[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by Sparky

I would like to put my experience of filling nitrogen air. Recently, I filled the nitrogen air in both my car, Corolla and Celerio. The nitrogen air was filled by completely deflating the tyre first, filling some nitrogen and deflating again, finally filling the tyre with nitrogen air.

I drove the Corolla for 300 kms same day, and I could feel the difference. The drive felt smooth, like the wheels are gliding smoothly and evenly. Even the drive was little less jerky compared to past drives with normal air. Next day, when tryes of Celerio was filled with nitrogen, I could feel the same difference. The drive became smooth and less jerky.

I made sure that the air gauge shows same pressure for normal air and nitrogen air. The pressure was checked before filling the nitrogen, and after also, just to be sure.
So is it just my perception, or does nitrogen air really make difference?

It is just your perception. Nitrogen is not a magic fluid to make such a big difference.

It is possible that the Nitrogen machine's gauge is a bit different from the normal air gauge and this means your tyres are running at a pressure better suited to your cars?

[Sree73]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

It is just your perception. Nitrogen is not a magic fluid to make such a big difference.

It is possible that the Nitrogen machine's gauge is a bit different from the normal air gauge and this means your tyres are running at a pressure better suited to your cars?

+1 to that. It's purely perception. Nitrogen filling in anyway will not result in identifiable difference in ride comfort between the old atmospheric air condition / new Nitrogen filled condition.

Also, the point to be noted is that atmospheric air also contains 78% Nitrogen

Pure nitrogen in the range of 98%+ purity helps to some extend in preventing the heat buildup. As the density of Nitrogen is slightly more than normal air (almost 3% denser - also slightly bigger molecular size) the frequency of pressure check / top up will be sightly decreased.

Aircraft tyres use pure nitrogen to prevent heat build up during the touch down and high speed running.

Normal road side Nitrogen filling facilities lack the control / governance to verify the purity of Nitrogen. It's anybody's guess what will be the purity. Generally, it does not go above 90-92%.

[Dhawal20]

Hi guys, I have a question. Posted the same in the Eon thread but didn't get a response, so posting here. Any help would be appreciated.

I got my 2nd service (after 1 year, 8500 kms mileage) done yesterday. During delivery, as it was dark, I specifically asked the service advisor if wheel rotation was done, and he replied yes. On coming back home and checking, I found that the spare wheel was still the new, unused one. I called the advisor right away and he came up with the explanation immediately that they did it, but on driving, the car started pulling in one direction, so they reverted it. If I still want to do it, I can come over and they will do it for anyways.

I visited the service center again to have a more detailed conversation with the advisor. He explained again that they had did the rotation by swapping the front and rear tyres, but the car started pulling in one direction, which isn't safe, hence he asked the mechanics to revert to the original configuration. On asking why wasn't the spare wheel was also put on while rotating and testing, he said that as it was pulling even with the existing set swapped, there is no way it would have been fine to do it with one unused and 3 used tyres. Plus that as both front and rear wheels had almost equal wear as of now, it would be better to continue like this till the next service (2years/20k). Till that time, these should be a difference in wear on the front and rear, so rotation will be more relevant at that time.

Now, I have a few questions. Could his explanation be genuine or is he simply bullshitting on being caught? If the car was really pulling, isn't it an alignment problem which they should have fixed (they charged for wheel alignment and balancing)? What should I do next? Get it done anyways, leave it as it is, or get it done from somewhere outside?

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by Dhawal20

Now, I have a few questions. Could his explanation be genuine or is he simply bullshitting on being caught? If the car was really pulling, isn't it an alignment problem which they should have fixed (they charged for wheel alignment and balancing)? What should I do next? Get it done anyways, leave it as it is, or get it done from somewhere outside?

Attaching the extract from owner's manual.
With a full size (or same as ground wheels) spare wheel, all 5 wheels to be rotated. They can't leave the spare untouched, unless the spare is of different size or material (Steel against alloy)



If any (or few or all) of the tyre has uneven wear, you may experience vehicle pull. Which may or maynot get corrected by itself after covering few hundred km. Other reason is wheel alignment as you suspect, get it checked again.

[Dhawal20]

Originally Posted by Mr.Boss

Attaching the extract from owner's manual.
With a full size (or same as ground wheels) spare wheel, all 5 wheels to be rotated. They can't leave the spare untouched, unless the spare is of different size or material (Steel against alloy)

That exactly was my point to them too, that why did they even try without putting on the spare wheel as all 5 are identical steel wheels. There doesn't seem to be any uneven wear, at least not to the naked eye.

Thanks for the help. Will visit them again tomorrow and speak to the SA. He is quite slow and adamant though, and doesn't seem to make much sense while explaining.

[dass]

Question on the tyre valves. Did not find a thread specifically for it and hence thought of posting it here. Which are the good quality ones in the market and how much do they cost? How do you identify the ones which are of better quality?

[Ajeetkrc390]

If you ask someone 'what's the most important thing in your vehicle?' a lot of people would say the engine & some would say fuel or charge in the battery as EVs are on the verge and there would be numerous other answers which might never see an end. But the most important thing in your vehicle is its tyres.

A tyre's sole responsibility is not only to provide grip to a vehicle but also to convert inputs like braking, acceleration and turning into the real world. But tyres, as we know are made of rubber and rubber has its own way of dealing with the environment. A tyre would deflate over time, it'll wear out eventually and punctures are never a surprise, thanks to the amazing Indian roads that we have.

Surprisingly, the elephant in the room is the sheer lack of knowledge as most people are not even aware of how to maintain tyres of their vehicle.

A few days ago, on a regular fuel visit when I was in the line for an air refill & I happened to be behind a Maruti Baleno & its rear left was almost flat the man came out and said to hawawala 'the car is a bit off-centred and I feel it is losing its power' the hawawala then showed him the tyre and asked 'when was the last time you inflated this tyre?' the man replied 'a month ago' I was like what on earth this man is smoking?? & mind you this is just one example I'm sure you would have witnessed multiple idiots like him & the reason behind referring that man as an Idiot is because a bulged tyre is prone to blast under heavy load.

Not to forget, some people overinflate their vehicle's tyres thinking that it would give them a comfy ride but they are not actually aware that it would reduce the contact patch of the tyre with the road, thus it would hamper the tyre's overall purpose. Apart from that, when that particular vehicle is loaded and driven at high speeds don't even expect the guardian angel to save you. As the air inside the tyre would expand and due to the excessive heat generated at high speed, a proper recipe for a tyre burst is ready!

One fine day my brother witnessed a tyre burst right in front of him. He was coming back from Gurugram via NH8, when he crossed Ambience Mall on his right, he heard a very tight blast sound. Loud enough to make anyone skip a beat. It was a Maruti Eeco with 6 passengers and its front left tyre burst. Eeco was in the second lane from the right and after the burst, it rolled twice and hit the guard rail on the left. He told me it was such a horrendous sight to witness, and when he stopped by and other people came in for help, they found that the person on the passenger side has died on spot due to various head injuries and the remaining ones were heavily injured with very fewer chances of survival. Luckily, no vehicle was there when Eeco rolled to the side.

Needless to say, being unaware of how to maintain your tyres can actually get you killed. So here are a few tips to keep your tyres healthy.

1. Maintaining an optimum tyre pressure:

Every vehicle has a sticker known as 'tyre placard' which shows the recommended tyre pressure. On 2 wheelers this sticker can be found on the chain guard or one can use Google to know the exact tyre pressure required for that specific vehicle. Also, 2 wheelers will always have 2 variations i.e. one for the rider only and one for rider plus pillion. One can choose according to the intended use. On cars, this sticker can be found on the driver door's b pillar just below the lock hook.

Make sure to refill your vehicle's tyres according to the recommended tyre pressure ONLY

2. Checking tyres for wear:

Each tyre has a different life span as it depends on the way it is used. If one enjoys launching the vehicle as fast as possible then the tyres which are putting the power to the ground can wear out faster than the free ones, and in a huge number of cases it would be the front tyres as the majority of cars sold in India are FWD and it would be opposite in the terms of a motorcycle. With that said this is how one should look for tyre wear to know when is the right time to change your tyres.

One needs to keep an eye on the small bit inside the tyre tread. It should be checked every 500 kilometers. Once the tyre reaches it, that means one should start looking for new tyres.

3. Last but not least. Wheel alignment. A lot of people miss out on this, just save a few bucks but it should not be ignored at all. I've seen cars running on the road with tyres slanted inwards or outwards and this causes uneven wear and also reduces the contact patch of the tyre. Surprisingly, some people think that 2 wheelers don't require wheel alignment but they actually do and it can be done at the respective service centers at very nominal costs.

So, folks that's all from my side. Any other suggestions? Please join the conversation.

[blackbandit]

A quick query related to heat patches

Recently during a drive I suffered a puncture and noticed that it was more of tear on the thread leading to a significant hole/cut. Took the car to Madhu’s, Blore and they told me that a normal plug or mushroom patch won’t work and I would have to do a heat patch(which they don’t offer BTW). Would like to know if it’s safe to use a heat patch and run the tyre. The tyre is hardly around 3-4 months old with significant thread left in it so replacement is definitely a last option that I would consider, that too only if safety or driving characteristics of the car is compromised in any way.

Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks in advance

[aravindhunt]

Found this cut in the rear right tyre today while washing the car. Dont know what caused it and there are no damage to the alloys. The cut is about 2-3mm deep. I have checked the air pressure and is normal. Should I be worried.?