On The Right Track For Motoring Savings

Formula 1 is a sport renowned as a proving ground for cutting-edge technology, so it may come as no surprise that an innovation in tyre inflation on the racetrack has great potential for the average road user. That innovation is nitrogen inflation, which can have important benefits both for your bank balance and the environment.

Quite simply, using nitrogen rather than compressed air improves the pressure retention of your tyres and reduces wear. Most people are aware that over a period of time a tyre will lose pressure, which is caused by the permeation of oxygen and water vapour through the porous structure of a tyre. The fact is, compressed air is not suitable for tyre inflation but until now there has been no cost effective alternative.

However, nitrogen will not permeate through a tyre at the same speed as oxygen. The inflation technology that has been used so reliably in Formula 1 is now available for everyday use, and can help maintain the correct pressures for up to 10 times longer than when using compressed air.

When you consider the increased wear on a tyre that driving with incorrect pressures can bring, you start to see the benefit of using nitrogen. Independent figures from Michelin state that under inflation by just 10%, equivalent to just 3psi on a tyre inflated to 30psi, can lead to a potential loss of tyre life of 13%. Furthermore, there will be a 2% increase in fuel consumption.

Using nitrogen inflation will help to avoid these problems, saving money you would otherwise spend on fuel and replacement tyres. Let’s look at the sums involved.

For ease, we will assume a fuel cost of £1 per litre, or £4.54 per gallon. The average car will run at 30 mpg with an average mileage of 12,000 miles per year. Based on this, the 2% reduction in fuel consumption gained from using nitrogen inflation will result in a saving of £36.32 per year. Further, there is the saving in tyre wear. The average cost of a new 205/55 R16 tyre is £80, with a life expectancy of 3 years. The average saving in tyre life from nitrogen inflation is 13%, which of £80 is £10.40 over the tyres life. For four tyres, the annual saving would be £13.88.

Putting these figures together results in an annual saving of £50.20 – not to be sniffed at! Of course, there is also the environmental advantage of tyres being replaced less often and therefore fewer tyres needing to be disposed of.

Uniflate has supplied nitrogen inflation to Formula 1 for many years, and through exclusive supplier Tyre Bay Direct is now available for the retail market too. Leigh Stote, managing director of Tyre Bay Direct, comments: “We are delighted that the replacement tyre market is now embracing nitrogen inflation. The Uniflate system is the only inflation medium developed solely for the use of pneumatic tyre inflation – it’s tried and tested and is proven to deliver financial and performance related benefits to the user with better road holding and handling, increased tyre life and reduced fuel consumption.”

http://www.uniflate.com/