Nitrogen Vs. Air in Car Tyres: Which One Offers More Benefits?

Key Highlights:

• Using nitrogen in tyres offers benefits such as slower pressure loss, lower heat build-up and stability during pressure fluctuations.
• Using regular air in car tyres is more widely available, requiring less complicated and more affordable machinery for refilling.
• While regular air is more suitable for shorter commutes within the city, nitrogen offers more advantages for long drives.

Pros and Cons of Using Nitrogen for Car Tyres

Pros

• Compared to oxygen molecules, nitrogen molecules are larger, which means it doesn't seep out easily, resulting in slower pressure loss. It helps car tyres to maintain pressure levels for longer durations.
• Since there is almost negligible oxygen level, there are much lower chances of corrosion on the steel wheels of a car, in case you are using nitrogen. Due to reduced oxygen or moisture content, pressure fluctuations also reduce.
• Using nitrogen results in more consistent inflation, especially while driving at higher speeds or with higher loads. This phenomenon makes it more suitable for high-performance cars.
• The slower heat buildup properties of nitrogen over regular air reduce tyre wear and increase its life.

Cons

• Compared to regular air, filling car tyres with nitrogen is an expensive affair, which usually costs ₹30 to ₹70, almost two to three times more than the former.
• Nitrogen isn’t as widely available as regular air in India, so to fill car tyres with nitrogen, one has to visit fuel stations (not all of them) and specialised workshops.
• Filling nitrogen in your car tyres has no significant improvement in overall performance and efficiency of the car.
• If you mix regular air with nitrogen, the effectiveness of nitrogen's properties also drastically reduces.

Pros and Cons of Using Regular Air in Car Tyres

Pros

• Unlike nitrogen, which is available only at some fuel stations and specialised workshops, regular air has more widespread availability, with basic tyre repair shops present in much greater numbers.
• With a much simpler compressor setup compared to that of nitrogen, refilling regular air in car tyres is a much more economical solution.
• If you are using your car only for daily commutes, maintaining pressure levels with regular air provides almost the same levels of safety and performance as nitrogen.

Cons

• The most noteworthy advantage of using nitrogen is also the biggest disadvantage of filling regular air in car tyres. Due to the relatively smaller size of oxygen molecules, regular air seeps out at a faster rate than nitrogen, thus requiring a more frequent refilling process.
• With almost 21 per cent oxygen present in regular air, the moisture formed can cause gradual corrosion of steel wheels.
• While driving at higher speeds or with heavier loads, pressure variations in car tyres are much more noticeable if they have regular air instead of nitrogen, which is more evident while driving on highways.

Nitrogen Vs. Air: Which is More Beneficial?

To sum it up, both regular air and nitrogen offer distinct benefits, each with its own set of pros and cons that are manageable. In either case, tyre condition and regular maintenance remain essential and should never be overlooked.

Nitrogen for car tyres has almost 95-99 per cent nitrogen, with minute quantities of oxygen and moisture. On the contrary, similar to the air we breathe, regular air for car tyres also includes 78 per cent nitrogen, 21 per cent oxygen, a small quantity of water vapour and a few other gases.

With a higher quantity of oxygen and moisture, regular air is more suitable for areas with moderate temperatures and for those car owners who drive their car only for city commutes and short runs. However, nitrogen is a more viable option for those who drive their vehicles extensively, including highway runs and live in regions with extreme temperatures, as it seeps out much more slowly than regular air.

FAQs

1. Which is better for a car, air or nitrogen?
   Both regular air and nitrogen are suitable for cars, but they are beneficial for different sets of buyers. While regular air is more beneficial for car owners who do only city driving and live in regions with moderate temperatures, nitrogen yields better results for car owners with high mileage and highway runs and live in areas with extreme temperatures.
   
2. Is nitrogen better than air?
   Nitrogen has better attributes than regular air in some parameters, including maintaining air pressure for longer intervals and maintaining inflation even during high-speed driving and extreme temperatures.
   
3. Can we mix air and nitrogen in a car tyre?
   While you can mix nitrogen and air in a car tyre, you should be aware of the fact that mixing both can eliminate the benefits that are exclusive to using only nitrogen.