Nitrogen

Nitrogen in tires is becoming a popular replacement for standard air. Nitrogen is all around us... the air we breathe is 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and the rest is small amounts of other gasses. When it comes to tire inflation, nitrogen has many advantages over oxygen. With nitrogen tire inflation, improvements can be noted in a vehicle's handling, fuel efficiency and tire life through better tire pressure retention, improved fuel economy and cooler running tire temperatures.

NASCAR race car's, Commercial aircraft, military aircraft, fleet vehicles, Formula 1 cars, NASA Space shuttle, and military vehicles have used Nitrogen in their tires for years. They depend on Nitrogen for consistent tire pressure, cooler running tires, and increased safety from auto-ignition.

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.

Using Nitrogen you can expect more consistent tire pressure, reduced wheel corrosion, prevention of inner-liner rubber deterioration due to oxidation, tires running cooler, increases in tread life, increases in fuel mileage and also prevention of uneven wear.

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.

• Better Fuel Economy
  Up to 6% increase in fuel mileage. With the gas prices rising everyday, it hardly needs to be mentioned that any fuel savings increase is a major selling point for Nitrogen. For Fleet owners, it simply means more money in the pocket in OTR miles.
• Longer Tire Life
  Up to 30% longer tire life. This is an extremely important consideration for the consumer, it takes about 7 gallons of oil to make one average passenger car tire, 15 gallons for a Fleet tire, and with the price of oil approaching $60.00 / barrel, the cost of replacement tires will rise with the cost of oil. For Fleet owners, Nitrogen will keep the inner liner supple and flexible over the 200,000+ miles you put on these long-haul tires, which keeps it from cracking and leaking.
• No internal Wheel Corrosion
  Nitrogen filled tires contain no moisture that corrodes popular, and expensive, custom alloy and aluminum wheels that results in rim leaks and valve stem leaks. In Fleet tires, this steel corrosion cause dust which gets into the valve core mechanism and causes leaks.
• Improved Safety
  Reduces internal tire integrity decomposition. With more consistent tire pressure, tires will not overheat and cause premature tire failure. Filling with Nitrogen will drastically reduce the risk of low tire pressure, which can cause vehicle rollover accidents in SUV's. In Fleet tires, a catastophic tire failure can result in an explosion and fire from the excessive heat and presence of oxygen in the tire, which supports combustion. Nitrogen is an inert gas, and does not support combustion.
• Consistent Tire Pressure for TPMS Systems
  All passenger vehicles will be required to have on-board TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems) by 2008. Standard air-filled tires have been proven to cause excessive TPMS alarms, due to the rapid expansive properties of moisture-filled air. Using Nitrogen in tires monitored with TPMS systems will result in even tire pressure, and drastically reduce these annoying alarms.
• For Fleets, Nitrogen eliminates "clumping", a problem associated with tire balancing powders.
  Tire balancing powders have a common problem when moisture is present in the tires of large trucks. This moisture collects on the many irregular surfaces of the powder granules and due to surface tension, causes these granules to stick together, and form a "clump", which destroys the balancing effectiveness. Nitrogen eliminates any moisture, and as a result, the balancing powder stays dry, and effective. This is especially important for truckers in the Northern latitudes, where below-freezing temperatures will freeze this "clump" into a solid mass which can damage the inner liner as it flies around inside.

1. Is Nitrogen explosive?
   No! In fact, nitrogen is very inert and extremely safe. Nitrogen is the most commonly used chemical in the USA. It is used for storing and packaging of snack foods, coffee, and other food items. It does not support combustion, which is why it's used in race cars and aircraft tires.
2. Is there any nitrogen bottles to dispose of?
   No! All the Nitrogen is extracted from the air we breathe, which is about 78.1% nitrogen to begin with. There are no nitrogen cannisters, bottles, or cylinders to worry about.
3. Will Nitrogen improve the tire pressure monitoring system on my vehicle?
   Yes! Nitrogen will help maintain proper inflation in your tires and reduce the number of faults detected by the TPMS.
4. Do I still need to check tire pressure?
   Yes. But, you will find the tire pressure to be more consistent over temperature changes.
5. What about my spare tire?
   You should certainly inflate your spare with nitrogen to help maintain proper inflation when it comes time you need to use it. Because of the slower air pressure loss of nitrogen through the sidewalls, your spare is more likely to be at proper pressure over a long time than if it was filled with regular air.
6. What do I do if I have to add air?
   No problem at all. The small amount of air you may add at some point will still be a very small percentage of the total mixture of air/nitrogen in the tire. Fill a slow leaking tire with air, and when you get back to Bloomington Chrysler Jeep Dodge, we will purge and refill the tire with Nirogen once the leak has been repaired.