Not directly, no.

High purity nitrogen has been used for decades in Nascar, Formula One, the Tour de France, the US Military, and many other applications where safety, speed and economy are vital - so you would think the answer would be yes.

However, it's accurate tire pressure which makes the difference, and nitrogen can help maintain this for longer periods of time.

Nitrogen does offer an advantage of its own over air. Air includes a small percentage of water which will corrode your wheels once it's inside your tires. Therefore using pure nitrogen will remove moisture which may lead to corrosion - and pressure change.

There are therefore two benefits of nitrogen which will help maintain your accurate tire pressure for longer - and it is the latter which results in modest savings in fuel and tire life.

If you decide to try nitrogen your tires will need filling and purging several times in succession to completely remove air from your tires, which can be time consuming. PCL's ACCURA Mobile allows the operator to preset the pressure for a standard inflation top-up, or a purge and fill, so that they can get on with alternative work whilst tires are inflating.

Once this has been done, do not expect to feel any significant difference unless your tyre pressure was seriously inaccurate before you changed to nitrogen. You may eventually notice some savings in fuel and maintenance costs but remember - this is due to accurate tire pressure and nitrogen's ability to help keep it constant.

Since Nitrogen is dry, the lack of water vapour also eliminates internal rim rust and damage.

No. Nitrogen can be used in any tires, new or existing. The best results are obtained by purging the tire of air and then replacing with Nitrogen, however it's still possible to top up tires filled with Nitrogen with air if necessary.

And for those who are already sold on the importance of accurate tire pressure, Nitrogen inflation provides enhanced inflation for optimum speed and performance. Just ask Formula 1 drivers!

ACCURA Mobile is the latest technology in high performance Nitrogen tyre inflation for tire shops, workshops, car dealerships, and transport depots.

Easy to use, the unit is operated with an industry standard bottle or direct from a Nitrogen generator and can be preset for a standard inflation top up, or operated with a N2 function for a purge and fill cycle.

Equipped to inflate up to 6 tires simultaneously, power to the unit is supplied through a sealed battry with the charger allowing the unit to run direct if required, increasing flexibility and enhancing portability.

You can also use Nitrogen with any of PCL's tire inflation (or compressed air) equipment.

Those who have already converted to Nitrogen inflation will confirm that once you've tried it, you won't want to use anything else.