You may have noticed that when you get your tires replaced around Springfield, you have the option for nitrogen fill. It is important to understand what this is, and why you may want to opt for this over standard air. At MTS Express, we offer nitrogen for all clients from the convenience of your home or office.
How Is Nitrogen Different From Compressed Air?
When you fill your air from a standard air compressor, you have about 70% nitrogen, about 21% oxygen. The other 9% is made up of other atmospheric gases. The problem with this gas composition is what happens when it heats and cools.
Oxygen expands and contracts as it heats and cools. What this means for your tires is that they become overinflated and underinflated during the course of driving. Another problem is that the oxygen and hydrogen combine within your tire to make moisture.
Nitrogen, on the other hand, is an inert gas. This means it will not expand or contract with the heating and cooling as normal air does. When your tire is full of nitrogen alone, it also prevents the formation of moisture.
How Does It Affect Tire Wear?
Tires inflating and deflating cause unusual wear on the tread. This means that your tire wear is affected every time the weather changes.
Being nitrogen is not affected by heat and cold like regular air, you get more consistent inflation in your tires. More consistent inflation means more even wear across your tires and less stress on the beads and sidewalls.
Consistent inflation also improves the handling, preventing your vehicle from pulling due to tire pressure. It also increases your fuel economy by reducing the drag as you drive. Estimates are that you can improve fuel efficiency by about 3%. While this may not seem like a lot, it adds up and with less effort than having to constantly fill your tires.
Why Is Moisture in Your Tire Important?
Moisture is a part of our world and something that is just about everywhere. That being the case, moisture in your tire is not something you want.
With water vapor being part of the normal air composition, it is going to get inside your tire while using a regular compressor. In addition to temperature variation, changes in outside humidity will also cause changes to your inflation.
In addition to fluctuations in tire pressure, moisture has other detrimental effects on your tires. This moisture can cause corrosion on your rims, creating small leaks that allow more air to leak out. You may find yourself having to add air to your tires more often, and this is a prime reason. Eventually, this corrosion leads to needing new rims.
Left untended, the corrosion will also eventually cause damage to the bead on your tires. Once the beads are damaged, you are left needing new tires as well. Using nitrogen fill prevents this moisture, extending both the life of your tire and that of the rim.
Is Nitrogen Filled the Same Way as Air?
Nitrogen is certainly not as simple as filling your tires with compressed air. Rather, it is a multistep process to ensure you have all the atmospheric air and moisture out of the tire.
First, you let all the regular air out of the tire. Then you fill it with nitrogen until there is a minimal amount of pressure. This amount of pressure is enough to penetrate all the space inside the tire, including pores in the tire itself.
Next, you let the nitrogen back out, which carries with it all the remaining water vapor. Finally, you fill the tire to the operating pressure with nitrogen.
How Does It Affect Tire Pressure Monitor System
Your tire pressure monitoring system only monitors the pressure of the gas inside the tire. It does not matter whether that pressure is caused by nitrogen, atmospheric air, or some other gas combination. You just need to be sure that with you have your tires serviced the TPMS is set properly. MTS Express is fully equipped to offer both nitrogen fill and TPMS calibration while offering tire service around Springfield.
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