Gassing on About Nitrogen

In the UK the implementation of nitrogen inflation is still a relatively new topic. But when ATS Euromaster began a nitrogen inflation trial at 25 of its UK outlets earlier this year, it stirred interest about the subject within the market.

The major selling point behind nitrogen inflation is that the gas does not leak through tyre materials as air does. And so in theory, nitrogen-filled tyres can maintain pressure indefinitely. This leads on to a series of consequential benefits that are likely to appeal to consumers.

After more than two months of trialling the system ATS Euromaster is still to make a decision as to whether or not nitrogen will be take up permanently. And although all the company’s ‘guinea pigs’ were standard consumers, ATSE also reports that it has received a number of enquiries from fleets and has reportedly said that it is keen to implement this for major leasing companies.

As mentioned above, the main benefit of using nitrogen is that it maintains pressure better than oxygen based air. Some estimates state that oxygen permeates through the wall of a tyre 30 – 40 per cent faster than nitrogen. On top of this tyres that are inflated with nitrogen run at lower temperatures than standard tyres.

This means that consumers can achieve the full potential from their tyres’ road holding and handling characteristics and help prevent heat build up. And as we know these two factors (running at the wrong pressure and too high a temperature) are the most common explanations behind additional tyre wear.

Then there are the knock-on effects on fuel consumption. If a vehicle’s fuel bill is £3500 a year it runs on tyres that are 20 per cent under inflated throughout the course of a year then fuel costs could rise by £60 per year. Leigh Stote, business development manager at Pneu-Air, one of the companies involved in the ATS Euromaster trial said: “Our Uniflate tyre installation will reduce tyre wear and increase tyre life by up to 25 per cent while improvements to miles per gallon figures will improve by 2 per cent.”

Another pleasant side effect of using this system is that nitrogen is completely dry. For years the engineers at high profile racing series, like Formula 1, have been using nitrogen in their tyres. For them the problem was that the level of humidity in the air at the Malaysian Grand Prix is wildly different to Monaco. And in order to consistently maintain optimum tyre pressure ‘dry’ inflation is necessary. While the average consumer may not notice the small fluctuations that motorsport teams monitor, they probably will be pleased to find out that having ‘dry’ gas inside their tyres could also help to prevent wheel corrosion. And this in turn helps prevent pressure loss where the corroded rim meets the bead.

However, consumer benefits aside, perhaps the main reason why the trade is interested in implementing this system is because of the marketing potential. Nitrogen filled tyres cannot be topped up with air. So, for a relatively small outlay, dealers can ensure that consumers have to return to an outlet to refill their tyres.

For example, Merityre dealers offer nitrogen inflation to customers for just £1.53 per tyre, packaging it with a lifetime of free pressure checks and top-ups, if they are required. The chances of attaining return business are greatly increased by recommending that the spare is included in any changeover to nitrogen.

But Where Can I Get the Machinery?

At this point you may be thinking: ‘That’s all well and good, but where do I get the necessary equipment from?’ Look no further. In its trial ATS Euromaster sourced its equipment through three company’s Pneu-Air, Parkers and Tyresafety. However there is another company that claims to have the solution and actively encourages garages to “forget about refilling cylinders.”

The NitroRide system is marketed in the UK by JIA Sources International. When Tyres & Accessories caught with JIA director, William Mitchell he was positive about the future of Nitrogen inflation in the UK. “In certain countries nitrogen is already the standard and these countries are more aware of the benefits of having the correct tyres pressure,” say Mr Mitchell pointing of that his company is the number distributor of nitrogen inflation systems in Asia. And what’s more, he is after Europe next.

The reason JIA is so bold with its “forget about cylinders” slogan is because its system simply extracts its nitrogen out of the air we breathe. And of course this means that as long as there is air there is nitrogen.