Inflating Tires with Nitrogen vs. Air
by DAVID MELLON
Does inflating tires with nitrogen vs. air make sense?
When considering filling your tires with Nitrogen vs. air there are a number of factors that should be considered. Safety, fuel economy, cost, Nitrogen availability, and the cost of your time.
Nitrogen advocate claims:
-Filling your tires with pure nitrogen and you'll get better gas mileage, your tires will be safer, and they'll last longer.
-The Nitrogen fill up and maintenance fill costs will be recovered from fuel savings and tire longevity
The Nitrogen Cost:
The average Nitrogen fill or top off is $7 per tire or $28 per vehicle. Keep in mind this cost will be occurring each time you buy tires and also when you have your tire pressure adjusted such as during service or when your find your tire pressure low
The Nitrogen fleet cost perspective:
ABC Company has a fleet of 500 units.
Assume vehicles are being serviced every 3000 miles
ABC company vehicles average 21,000 miles per year
That would be 7 services a year where air would be checked or topped off (or NITROGEN)
The average Nitrogen fill or top off is $7 per tire or $28 per vehicle
Total cost $98,000 per year for a nitrogen fill.
The Nitrogen time factor:
If you were to decide there is a benefit in using Nitrogen vs. air you will need to ensure you visit only vendors that have nitrogen fill capability and in the event you had an emergency road service or air fill in an area that nitrogen is not available you will need to have this corrected at a later time in another location to benefit from your nitrogen fill program.
So does Nitrogen really make sense?
Let��s look at safety for a moment. Running your vehicle with the correct air pressure as identified on your vehicles data plate is very important. Low air pressure will negatively effect handling, create tire friction and heat causing a higher failure probability and also a high rolling resistance creating a reduction in fuel efficiency. The benefits of Nitrogen do address these issues however is it the right way?
