Inflating tyres with dry nitrogen

[yzfrj]

Originally Posted by vid6639

50 bucks a wheel. wow. You got conned. Sad to say. It costs 50 bucks for all 5 tyres or at max 75 bucks. top ups should be free.

Hmmm... make one wonder, how cruel the world really is.

I came across this nitrogen filling thingy when we went to change tyre for my friend's Zen.

You know what, the Tyre guy said 150/- per tyre.

The shop is just off the NH-47 highway in cochin, gives new meaning and sets new standards for the term "Highway robbery"

Wonderful... indeed.

[alias]

Originally Posted by vid6639

50 bucks a wheel. wow. You got conned. Sad to say. It costs 50 bucks for all 5 tyres or at max 75 bucks. top ups should be free.

sir may i know where in bangalore is it 50 for all 5 tyres casue i got a quote for rs50/tyre soem where near double road

[shankar.balan]

madhus enterprises located next to the richmond road double road flyover in bangalore will charge you 30 rs per tyre for nitrogen filling
according to me it is a waste of time because:
1. they claim it lasts for 3-4 months because it doesnt expand/ contract - however after one trip to ooty and back on 1st may, when I checked I had lost several PSI and had to refill - ive decided to use simple air from now on since access to nitrogen is limited and anyway it doesnt fulfil the claims.
2. they claim better comfort - IMHO how is it possible? you are filling the same PSI reading - 30-32 or whatever - so whether you fill air or nitrogen, since the same PSI reading applies to each tyre, it seems illogical to claim better comfort - atleast the physics of it doesnt really seem possible!

Originally Posted by alias

sir may i know where in bangalore is it 50 for all 5 tyres casue i got a quote for rs50/tyre soem where near double road

[omishra]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

ive decided to use simple air from now on since access to nitrogen is limited and anyway it doesnt fulfil the claims.

That's what I think.
normal air is sort of impure N2, hence why to pay extra for that? What really that odd 23% other stuff in tyre gives problem in driving? Nothing.

During long journey, I take at least 7-10 min breaks at each 100km. I keep normal air pressure 32 psi in front and 30 psi in rear against OEM recommendation of 35psi for highway. Let is expand during journey. Anyway it is 67% N2. Where pure N2 does miracle?

This is how most wise and literate people are getting cheated.

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

madhus enterprises located next to the richmond road double road flyover in bangalore will charge you 30 rs per tyre for nitrogen filling
according to me it is a waste of time because:
1. they claim it lasts for 3-4 months because it doesnt expand/ contract - however after one trip to ooty and back on 1st may, when I checked I had lost several PSI and had to refill - ive decided to use simple air from now on since access to nitrogen is limited and anyway it doesnt fulfil the claims.
2. they claim better comfort - IMHO how is it possible? you are filling the same PSI reading - 30-32 or whatever - so whether you fill air or nitrogen, since the same PSI reading applies to each tyre, it seems illogical to claim better comfort - atleast the physics of it doesnt really seem possible!

If you check the tyre pressure at different times of the day, with different guages at different locations, you will obviously get a different reading.

How did you know that you had lost several PSI ? Did you go back to the same place where you filled it and get it checked ? Was it at the same temp of the tyre ?

[shankar.balan]

after filling all my tyres with Nitrogen at the tyre place MADHU's on Wednesday evening, I drove the jeep next day to ooty and came back a couple of days later.

Nitrogen being an INERT gas, they say it will not be affected by driving, heat expansion, cold contraction or anything like that. Therefore the question about same temperature, same place, same gauge etc seem irrelevant! After all we are all driving in normal usage conditions! It is not like my vehicle is used only in ideal "test" conditions! If you dont mind my saying so, the query comes across rather like a disclaimer on these Fuel Efficiency ads!!

This is why the claim is that it lasts 3 to 4 months without having to TOP UP. According to my personal experience this is completely and utterly false. Apologies for the strong statement but I cannot and will not accept it based on my own experience!

Because when I filled diesel the following morning (sunday)after getting back to Bangalore, I obviously checked the pressure using the gauge available there at the HP outlet. The tyres had lost several PSI on the journey up and down - a matter of two days or three days - so where is there any truth in the claim of three or 4 months?

Also how can anyone possibly be expected to wait and check tyre pressure only in ONE specific LOCATION with the SAME GAUGE each time, more so especially when one travels about a bit? It is highly impractical to expect anyone to do that! Obviously each different tyre pressure place has different gauges! At best one can hope that the calibration across various places is done according to a pre-set standard!

To be atleast reasonably sure, I always check pressure at HP Gas Company Outlets and top up where necessary when I am on the road! My habit is to ensure all tyres are checked each time I fill gas - this includes the spare tyre as well- I ve always found this to be good practice no matter what anyone may say.

Then comes the point about availability or rather non-availability of Nitrogen in most places in India including the Metro cities - after all even if you look at Bangalore I know of only one or two places where it is available. The same in Madras.

How can one be expected to go only to those places and that too only on the days those places are open in order to even check one's tyre pressure? Impractical again!!

I personally DO NOT believe that NITROGEN is any better than AIR - and it is not correct on the part of anyone to make an arbitrary and subjective claim about better comfort. Let me see concrete proof that Nitrogen is more efficient and more comfortable!

And anyway when AIR is Free of charge and Freely available everywhere in the country and in every filling station/ roadside mechanic/ service station, why pay 30 bucks per tyre for Nitrogen and then scramble like mad to get to the one or possibly two places where it is available, to top up?? IMHO - makes no sense at all.

As far as comfort goes, the physics of it itself, negates this - after all if my tyres need 32 PSI in them- whether it is AIR or NITROGEN or indeed any other medium, the pressure is going to be the same 32 PSI all around regardless of whether I fill AIR or NITROGEN - so how is it even possible to claim better comfort? Or is it that Nitrogen Atoms are specially charged with some specialized shock-absorbing ions or something of the kind which I am unaware about?

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

If you check the tyre pressure at different times of the day, with different guages at different locations, you will obviously get a different reading.

How did you know that you had lost several PSI ? Did you go back to the same place where you filled it and get it checked ? Was it at the same temp of the tyre ?

[Nikhilb2008]

Shankar, no offense mate, but I am trying to discuss this coolly with you.

The main argument you have is that it didnt last for as long as it was supposed to have.

You deduce this by checking the tyre pressure at a different place.

This makes a lot of difference as most petrol bunk pressure gauges are not calibrated properly. That is why it is highly recommended to carry your own pressure gauge. So, whenever you check, you will get accurate readings.

Just to explain it a bit more clearly...

In Madhus, they fill up for 30 PSI. (just an example. The real values may be different). Now, the HP petrol bunk guage has an error of -4 PSI.

So, obviously when you go to HP petrol pump, it will say that the pressure is 26 PSI. You will obviously feel that you have lost air pressure when in reality the pressure has remained the same !!

Another factor is tyre temperature. There can be a difference of 2-3 PSI between a cold tyre and a warm or hot tyre. Ideal way to check temp is to check it when the tyre is cold. This to be honest will not make too much of a difference in Nitrogen as the pressure remains more or less the same.

Please try to understand my point.

Do one thing... Go back to Madhus, get Nitrogen filled in all 4/5 tyres and go BACK to Madhus after 1 week or so and get the pressure checked again.

Please PM me and I'll make sure you get free Nitrogen for this little experiment.

Secondly, about ride comfort...

There is no concrete proof that Nitrogen inflation imrpoves ride comfort. If any salesman or mechanic said that at Madhus, I apologise. The fact is, many people have come to us and said that the ride comfort is better. Maybe it's just a placebo effect. I dont know .

My dad himself felt that the ride was better. However, as I said, no concrete proof to show that.

Although one thing is very sure. Nitrogen wil not leak as easily as normal air.

About the cost, it's upto you. Some people think it's worth it. Some people dont. Matter of personal choice.

[sanjaymugur]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

There is no concrete proof that Nitrogen inflation imrpoves ride comfort. If any salesman or mechanic said that at Madhus, I apologise.

yes ride quality improves, i had nitrogen filled up in my palio ( tubed tyres) at madhus & have driven roughly around 200kms after that, there is a perceptible difference in ride comfort, 28PSI in all 4 tyres,

a board has been put up at madhu's saying ,"feeling the comfort of nitrogen in your tyres"

anyways i am sticking with nitrogen as of now...

FIAT, always..

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by sanjaymugur

yes ride quality improves, i had nitrogen filled up in my palio ( tubed tyres) at madhus & have driven roughly around 200kms after that, there is a perceptible difference in ride comfort, 28PSI in all 4 tyres,

a board has been put up at madhu's saying ,"feeling the comfort of nitrogen in your tyres"

anyways i am sticking with nitrogen as of now...

FIAT, always..

As I said, no concrete proof, but lots and lots of people have reported the same thing. And this is supposed to be one of the selling points of Nitrogen worldwide.

It is difficult for us to prove that it DOES improve ride comfort as it is very subjective.

[bblost]

may be I am completly off on a tangent but the ride quality is good because for once they have the correct psi in the tires.

[anupmathur]

DRY compressed air ought to give almost all the benefits claimed for nitrogen.
Our problem is that the air we get at the bunks is mostly from old/ill-maintained compressors and it is hence contaminated with water vapour and oil mist.
The bunks offering Nitrogen are using more modern equipment and there are less contaminants in the nitrogen.

If only we could obtain good dry compressed air, as it is supposed to be...sigh...

[shankar.balan]

nikhil
absolutely no offense meant nor taken!
no worries about experimenting- im not concerned with the cost either. If something is genuinely better then I am always prepared to pay better for better quality - no doubts on that.

what irked me was the fact that the tyres didnt maintain their pressure at all as claimed. Of course it is a given that I drove my Scorp hard on that trip owing to the road conditions and so on.

comfort etc is a very relative thing - its not a big deal - im comfortable enough in my scorpio and no one has complained till now about ride comfort in that jeep regardless of air or nitrogen in the tyres.

therefore YES this weekend - maybe Friday evening or Saturday I will visit Madhus - and get the Nitrogen filled up there and then we will re-visit this after a week.

as a matter of interest I do carry my own tyre gauge - only thing, it is a normal analog calibrated one which I bought from a car accessory shop and I dont know how well it works if at all. Maybe you can see it when I visit Madhus and tell me.

anyway I will PM my number and we can compare notes on this Nitrogen buzzmatics.

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Shankar, no offense mate, but I am trying to discuss this coolly with you.

The main argument you have is that it didnt last for as long as it was supposed to have.

You deduce this by checking the tyre pressure at a different place.

This makes a lot of difference as most petrol bunk pressure gauges are not calibrated properly. That is why it is highly recommended to carry your own pressure gauge. So, whenever you check, you will get accurate readings.

Just to explain it a bit more clearly...

In Madhus, they fill up for 30 PSI. (just an example. The real values may be different). Now, the HP petrol bunk guage has an error of -4 PSI.

So, obviously when you go to HP petrol pump, it will say that the pressure is 26 PSI. You will obviously feel that you have lost air pressure when in reality the pressure has remained the same !!

Another factor is tyre temperature. There can be a difference of 2-3 PSI between a cold tyre and a warm or hot tyre. Ideal way to check temp is to check it when the tyre is cold. This to be honest will not make too much of a difference in Nitrogen as the pressure remains more or less the same.

Please try to understand my point.

Do one thing... Go back to Madhus, get Nitrogen filled in all 4/5 tyres and go BACK to Madhus after 1 week or so and get the pressure checked again.

Please PM me and I'll make sure you get free Nitrogen for this little experiment.

Secondly, about ride comfort...

There is no concrete proof that Nitrogen inflation imrpoves ride comfort. If any salesman or mechanic said that at Madhus, I apologise. The fact is, many people have come to us and said that the ride comfort is better. Maybe it's just a placebo effect. I dont know .

My dad himself felt that the ride was better. However, as I said, no concrete proof to show that.

Although one thing is very sure. Nitrogen wil not leak as easily as normal air.

About the cost, it's upto you. Some people think it's worth it. Some people dont. Matter of personal choice.

[Nikhilb2008]

Hey Shankar,

I am not ad Madhus. It is my dad's shop, but I dont work there.

As you said you were irked by the fact that the Nitrogen leaked from your tyres. Maybe it didnt but you thought it was because of the wrong readings

Anyway, let's save further discussion for after the experiment

[shankar.balan]

cool man
lets try again and then see where it leads

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

Hey Shankar,

I am not ad Madhus. It is my dad's shop, but I dont work there.

As you said you were irked by the fact that the Nitrogen leaked from your tyres. Maybe it didnt but you thought it was because of the wrong readings

Anyway, let's save further discussion for after the experiment

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by yzfrj

You know what, the Tyre guy said 150/- per tyre.

Maybe that includes the tyre too, didn't you ask ?