Posted by Matthew Yu on Fri, Feb 05, 2010 @ 06:26 PM
Many vehicles on the road today have their tires inflated with the free air given away at gas stations. What they do not know is that the air they are pumping consist of 78% nitrogen, 21 % oxygen, and small amounts of other gases that release from your tires at a high rate resulting in under-inflation. If you went to a tire shop or repair facility that had a Nitrogen generator and paid to have your tires filled with pure nitrogen, being a larger molecule than oxygen, it diffuses through a tire wall 3 to 4 times slower than oxygen. Therefore, nitrogen can better retain tire pressure.
The thought of actually having to pay to fill your tires might not sound as enticing as "free" to the consumer but there are many benefits in having nitrogen in your tires.
- Better Fuel Mileage: Tires filled with air tend to deflate faster, increases rolling resistance and adds additional fuel consumption while Nitrogen inflated tires can maintain proper pressure and reduce rolling resistance. This translates into less gas mileage and less tire wear.
- Increase Safety & Reliability: Under-inflated tires are the major reasons for the blowouts and highway fatalities. Tires inflated with nitrogen can better maintain the proper tire pressure and reduce the chances of blowouts. This means less down-time and fewer service calls. More importantly, it saves lives.
- Reduce Corrosion & Increase Retreadability: Oxygen reacts chemically with inner liner, belt packages and metal rim at high temperature and pressure, forming oxides and rust. This oxidation will cause the tire materials to lose its strength and physical properties which result in premature failure. Nitrogen, on the other hand, is a completely dry and inert gas which eliminates the oxidation of the tire's rubber components and consequently extends the tire's life and the ability to retread your tires.
- Reduce Tire Pressure Monitor System (TPMS) Alarms: Nitrogen migrates through a tire slower so TPMS alarms will not go off as often and nitrogen does not contain moisture or dirt as air often does. Therefore, it cause smaller fluctuations in the pressure and removing oxygen in the tire and replacing it with pure nitrogen will prevent oxidation which can attack expensive TPMS sensors.
Not only does it benefit the customer but as a business owner the return on investment can be achieve in a minimal amount of time and the profits are endless! See below for an example of how having a Nitrogen Generator in your shop can be of an advantage to your business.
Nitrogen is beneficial to your vehicle, tires, the consumer, and the environment all built into one package!
Posted by Matthew Yu on Fri, Nov 20, 2009 @ 12:32 PM
Most late model vehicles are equipped with Tire Pressure Monitor System (TPMS) on their tires to alert drivers whenever the tire pressure(s) drop below a certain percentage. However, due to weather and climate fluctuations, these TPMS lights frequently and may create unnecessary troubles for the vehicle owner. 
Fortunately, Nitrogen inflated tires will reduce this "false" alarm (at least its frequency).
Since under-inflated tires had been posing serious threat to the vehicle safety, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) mandated all vehicles on or after MY2008 are required to be equipped with some sort of tire pressure monitor systems. While the TPMS definitely improves the safety of the vehicle by informing driver of potential loss of tire pressure, some TPMS systems may be so sensitive that they trigger the warning lights (typically 10% under-inflated levels) on the dashboard so easily. These TPMS triggers are usually caused by the temperature swing during the day. According to Get Nitrogen Institute, for approximately every 10 degree change in ambient temperature (+ or -), the pressure (in psi) will be affected about 2%. Simply speaking, if a tire is filled to 32 psi at 75 F and temperature drops 30 F (not uncommon in some areas), the tire pressure will drop to 30 psi, a difference of 2 psi. Since air is expected to leak out to atmosphere from the tire over time, it is not hard to imagine TPMS can present a problem for the driver.
Since Nitrogen migrates through a tire 3-4 times slower than regular air, TPMS alarms will not go off as often. Secondly, Nitrogen is a dry gas which does not contain moisture or dirt like air often does, so tire pressure remain relatively consistent. In addition, Nitrogen is less reactive than oxygen (in air) chemically. Removing oxygen prevents the oxidation (with the presence of moisture and dirt) which can attack expensive TPMS sensors. 
Coupled with other benefits like better tire pressure retention, improving fuel economy, enhanced safety, longer tire life, better vehicle handling and better environment, Nitrogen should be used for all vehicles equipped with TPMS.