Each time you go to a tyre shop or a gas station to top up the tyre pressure in your vehicle’s tyres, what the attendant fills into the tyre is normal compressed air. But what exactly does compressed air contain? Compressed air is made up of 78% nitrogen, about 20-21% oxygen, and the balance one percent consists of CO2, and tiny concentrations of gases such as neon, argon and water vapour.

 When you specifically fill nitrogen gas into the vehicle's tyres, then you should have 100% dry nitrogen in your tyre. Dry nitrogen denotes that no        moisture content or any other gases are present in the tyre.

 Jay Chakraborty, who recently bought a second hand car, says, “After I bought my car, I changed the tyres and I’ve heard so many people talk about  how good nitrogen has been for them that I decided to get my new tyres filled with nitrogen air. The car feels a lot better on bumpy roads, and I don’t  have to worry about checking tyre pressure every week.”

Benefits of nitrogen Vs compressed air

Nitrogen as a gas is made up of big molecules, whereas oxygen molecules are much smaller in size compared to nitrogen molecules. When compressed air is put into a vehicle’s tyres, the moisture in the tyre seeps through the rubber over time and evaporates quicker as its molecules are smaller in size. But as nitrogen molecules are bigger in size, they do not permeate the tyres rubber so easily and hence will stay in the tyre for a longer duration. This means that your vehicle’s tyres will lose less pressure over time compared to regular compressed air filled tyres.

For example: An inactive vehicle, whose tyres are filled with normal compressed air will lose tyre pressure every week. But a 100% nitrogen-filled tyre will lose tyre pressure a lot slower and won’t need to be topped up as frequently. 

Titus Remedios, “I filled nitrogen in the new tyres that  I purchased for my Maruti Ecco in June 2019. That time the tyre pressure filled with nitrogen was 35Psi. I use the car once a week and after the lockdown, the car hadn’t been used in months. I recently went back in October 2020 to the place where I had filled the nitrogen in the car tyres and the tyre pressure after 14 months had only dropped to 22Psi. .

Another point to note, nitrogen filled tyres get a green or blue colour valve cap. This is a universal symbol that your vehicle's tyres are filled with nitrogen and not compressed air.

Is Nitrogen right for you?

Over-inflation and under inflation of tyres make a major difference on the race track. But on your normal city road does it make a huge difference? Under-inflated tyres normally lead to less mileage, uneven wear on the tyre treads and more tyre wear and tear overall. Over inflated tyres run the risk of burning out the contact patch on the tyre too quickly, while adding more bounce vs grip to a vehicle's stability. In hot climate conditions, your vehicle's tyre pressure can jump up tremendously. Highway running speeds coupled with a harsh sun beating down, can lead to a  tear in the tyre or in extreme conditions, a tyre bursting. This is where nitrogen-filled tyres shine the most. Due to their molecular build, nitrogen molecules stay at a constant temperature in a tyre. So even if the temperature outside decreases or increases, the nirotgen in the tyre will remain the same. That is why race cars and racing motorcycles only use 100% nitrogen in their tyres all the time.

Now we are all not professional racers, but we do commute on a daily basis and even go for the occasional weekend drive out of the city for some sightseeing and relaxation. Will filling nitrogen in your vehicle's tyre help you? There are many who swear by nitrogen-filled tyres and an equal amount who feel that regular compressed air works just fine.

Personal tyre maintenance

If you are someone who keeps a check on the vehicles tyre pressure weekly and tops up the air when needed, you won’t need nitrogen filled into your vehicles tyre. However, if you are someone who tops air pressure once a month or once in two months, then filling nitrogen in your vehicle's tyres will help you reap the benefits of it. If you constantly make long highway trips and most of your time is spent behind the wheel, then filling nitrogen in your vehicle's tyres will be a boon.

Yash Ramrakhyani from Palghar runs a big tyre shop which sells Apollo, Bridgestone, Continental, Michelin and Yokohama tyres for every vehicle from a scooter to a heavy duty tempo. He says, “I get an average of 300 customers a year who want nitrogen filled in their vehicle’s tyres. There was a big local demand in the area for nitrogen-filled tyres, hence my father and me invested in the nitrogen unit. Tyres don't get hot, and nitrogen level doesn't go down so fast is what I have heard from customers as feedback, but the fact that people think nitrogen levels in the tyre doesn't go down is false. Even nitrogen-filled tyres have to be checked for tyre pressure once a month.

Nitrogen myths busted

Myth 1: Your vehicle's mileage will increase.

Truth: Your vehicle’s mileage depends on a lot of factors, tyres being just one small part of that equation. Having nitrogen filled tyres only gives you the benefit of having a most constant tyre pressure. However compressed air and nitrogen filled tyres both will loose pressure after a certain amount of time.

Myth 2: Your vehicle's comfort will be better, it will be soft on bumps.

Truth: Compressed air or nitrogen filled tyres will react the same way when on bumpy roads. It is the rubber compound and the type of tyres that you have that will make a difference in the ride or drive quality. As long as you maintain the right air pressure in your vehicle's tyres, you’ll be good.

Myth 3: You won’t have to fill up the tyre pressure as frequently.

Truth: Well this is true. Nitrogen-filled tyres will retain the pressure in your vehicle's tyre for a longer time duration compared to tyres filled with compressed air. However, even nitrogen-filled tyres loose pressure over time and you have to get the pressure checked and topped up from time to time.

Myth 4: Your vehicle's tyre will last longer

Truth: The tyre on your vehicle rely on you to make sure you maintain the recommended air pressure inorder for it to do its job properly. Under inflated and over inflated tyres will wear out faster when compared to tyres that have been properly maintained.

Myth 5: The rims on your vehicle won't rust

Truth: There is some amount of truth in this. As nitrogen-filled tyres contain less or no water vapour, the moisture content in the tyre is less. Less moisture equals to less rust on the inside of the wheel. But that doesn’t stop the rest of the wheel from rusting due to everyday washing and climate conditions.

Myth 6: There are few tyre shops / fuel pumps that offer nitrogen.

Truth: Compressed air is mostly nitrogen gas. So even if you have nitrogen-filled tyres, but you’re running low on tyre pressure and there’s no nitrogen filling station around, you can still fill normal compressed air. It will not have any major impact on your vehicle's tyres. Maintaining the right tyre pressure is key.

The catch

The nitrogen that you get filled in your vehicle's tyres is not a 100% or even 99% pure nitrogen. A brand new or even an old tyre once deflated has some amount of air inside it. It is the atmospheric air that's already there all around us. So unless you drain all the air in the tyre out and refill it nitrogen and drain the tyre again 2-3 times, you’ll still be running your vehicle's tyres with 90% nitrogen and not 100% nitrogen. But even then you’re not guaranteed that your vehicle's tyres will be filled with 100% pure nitrogen. There is no way to measure how much nitrogen is there in your vehicle’s tyre. Nitrogen will cost you, whereas compressed air is free at most petrol pumps or Rs.1-2 at a tyre shop. Nitrogen costs on the other hand vary from place to place and the kind of machine they have. The machines that are at the tyre shops or petrol pumps that offer nitrogen, do not deliver pure 100% nitrogen! Some machines will have a percentage rating of how much nitrogen it provides to the tyre and some have no percentage levels at all. Filling nitrogen in your vehicle's tyres can cost you anywhere from Rs.150 for four tyres to Rs.50 per tyre and can go all the way up to Rs.1,500 for a set of four tyres.

Conclusion

Have you ever noticed that vehicle manufactureres never recommend nitrogen in their manuals or at their service centers. The reason behind this is your vehicle's tyres are manufactured to run on normal compressed air. As long as you maintain the right tyre pressure in your vehicle’s tyre, you’ll be fine.

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The German Rubber Industry Association (wdk) has issued a stark warning, throwing its full support behind a recent open letter from the metal and electrical sectors that urges the Federal Government to implement immediate industrial reforms. Association President Michael Klein stressed that the current situation poses a fundamental threat to the nation’s industrial foundation, prosperity and the very fabric of its democratic society. He insisted that the time for half-measures has passed and that decisive action can no longer be postponed.

The association’s concerns are particularly acute for Germany’s rubber sector, a systemically important industry whose products are vital to strategic fields like healthcare, mobility, defence and infrastructure. According to Klein, mid-sized member companies are buckling under the weight of exorbitant energy costs, excessive bureaucratic red tape and aggressive competition from non-European rivals. He described the industry as being in a state of free fall, which jeopardises national self-sufficiency in several critical areas. To reverse this trend, the wdk is calling for the suspension of reporting duties, the abolition of the national emissions trading system to lower energy prices and robust measures to secure domestic markets.

These urgent appeals are underscored by the latest economic data for the first half of 2026, which paints a grim picture of the industry's trajectory. wdk chief economist Michael Berthel reported significant declines across all major indicators, with production dropping by 5.4 percent to 530,000 tonnes and the workforce shrinking by five percent to 57,200 employees. Revenue also took a substantial hit, falling by 4.1 percent to EUR 5.2 billion compared to the same period in 2025.

Berthel further cautioned that without a rapid improvement in the general operating conditions, the situation will only deteriorate further, leading to the permanent closure of more production facilities. The association’s leadership maintains that creating a level playing field in international competition is not merely an option but an absolute necessity for the survival of the rubber industry in Germany.

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Pyrum Innovations AG has unveiled a comprehensive rebranding initiative, introducing a new logo, an updated corporate design and a fully redesigned website. This strategic overhaul publicly reflects the company’s significant evolution in recent years across technological, entrepreneurial and international dimensions.

Central to the new identity is the guiding principle ‘Rethink Resources’, which encapsulates Pyrum’s shift in perspective towards viewing waste as a valuable raw material source. No longer positioning itself solely as a tyre recycler, the technology firm employs its proprietary thermolysis process to recover and reintegrate valuable resources into the production cycle. The refreshed brand imagery is designed to articulate this vision clearly while fostering a cohesive identity to support ongoing global expansion and technological scaling.

Visually, the transformation features a modern aesthetic with a clear design language intended to boost brand recognition internationally. The new website serves as a central hub, making the company’s technology and vision more accessible. This corporate identity will be phased into operations gradually, with existing materials replaced only during regular updates to align with sustainable resource management principles.

Pascal Klein, CEO, Pyrum Innovations AG, said, “Pyrum has evolved significantly in recent years. With our new brand identity, we want to make this evolution visible to the outside world as well. Our new brand identity is not a break from our previous identity, but rather the next logical step. ‘Rethink Resources’ perfectly captures what drives us: rethinking resources, tapping into new sources of raw materials with our technology and thereby making an important contribution to greater resource independence. Pyrum aims to be one of the first brands that comes to mind when it comes to resource resilience.”

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Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp. (Toyo Tires) has introduced the Proxes G-Tour, a new grand touring all-season tyre engineered for premium CUVs, SUVs and passenger cars. Positioned as an ideal original equipment replacement, the tyre features a contemporary design that prioritises fuel and range efficiency across gasoline, hybrid and electric vehicles. Compared to ultra-high performance or standard touring alternatives, it delivers superior driving comfort through reduced road noise and low rolling resistance.

The tyre’s asymmetrical tread design and five-variable pitch pattern work in concert to minimise pattern noise while ensuring dependable traction on wet, dry and light-snow surfaces throughout its lifespan. Bevelled tread blocks enhance water evacuation to maximise road contact, while high-stiffness centre ribs and outside blocks, paired with an advanced compound and multi-wave sipes, balance ride comfort with robust wet and dry handling. These elements also provide firm grip and cornering stability, with the compound further promoting even wear and extended tread life.

Optimised for long-distance travel, the Proxes G-Tour offers a quiet, comfortable ride and is tailored for maximum fuel and range economy. The multi-wave sipes not only reduce irregular wear for increased durability but also contribute to a smooth, silent performance in diverse weather conditions. The tyre will be manufactured in more than 70 sizes and load/speed combinations, accommodating 16- to 22-inch wheel diameters with speed ratings of T, H, V and W.

Initial sizes are slated for September availability, with additional fitments rolling out through the end of the year. Key applications include vehicles from Audi, BMW, Lexus, Tesla, Toyota, Honda, Ford and Volkswagen. The Proxes G-Tour carries a 65,000-mile treadwear warranty for T/H-rated versions and a 55,000-mile warranty for V/W-rated models, alongside the Toyo Tires No Regrets 45-Day or 500-Mile Trial Offer.

Cameron Parsons, Technical Field Manager and Business Development, Toyo Tire U.S.A. Corp., said, "The Proxes G-Tour is an exciting addition to the Toyo Tires lineup and a new benchmark in our grand touring all-season category. Through our latest innovations in tyre construction and compound technology, the Proxes G-Tour delivers long tread life with confident wet and dry performance for everyday driving."

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Yokohama Tire has reinforced its commitment to adaptive motorsports by extending its partnership with the High Fives Foundation for a fourth straight year. Through this collaboration, the company supplies its GEOLANDAR truck and CUV/SUV tyres to the Return to Dirt programme, which empowers individuals with mobility impairments to navigate off-road environments using specialised vehicles and instruction.

The Return to Dirt initiative organises driving excursions across diverse landscapes, ranging from icy lakes to wooded trails. Participants manoeuvre modified Polaris RZRs equipped with hand controls and outfitted with Yokohama’s GEOLANDAR M/T G003 SxS tyres, ensuring reliable traction in challenging conditions.

Professional off-road racer and Team Yokohama member Kristen Matlock attended a recent Return to Dirt gathering and described a profound personal impact. She arrived intending to motivate the adaptive athletes but left feeling transformed by their resilience and unwavering positivity. Matlock observed that the participants confronted obstacles with determination and authentic happiness, reshaping her understanding of strength and personal limitations.

Beyond outfitting the programme’s vehicle fleet, Yokohama supplies tyres for the foundation’s towing trucks and actively contributes to fundraising initiatives. The company involves its sales teams and customers in local High Fives events nationwide, broadening its support for the nonprofit’s mission.

Melissa Aguirre, Manager – Brand Marketing, Yokohama, said, “Yokohama fully supports and aligns with High Fives Foundation’s vision of creating a universal shift in adventure sports that expands what is possible for those who have faced life-changing injuries. We’re pleased to be a part of High Five’s athletes’ on- and off-road experiences through their Return to Dirt programme.”

Roy Tuscany, CEO and Founder, High Fives, said, “We value partnerships with like-minded brands and Yokohama is a brand that totally aligns with our core values. Yokohama supports the entire mission of the organisation and helps us achieve the vision of being the safety net of the outdoor sports community.”

Tim Burr, Program Manager, Return to Dirt, said, “Having Yokohama on-board lets us deliver experiences to our adaptive drivers that are unprecedented. We drive on ice with studs, access high mountain terrain in dirt and share desert experiences on rocks all thanks to Yokohama.”

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