest advantage is that it stabilizes tire pressure despite temperature changes, an effect that is only really useful for race cars.

Air is made up of both nitrogen and oxygen, but the two gases have different properties and they affect your tires differently.

According to MSN, the air we breathe, and the air we use to inflate our tires, is made up of 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, CO2, water vapor, and rare gases like neon and argon. Nitrogen is an inert gas that does not react with other substances, while oxygen creates water vapor, which can corrode and damage your tires.

Advantages of nitrogen gas

The main reason professional tire shops and tire companies choose nitrogen to inflate tires is because it reduces the effects of temperature changes on tire pressure. "Nitrogen is not as susceptible to temperature changes as oxygen, but our air is 78% nitrogen, so you don't get much benefit from filling it with pure nitrogen compared to regular air," said a representative of a transportation research firm in California, USA.

Nitrogen also has some advantages over regular compressed air, in that when it is pumped into a tire, nitrogen molecules are chemically larger than oxygen molecules, so nitrogen is less likely to leak through the rubber, the main culprit for flat tires. Nitrogen keeps tire pressure stable for longer periods of time, especially when temperatures fluctuate widely.

How important is it to maintain good tire pressure?

Tire pressure is key to keeping our cars grippy. Properly inflated tires keep you safe on the road, under-inflated tires are estimated to cause 10% to 25% of tire blowouts, and studies show that 42% of drivers can’t tell if their tires are under-inflated.

Keeping your tires properly inflated can also save you money. Experts say Americans waste millions of gallons of fuel every day due to underinflated tires. Plus, underinflated tires wear out faster, which means you’ll have to replace them more often.

According to VNE