We talk to industry spokespeople and end-users about using nitrogen tyres and air tyres, including their experiences, benefits, myths and more. Read on…

Air tyres are a reality. So are nitrogen tyres. Both have users and suppliers. And many have tried using the two, choosing one over the other. While air tyres are very common, nitrogen tyres are still rolling their way in. Yet there are those who swear by nitrogen tyres and those who could never leave an air tyre’s side.

Benefits experienced from nitrogen tyres
Sneha Phadke, a management generalist based in Pune, India, has been using nitrogen-inflated tyres for the past four years. “When I purchased my two-wheeler, both the tyres were inflated with regular air, which was how I used it for six months. However, a couple of people back then suggested that switching to nitrogen would be more beneficial in terms of the riding experience and prolonging the tyres’ good health,” Phadke recounts, sharing her first-hand experience. “After that, there weren’t frequent punctures, the deflation wasn’t as fast as it happens with regular air, and taking a turn with my two-wheeler is much more comfortable. Air somehow makes the scooter heavier for me to ride – it feels like carrying some extra weight.”

Phadke is of the opinion that as an end-user, there is a significantly distinct experience when one rides a gearless scooter with air-inflated tyres versus a gearless scooter with nitrogen-inflated tyres. However, much did not change in other aspects after moving to nitrogen. For instance, she did not have to invest in extra maintenance for her tyres.

Cost efficiency and trustworthiness
In Phadke’s experience, nitrogen to inflate her scooter’s tyres was easily available to her in Pune. In fact, she already knew four petrol pumps in Pune that provide nitrogen for tyre inflation. “The nitrogen inflation is free. As for the first-time nitrogen inflation, the deflation of air and nitrogen inflation was done at a very nominal cost of INR 20-25 for my scooter,” she says.

Phadke finds it safer to get her tyres inflated with nitrogen at reputed petrol pumps only. This is because she believes that the company staff is properly trained and takes care of all the factors when it comes to checking the tyres and refilling the tyres with nitrogen to the right capacity. “That makes it more cost-efficient, trustworthy and the tyres healthier,” she clarifies. “Plus, the meters at these petrol pumps check the amount of nitrogen in the tyres, which does not give me any reason to doubt the purity of the gas.”

Nitrogen tyres – not for everyone
Like Phadke, Anish Makoday, a BBA student, found the advantage of being able to turn a two-wheeler more smoothly upon switching to nitrogen tyres. “A friend had told me that nitrogen-inflated tyres provide great fuel efficiency. So as petrol prices spiked, I thought that switching to nitrogen would be a good option,” Makoday cites. “Besides, my friends also claimed that nitrogen keeps the tyres cool, and the heat from the road does not affect them much.”

But this was not to last long. “The initial cost for switching to nitrogen (deflation and then inflation) for my scooter was INR 100. I have found the rate of refilling per tyre to differ everywhere, although I have found it to be INR 30-40 at most places,” Makoday informs. “With nitrogen tyres, one does not need to refill their tyres frequently and can refill them twice a month. This led to me often not realising that my tyres were running out of nitrogen and needed refilling. Therefore, I would ride my bike without refilling the tyres for two to three months straight. This resulted in the tyres getting punctured a lot. Unlike nitrogen tyres, regular air tyres require refilling every two weeks, cost up to INR 10 per tyre and one usually tends to refill them immediately once they fill the vehicle’s petrol tank.”

Therefore, Makoday stuck to nitrogen tyres for six months before going back to regular air tyres last year, after facing issues with punctured tyres. Also, he claims that he didn’t experience much difference between the two, except a bit in terms of mileage.

Ikshwaku Deopathak, a musician by profession, too, bid goodbye to nitrogen tyres, one of the reasons being that finding nitrogen stations/pumps was difficult. Nitrogen tyres had also started getting costly for Deopathak. Refilling his car’s tyres with nitrogen cost him a total of INR 200 – that’s INR 50 per tyre. Refilling the tyres with air turned out to be much cheaper, being INR 10 per tyre, he avows.

 Access to nitrogen
With the end-users’ different experiences of access to nitrogen for tyre refilling, we ask Amin Almel, CEO, Sunrise Instruments, to throw some light on this aspect. He apprises us that nitrogen refilling options are easily available in cities but can get difficult to access once one heads towards the outskirts and rural areas. “But as petrol pumps are showing up in different parts of the country, nitrogen filling is being made available there,” he states.

Ultimately, one has to take their discipline and riding/driving habits into account when considering moving over to the nitrogen side, Makoday believes. “If one checks and refills their tyres from time to time from the very beginning, unlike me, then nitrogen tyres might be for them,” he states. Sudershan Gusain, Sr DGM Technical Marketing and Standards and Regulations, Bridgestone India, informs that to derive the optimum benefit of nitrogen inflation, the percentage of nitrogen needs to be 95 percent or higher. However, topping up normal air in a nitrogen-inflated tyre once or twice is not known to have any negative impact on tyre life or tyre efficiency. 

Nitrogen tyres – a gimmick?
Ravi Chandarana, Co-founder of Kwik Fix Auto, is also one who would not recommend rolling your tyres into the nitrogen territory. “The benefits that people experience through nitrogen tyres are psychological,” Chandarana tells us matter-of-factly. “Nitrogen has been commercialised by tyre shops and petrol stations in the Indian tyre sector. It’s a gimmick; when a tyre shop provides nitrogen for tyre inflation, it advises the end-user to use only nitrogen for their tyres from then on. Thus, the customer tends to keep going back to that respective tyre shop to inflate his/her tyres with nitrogen. That builds the tyre shop’s relation with the customer, and the customer then tends to always remember that particular tyre shop in the back of his/her head. This makes the customer go back to that specific tyre shop a majority of times for tyre inflation and any kind of tyre service.”

Further emphasising his point on how nitrogen is not necessary for tyres, Chandarana highlights that, unlike the availability of air for the same, not every tyre shop and petrol pump out there provides nitrogen for tyre inflation. “That goes to show that not every vehicle tyre is inflated with nitrogen,” he points out. “This further goes on to show that perhaps nitrogen is not that necessary to a tyre – like petrol is to a car. Otherwise, every driver/rider would be using it. If tomorrow nitrogen weren’t available for your tyres, your vehicle would not stop functioning.”

 The myths of nitrogen tyres
As it turns out, Chandarana’s Kwik Fix Auto is a tyre dealer and also happens to be a nitrogen supplier for tyres to end-users. But the reason for supplying nitrogen to people’s tyres is solely because there is a demand for it, Chandarana states, but he certainly does not recommend it. He claims that there are several myths related to nitrogen tyres. “For one, people are often told that nitrogen makes their vehicles’ tyres cool. Secondly, it is believed by many that nitrogen tyres would increase their fuel efficiency. However, it’s not really possible to explain this to every customer who comes to me,” Chandarana elucidates.

Another myth related to nitrogen tyres is that once a tyre is inflated with nitrogen, it needs to be refilled with nitrogen alone in the future. Prajakta Jadhav, a teacher trainer who quit nitrogen tyres, claims she was told that inflating with regular air would damage these tyres. Thus, she shares that when she decided to go back to regular air tyres (because nitrogen was expensive for her), she had to wait till her car’s tyres wore out before she could get new ones and inflate them with regular air.

Almel begs to differ with this theory. He clarifies, “If one of your tyres punctures in an emergency situation where you have no access to nitrogen but only air, you can always refill the punctured tyre with air. As long as the pressure is the same, you can drive a vehicle where one tyre may have nitrogen while another may have regular air.”

Digital inflation
Chandarana happens to see one comforting prospect in inflating tyres with nitrogen. That is, nitrogen is inflated into tyres digitally. With digital inflation, one gets the accurate air pressure for their tyres as opposed to analogue meters, which are not properly calibrated, he enlightens.

Using nitrogen tyres in coastal areas
With this one silver lining, Chandarana wouldn’t mind looking favourably on nitrogen tyres, but only from a geographical point of view. He proposes to use nitrogen tyres if one lives in coastal areas. Explaining why, he tells us, “The air in coastal areas is salted. This results in the tyres’ rims getting rusted because of the salted air. In a scenario like this, the nitrogen machine eliminates these gases and inflates the tyres with nitrogen. Otherwise, it doesn’t matter if your tyres have air or nitrogen; what matters is the accurate air pressure.”

Nitrogen quality
In spite of it all, if an end-user still wishes to go for nitrogen tyres (if not living in a coastal area), then it’s important to make sure that the nitrogen is being supplied by a reputed brand,” Chandarana adds. “Secondly, one should make sure that the environment in which the tyre is being inflated has clean air. This is because with polluted air around, one will not get nitrogen of good quality for their tyres.” Gusain adds that using a nitrogen generator to inflate tyres will have better results. “However, the method to inflate is also important,” he says. “If the fitter tops up in a tyre is already inflated with normal air, then that's the wrong way to go. The right way is to deflate the tyre and remove the residual air before inflating it with nitrogen.”

Speaking of nitrogen quality, Basant Nayar, an Associate Director at a financial services firm and who uses nitrogen tyres, always checks the online reviews and ratings of a tyre shop before visiting it. However, Nayar states that one can’t really judge the nitrogen machine.

Tyre tronics to the rescue
While Nayar checks online reviews for the right tyre shop, Karl Pereira, an entrepreneur and nitrogen tyre user, has been refilling his tyres with nitrogen at the same petrol station for the past 17 years. That’s because his car comes with tyre tronics that show the tyres’ pressure and whether the tyres are fine or not. “Once I have refilled my car’s tyres with nitrogen and checked the pressure, I don’t need to refill them for at least a year, or sometimes more, unless the software tells me that there’s something wrong with them,” Pereira tells us.

Why nitrogen tyres matter
Where there’s a demand, there’s supply. And there certainly seems to be a demand for nitrogen in tyres, even if not everyone is opting for it. However, Gusain is of the opinion that choosing between air or nitrogen depends on the need of the consumer and the usage of tyres. Nitrogen has less than half permeability as compared to normal air, which makes nitrogen inflation last longer. However, it is noteworthy that to get the best results, one must continue to inflate at similar frequencies and not have very long gaps. 

He further informs, “Nitrogen also has other benefits such as less corrosion of steel wheel and tyre components. In fact, if a commercial truck or bus fleets use retreads, then nitrogen inflation becomes even more important. Besides, it is a more sustainable option as it leads to lesser CO₂ emissions. However, it is also the costlier option. So it’s a choice that consumers can make, depending on their preference." Gusain also states that nitrogen inflation is expensive not because of the benefits it offers, but because of the process of using special filters and machines for extraction.

Almel opines that the popularity of the benefits of nitrogen-inflated tyres is being realised by the end-user today. Sunrise Instruments, a manufacturer of nitrogen tyre inflator machines (which act as a filter, separating oxygen and nitrogen), sees clients from tyre shops, petrol stations and dealers from tyre companies like Goodyear, Bridgestone, CEAT and Michelin, Almel tells us. People’s awareness also largely depends on where they choose to inflate their tyres on a regular basis. Well-trained tyre professionals surely educate their customers about the benefits of nitrogen inflation.

Accentuating the expanding market scenario of nitrogen tyres across the world, Almel shares that his company’s nitrogen tyre inflator machines are even exported to UAE and Saudi Arabia. He further points out why nitrogen tyres matter. He posits that being an inert gas, nitrogen does not react. Therefore, there is no reaction with the rubber and metal parts in the tyres. “This extends the tyres’ life,” he goes on to explain. “Additionally, it’s important for the tyre pressure to remain stable as per the vehicle manufacturer’s guideline. This will, in the long run, lead to better fuel mileage, better control of the vehicle and comfort while driving/riding the vehicle. And with nitrogen tyres, the tyre pressure remains stable for a longer period of time, giving you all of this.”

Regular air, on the other hand, contains 21 percent of oxygen, which tends to react and deteriorate the tyre quality, according to Almel. Nitrogen tyres have only 1 percent of other gases and 99 percent of nitrogen itself, which is dry nitrogen.

When asked about the opinion from the other side of the table, Almel avers that if nitrogen hadn’t been important to tyres, then it wouldn’t have been used in aircraft tyres and race car tyres. “And the cars driven on Indian highways are no less than a race car, given their speed,” he puts across. “People have limited time today and are constantly in a rush. These aspects make it important to have nitrogen-inflated tyres in order to have a maintained tyre pressure and to drive safely.”

A subjective choice
Whether a nitrogen tyre works best or an air tyre does, it really comes down to personal experience. Even if not recommended by many, nitrogen tyres do not appear to cause any harm. But our vehicles would be nowhere without tyres (literally), and they certainly are one of the most significant components of our vehicles. If our tyres aren’t right or the pressure has gone wrong, it could endanger a life. Therefore, while one picks a tyre that works best for them, looking at the big picture, it needs to work in every aspect – from cost to convenience to safety. After all, if vehicles can be subjective, why can’t tyres?

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

This week marks the return of Kumho Tire USA to competitive off-road racing during a premier event in California’s Johnson Valley. Three experienced drivers – Stephen ‘Woody’ Rose Jr, Eric Wikle and Mark Duval – will compete in a challenging contest that blends high-speed desert runs with demanding rock crawling. Their vehicles will be equipped with the company’s LT-rated KUMHO Road Venture MT71 mud-terrain tyre, putting its rugged capabilities to a severe real-world test.

The drivers bring a wealth of proven skill to the race. Stephen ‘Woody’ Rose Jr is a veteran American off-road racer and past champion of this very event. Eric Wikle arrives with a reputation built on podium finishes, showcasing expertise in both technical crawling and desert racing. Rounding out the team is Mark Duval, an accomplished amateur racer and fabricator known for his success in rock crawling and off-road motorcycling.

The tyres supporting them are engineered for extreme conditions, designed to meet the needs of both professional racers and everyday adventurers. Key to their performance is a high-void tread pattern with a specialised zig-zag and dual-pitch design, aimed at delivering maximum off-road traction. Construction features such as increased block stiffness enhance handling both on and off the pavement. Additionally, integrated mud and stone ejector bars help protect the tyre from damage and promote self-cleaning in muddy environments. Through this combination of technologies, the MT71 aims to provide improved durability, off-road grip and confident on-road manners.

Ed Cho, CEO, Kumho Tire USA, said, "We are thrilled to return to off-road racing in the US and showcase our 'Performance Without Compromise' brand motto in action. This month's participation in the California desert event marks the beginning of Kumho Tire's growing involvement in off-road motorsports and reinforces our commitment to high-performing light truck products."

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

Apollo Tyres Ltd has introduced its new brand campaign, ‘Har Safar Mein Dum Hai’, with legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as its guiding presence. The initiative, launched in Apollo’s capacity as the Lead Sponsor of the Indian Cricket Team, also features Team India stalwarts Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Arshdeep Singh. Anchored by a poignant brand film, the campaign draws a powerful parallel between the enduring spirit of Indian cricket and the core ethos of Apollo Tyres.

Directed by renowned filmmaker Abhinay Deo and set to the moving strains of A R Rahman’s iconic music, the film traces the arduous childhood journeys of the featured cricketers. It pays tribute to the extraordinary sacrifices made by their families, all fuelled by national pride, to transform youthful dreams into reality. The narrative honours not merely the aspiration to represent India but the exacting standards, discipline and resilience required to earn and uphold that privilege.

It vividly captures their metamorphosis from hopeful children into athletes who now bear the weight of a billion hopes on the world stage – an achievement realised not by talent alone but through a lifelong pledge to be the best. Tendulkar, serving both as brand ambassador and a symbol of enduring legacy, represents the inspirational values and benchmarks that have defined Indian cricket for generations, connecting the past’s glory to the present’s pursuit of excellence.

Neeraj Kanwar, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Apollo Tyres Ltd, said, “This campaign reflects a core belief at Apollo Tyres that excellence is built through resilience, discipline and consistency. Har Safar Mein Dum Hai is our tribute to the Indian spirit, and to the unyielding commitment it takes to be the best at what you do.”

Simran Kanwar, who wrote the script and screenplay along with conceptualising the Ad film, said, “Har Safar Mein Dum Hai is not just about beginning a journey, it is about the relentless pursuit of excellence. It may be the only ad film to bring together some of the world’s finest sportsmen from a single sport into one film, set to Maa Tujhe Salaam, our cricket anthem. Together, these elements make the film truly iconic, capturing the spirit, pride and standards that define greatness at a global level.”

Devajit Saikia, Secretary, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said, “This film authentically captures the spirit of Indian cricket. It reflects the hard work, sacrifice and endurance required to represent the country at the highest level. The BCCI is proud to partner with Apollo Tyres, a brand that understands the importance of nurturing talent and celebrating the journey from grassroots ambition to world class mastery.”

Udyan Ghai, Group Head – Marketing, Apollo Tyres Ltd, said, "The campaign is a strong articulation of Apollo Tyres’ brand philosophy, reinforcing its positioning around performance, endurance and reliability across its product portfolio. Drawing parallels with Indian cricket’s journey from India to the world, the film reflects Apollo Tyres’ own evolution as a global brand while strengthening its emotional connection with consumers.”

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

A new joint venture, UniPyrum, has been established by Pyrum Innovations AG and the independent tank farm operator UNITANK Holding GmbH, with the ambition to build a European network for processing end-of-life tyres. Based in Hamburg, the venture will be managed by a dedicated team overseeing the expansion of multiple advanced recycling facilities. The initial blueprint calls for the development of five to 10 such plants across strategic European locations, beginning with several sites in Germany.

Each new facility will feature a modular setup, starting with a minimum of three modern thermolysis reactors. This configuration allows a single site to process at least 22,000 tonnes of scrap tyres annually, with the flexibility for future capacity increases based on local demand. For the launch, three initial target regions have been selected, with comprehensive preliminary work on engineering and business planning already completed. A UNITANK facility in Emleben, Thuringia, is under strong consideration as the first operational location, and the partners are preparing to initiate approval processes imminently.

UNITANK, which holds a 51 percent majority stake in the partnership to Pyrum’s 49 percent, is actively securing the venture’s commercial foundations. This involves concurrent negotiations to establish reliable supply chains for feedstock tyres and to secure offtake agreements for the recycled output. The collaboration combines Pyrum's proprietary technology with UNITANK's industrial logistics expertise to accelerate the rollout of this recycling infrastructure.

Jan Vogel, CEO, UNITANK Group, said, “We are delighted to take a decisive step forward in our longstanding and trusting partnership with Pyrum by establishing this joint venture today. In addition to our core business in the tank storage sector, this creates a new business area with strong growth potential that is independent of the energy transition. The combination of Pyrum’s leading technology and our extensive experience in operating critical infrastructure in the energy sector opens up exciting opportunities for the future. The aim is for the new joint venture to rapidly develop and operate a network of used tyre recycling plants in Germany and neighbouring countries.”

Pascal Klein, CEO, Pyrum Innovations AG, said, “Since our initial memorandum of understanding with UNITANK, we have worked intensively together to further develop our partnership. We are delighted to reach this important milestone today. Following the positive funding approval in Greece and the recently signed shareholder agreement with SUAS, the founding of the joint venture with UNITANK represents the next important step in finally accelerating the construction and operation of new plants. UNITANK’s many years of experience in operating critical infrastructure and its diverse technical and logistical expertise complement our technology perfectly. Together, we are significantly increasing Europe-wide recycling capacity for end-of-life tyres and actively promoting the circular economy.”

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!

Sri Trang Agro-Industry Public Company Limited (STA), under the leadership of Executive Director Chalermpop Khanjan, has entered a strategic partnership to advance sustainability through innovation. The company participated in a ceremony to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Chiang Mai University and five other leading industrial sectors. This collaboration is dedicated to promoting the development of knowledge, research and innovation, firmly aligning with STA's commitment to sustainability and its core Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) values.

The partnership’s specific objectives include advancing joint research, supporting specialised training programmes and strengthening collaborative networks to directly address climate change. A key focus is the transfer of technology and environmental innovations, including climate adaptation solutions, to be applied across business, government and community sectors to drive tangible, shared learning. This initiative reinforces STA’s mission to generate long-term value for all its stakeholders, including farmers, local communities, customers and consumers.

Concurrently, an industrial panel discussion titled ‘Innovations Toward Industrial Sustainability’ was held. Dr Saranthinee Mongkolrat, Sustainability Division Manager at STA, delivered a presentation on ‘Carbon-Smart Natural Rubber: Turning Plantations into Long-Term Carbon Sinks’. Her session underscored the critical role of natural rubber plantations in carbon sequestration and their contribution to a more sustainable industrial future.

Through this integration of expertise, technology and cross-sector collaboration, Sri Trang Group continues to drive its long-term sustainability mission. The Group is committed to consolidating its position as a global leader in the green natural rubber industry, thereby fostering balanced growth and supporting sustainable development on both a national and international scale.

Comments (0)

ADD COMMENT

Link Copied!