Nitrogen filled tires more efficient than oxygen filled ones

Washington, July 14 : A US based company has developed a technology that takes tire efficiency one step further, providing a product to fill your tires with nitrogen instead of oxygen.

People are nowadays buying fuel-efficient cars, taking less road trips, anything to reduce money spent on gas.

But one of the real culprits may be under-inflated tires, which can decrease gas mileage up to 10 percent.

Now, according to a report in Live Science, GoNitroTire, a Tennesse-based company, has developed two products to fill cars' tires with nitrogen.

The first product is the "UltraFill 99+ system", which allows vehicle owners to replace the oxygen in their tires with up to 95 percent nitrogen.

The second is the TireXtender aerosol top-off product for refilling tires with nitrogen when they lose pressure. This technology is currently utilized by both NASCAR and the airline industry for their tires.

According to GoNitroTire Founder Ken Lawton, "I had been aware that NASCAR was using nitrogen in its car tires."

"After a little investigation, I learned that fleet groups were also taking advantage, and I wondered why consumers were not aware of it. GoNitroTire started to help with the transition from these specialized groups to consumers," he added.

There has been some debate about whether nitrogen powered tires will improve gas mileage.

However, GoNitroTire Founder Ken Lawton points out several other benefits of tires filled with nitrogen:

First of all, nitrogen makes up almost 80 percent of our air, making it a naturally-occurring element that we're exposed to every day.

Because it is a dry gas, nitrogen is more stable than oxygen and will cause less leaks and rust.

Also, nitrogen lasts longer in your tires (up to six months without a top-off), allowing you more leeway with tire pressure.

There's the additional fact that one can expect up to 30 percent better tire wear if they are properly inflated with nitrogen, meaning less tires to dispose of.

Nitrogen can also be used to fill non-car tires, so you can improve the life of bicycle and motorcycle tires.

According to Lawton, recycling tires is the same process whether they're filled with oxygen or nitrogen. He also wants to dispel the theory that nitrogen-filled tires are more prone to explosion.

"The parallels to nitrous oxide are misleading. Nitrogen does not support combustion, making it even safer than oxygen when it comes to blown tires," he said.

"I like that we are a big part of helping consumers save money," said Lawton. "We are giving back through savings on driving and car care while helping the environment at the same time," he added.

ANI