Is Nitrogen the Key to Better Fuel Economy?

A new strategy that is being talked about claims that it will save you gasoline and dollars and more. In essence it is using one kind of gas to save another kind of gas. The gas you will save is the liquid gasoline you fill your car with. The gas you use is nitrogen instead of plain old air.

Racing cars have used this strategy for a long time. Airlines have used this same strategy on their jets and planes. Even large retailers are starting to offer it to their customers.

So what exactly is this strategy? It seems to be the new rage in tires. It involves using nitrogen to inflate your tires instead of air.

Costco now is offering nitrogen fill ups for new tire customers. That is how popular this strategy has become. Why fill your tires with nitrogen? What do race car crews and airlines know that we don't?

Here is what nitrogen is supposed to do. It is supposed to keep your tires inflated at the proper level longer than air will. Apparently nitrogen seeps out of your tires at a rate reported to be three times slower than air. The logic here is that if your tires are maintained at the proper pressure for a longer period of time then you will save gas because under inflated tires increase friction and decrease fuel economy.

The proponents of nitrogen also state that aside from the fuel saving benefits there are other benefits to using nitrogen. Nitrogen supposedly runs cooler than air. Therefore your tires will run cooler and there will be less expansion in the tire. That means that your tires will require less maintenance and may experience longer life.

Less internal corrosion of the rubber and the rim are other benefits that advocates of nitrogen use explain. Because air contains oxygen it naturally begins to oxidize objects it is in contact with. The tire rim will be oxidizing or rusting when it is exposed to the air in the tire. The tire walls itself are also oxidizing and breaking down.

Filling a tire with pure nitrogen means there is no oxygen in the tire. Therefore there is no oxidation occurring. The claimed result? Your tires will last longer and be safer.

Are these claims true? Is nitrogen a wonder drug for your tires? It is certainly worth a thorough investigation. The Jury is still out on this.