The Argument for Saving Gas Using Nitrogen

Does filling your tires with nitrogen save you gas? There is a large group of advocates who say yes. Here is why they say that.

A significant factor in poor fuel economy is under inflated tires. The EPA agency that monitors fuel usage has found that properly inflated tires can improve gas mileage by 3 percent. The EPA also estimates that 30% of the cars on the road have at least one tire under inflated.

It is estimated that drivers in the US aggregately loose more than 2 million gallons of gas every day due to under inflated tires. Decreased air pressure causes the tire to flatten which creates more surface area between the tire and the road. The greater surface area increases friction which causes the engine work harder.

When an engine has to work harder it burns more gas. More tire surface due to under inflation means it takes more power to roll that tire. More power needed means less fuel economy. A tire that is correctly inflated is going to roll more easily using less power from the engine and less gas.

What does this all have to do with nitrogen? I'm getting to that. So we have established that under inflated tires use more gas. Why do tires become under inflated? The simple answer, it looses air. That doesn't mean you have a leak.

Tires are made with permeable materials. That means that the small air molecules can escape from the tires over time. As the molecules of air escape the tire looses pressure. It is a natural occurrence for all tires. That is why it is suggested that you should check your tires once a month.

It appears that tires inflated with nitrogen loose pressure 3 times slower than tires with conventional air fills. This is because nitrogen has a higher density than oxygen. Higher density translates into larger molecules. Larger molecules will not permeate through the tire as easily as smaller molecules so nitrogen with it's larger molecules stays in the tire longer. That creates a slower loss of tire pressure over time.

Your tires will maintain themselves at close to the full pressure longer with the nitrogen because the pressure loss is so much slower. The result is properly inflated tires, with less friction, and less gasoline needed to move your car.

Of course one of the catches, (there is always a catch) is the price to fill your tires with nitrogen. It is around $40.00 for a set of 4 tires. The question is, are you going to save enough gas to offset the $40.00 investment. Nitrogen supporters say of course you will save more than enough gas. There is, however other car experts that believe for many reasons that nitrogen is not the panacea that it's supporters claim it is. Before I spend $40.00 on nitrogen, I think it would be prudent to find out why some experts won't use nitrogen. Don't run out and buy that nitrogen just yet.

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