[SS-Traveller]

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...mpaign=iPadapp

Highlights

We are considering making it mandatory for tyre manufacturers to mix silicon with rubber in tyres and fill them with nitrogen instead of normal air: Union transport minister Gadkari.

Don't we all already fill nitrogen in our tyres, albeit a little adulterated? And apart from track racing, where in the world does anyone mandatorily fill pure nitrogen in their tyres for everyday use?

[saket77]

Nitrogen for average commute? I just posted in another thread that I am not convinced that my car's tires will need nitrogen even if I cruise for 100KMPH all day. Nitrogen or not, it is the duty of the motorist to ensure all tires are within the inflation specs. Having nitrogen does not absolves this duty. Though, I have heard weird claims that how their cars now have a better pick up, handling, FE and what not since they switched to nitrogen.

The only things that help in arresting tire bursts situations:

1. Proper tire pressure to begin with,
2. Condition of tires themselves including sidewalls,
3. Discarding tires even if they have good treads max after 5 years of installation.
4. Better road infrastructure.


Having nitrogen doesn't help any of the above. Laws of Physics tell that nitrogen may seep out a little slower than normal air; but I haven't experienced that in practical.

Regards,
Saket

[Y@SH]

Wow! I don't think that they know 78.09% of air is nitrogen.

Other than tire pressures that will remain more constant over a long duration when filled with nitrogen there isn't really any big positive I can think of!

[avira_tk]

Nowadays, if you don't ask for nitrogen during alignment and balancing, the shop doesn't bother to check your tyre pressure. I'm talking about reputed places by the way, I have been experiencing this every time, luckily for me, I have a pressure gauge and electric pump. Nitrogen filling can be the next PUC like make work program, once EVs destroy the PUC scam.

[theflyingguy]

Unless the nitrogen somehow helps the tire used on concrete road, this does not make sense. I have been doing runs between Dubai and Abu Dhabi very frequently (at least twice a week) at a cruising speed of 135 km/hr and have never heard of Nitrogen filling stations here (forget about mandate).

UAE has a harsher weather compared to most of the Indian cities and I am yet to see a Nitrogen filling initiative. So this Nitrogen saves tire theory does not sound very credible.

[KL01toKA03]

Assuming they make it mandatory, how are they going to enforce it? Are they planning to to do random checks on tyres, or will they check the quality in the filling stations?

[GTO]

Important to note what triggered it:

With yet another accident on the Yamuna Expressway that claimed 29 lives, Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari said the government was considering making nitrogen filled tyres mandatory for vehicles and also asking manufacturers to make tyres with a mix of silicon and rubber. It’s another matter that Monday’s accident occurred due to the driver dozing off while driving, hitting the divider that led to the bus falling through the gap between the flyover’s carriageways.

The govt needs to listen to their in-house experts more as there is a lot of talent in the road ministry which'll tell them it's a futile exercise.

Never been a believer of filling nitrogen in my tyres. Here's an excellent article from Jalopnik:

Yes, nitrogen is technically a better gas to fill tires with than air, though it’s not really so much about nitrogen itself as it is not having water vapor in your tires.

Is it worth it? For normal driving, probably not. The advantages, while real, are still really very miniscule. Also, remember, we live in a big soup of air, so even if your tires are full of nitrogen—and that actually means about 93 percent 95 percent nitrogen—there’s still a whole atmosphere of damp, oxygen-tainted air pushing its way into the tires.

If you’re a professional racing driver or even just like to track your car a lot, then, sure, nitrogen-filled tires may give you just that little bit of edge for handling and will keep their pressure better longer-term which may give a slight edge on the track. It can’t hurt, certainly.

Also, unlike oxygen, nitrogen does not support combustion, so there’s a bit of a fire safety advantage as well.

If you have the money and can tell when one of your tires is 1 PSI less than the rest, or you have a pit crew and make a living racing cars then, please, jam as much nitrogen into your tires as you want.

For everyone else, I think you can get by just fine by bragging that you fill your tires up with a special mix of 78 percent nitrogen.

That said, I appreciate the government prioritizing road safety . In the last 5 years, we've seen:

- Better highways
- ABS & driver-side airbag becoming compulsory
- 80 / 120 kmph speed alerts in all cars
- 80 kmph speed limiters on commercial vehicles
- Crash test norms being formulated...and coming soon

ESP will become compulsory too. It's not a matter of "if"...rather "when".

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by Y@SH

Other than tire pressures that will remain more constant over a long duration when filled with nitrogen there isn't really any big positive I can think of!

Precisely the reason why I put N2 in the tyres, just to avoid the queues at the air filling stations every fortnight. A single top up of N2 easily runs a month without any significant drop unless there are other reasons for the same. Save time and fuel too but comes at a price.

[TusharK]

According to a media report, the government is considering making the use of nitrogen in tyres mandatory. To improve the quality of tyres, manufacturers may be required to mix silicon with the rubber used for manufacturing tyres.



Reports suggest that silicon mixed rubber and the use of nitrogen instead of normal air reduces the chances of tyre bursting due to excessive heat.

The transport minister was responding to supplementaries in the Parliament regarding the recent road accident on the Yamuna Expressway in Uttar Pradesh. He said that the concrete highway led to 133 deaths in 2016 and 146 in 2017, while 11 fatalities were recorded in 2018.

Source: Times of India

Link to Team-BHP News

[prakash_ajp]

Really? Is this what they are paid to do? Why don't they fix the potholes that is claiming tens of lives in a city like Bangalore first instead of worry about Nitrogen or air. Of late, this has become the trend for the government to offload everything to other private entities and public rather than thinking about what the the government can do to make people's lives safer.

[gthang]

It was mentioned that N2 keeps tire temperature lower. Any data to prove/disprove that claim?

Cheers

[determinism]

Does nitrogen even make sense for normal road cars? A friend of mine who won a few championships( karting) in his prime many years ago said not necessary unless you're using them on an aircraft or into F1 and the likes.

[Who_are_you]

How will they check if I am using Nitrogen or air in my car? Govt needs to set its priority in right order.

[FURY_44]

Originally Posted by prakash_ajp

Really? Is this what they are paid to do? Why don't they fix the potholes that is claiming tens of lives in a city like Bangalore first instead of worry about Nitrogen or air. Of late, this has become the trend for the government to offload everything to other private entities and public rather than thinking about what the the government can do to make people's lives safer.

Your prayers have been answered already, sir.

WHITETOPPING

[Guna]

Probably it will help avoiding possible tyre bursts by 1%. Other 99% includes:

1. Over-inflating tyres as it gives better FE
2. Rough road conditions, including concrete roads which have some roughness deliberately left as they tend to become very slippery (unlike Tar)
3. Driving with types in bad conditions (this got to be contributing 50%)
4. Over-speeding
5. Over-braking
6. Driving without breaks
7. Roads getting too hot during summer, yes grow trees on the sides which will bing some shades at least.

Can Government tighten these aspects as well?