Is it worth inflating tyres with nitrogen?

From Top 10 Motor we are going to reflect on the advantages and disadvantages of inflating tyres with nitrogen

As you know, there are two gases used when inflating the wheels: nitrogen or air. Nitrogen has been an element that, since aeronautics and motor racing, has been resorted to, while for commercial motoring the use of air has been preferred.

Little by little, specialist tyre workshops have incorporated machines for inflating tyres with nitrogen, in addition to the usual air ones.

The fundamental difference, for the user of a passenger car or even a van or lorry, is that the price for inflating wheels with nitrogen is more expensive than with air. Now, what advantages does inflating tyres with nitrogen have instead of with the air that surrounds us?

Benefits of inflating tyres with nitrogen

To begin with, let us go over the fact that the air around us is a mixture of different gases such as carbon dioxide, water vapour, hydrogen, noble gases such as methane, helium or neon; oxygen and, surprisingly, mostly with 78% of its composition, nitrogen.

On the other hand, thanks to its internal structure, nitrogen is a gas that under normal conditions forms diatomic molecules, molecules larger than those that make up the elements of the air. This entails a series of qualities that provide benefits when inflating tyres with nitrogen.

Thanks to its larger structural size, inflating wheels with nitrogen prevents the gas from leaking out of the tyres as happens with air. Gradually, wheels lose air through leaks, pores or, in the worst case, cracks, some of them practically invisible to the eye. Nitrogen has difficulty escaping through those points where air can indeed escape.

Likewise, we know that nitrogen is a gas that is practically unchanged in its form at ambient temperature. This helps so that, either in times of low temperatures or, conversely, the greater the heat the tyres suffer, having inflated the wheels with nitrogen helps to maintain a constant pressure inside them. Air reacts by compressing in cases of low temperature or expanding as the degrees rise. This leads us to another point.

In cases of high temperatures, wheels inflated with nitrogen are less prone to, or rather, it is unlikely that they will suffer a blowout due to excessive temperature of the gas in the tyres.

It is true that it is easier to suffer a blowout on a wheel due to running over a harmful element on the road or due to the poor condition of the tyre itself than due to overheating of the air, but with nitrogen that situation is unlikely to occur.

For this reason, inflating wheels with nitrogen also helps to protect their preservation. Since it prevents the drop in internal pressure or sudden changes in shape, which can cause irregular tyre wear.

This inadequate gas pressure not only affects the condition of the tyres but also directly influences their earlier deterioration. Furthermore, a tyre in poor condition or with a pressure lower than recommended is a factor that increases the car’s fuel consumption. Therefore, although, a priori, the only disadvantage of inflating wheels with nitrogen is the price difference, which we will address below, in the long run, using nitrogen can help preserve the tyre, avoid wasting fuel and avoid problems with tyres and the new MOT.

Drawbacks of inflating tyres with nitrogen

Now, what are the disadvantages of inflating wheels with nitrogen instead of air?

Fundamentally in the very act of inflating tyres with nitrogen.

Many of us have portable inflators; even, if necessary, a domestic one for balls or bicycles can get you out of a jam. Furthermore, as you know, the vast majority of service stations have machines that supply air to inflate wheels.

Another issue that tangentially arises is the upward trend of charging for its use. This may also be a disadvantage of inflating wheels with air. Mechanical workshops also have machines that fill tyres with air, but where can you inflate wheels with air?

Generally, at specialist tyre workshops. Only there. Although it is true that one of the advantages of inflating wheels with nitrogen is that the internal pressure is more stable, if you need to supply gas, you would have to turn, in the first instance, to a specialist who had nitrogen.

The price for inflating a tyre with nitrogen varies depending on the workshop, but the cost per wheel is between 3 and 5 euros.

If you cannot find it, you can inflate a wheel containing nitrogen with air, for the simple reason that, as we said at the beginning, air contains more than three quarters nitrogen. Filling a wheel containing nitrogen with air would only mean a loss of the purity of the nitrogen, and of its qualities, to the detriment of the benefits we have indicated regarding the use of nitrogen in tyres.

Recommendations for inflating wheels with nitrogen

You have to bear in mind that, even having inflated the wheels with nitrogen, you must check the pressure regularly. It is recommended to do so every 1,000 km travelled or once a month.

With the same pressure in the tyre, whether with air or nitrogen, the quality of rolling does not improve. Having nitrogen is more stable in the long run, but the use of one gas or the other does not provide any direct benefit to driving.

For this very reason, visual inspections of the condition of the wheels should not be neglected. Other factors such as misalignment, camber, sudden braking, impacts to the tyres, etc. can cause tyres to have defects even with adequate pressure.