Gas-savings: Fill your tires with nitrogen instead of air

CLEVELAND -- Here at Channel 3, we have a large fleet of news cars that need to be maintained, and, of course, fueled.

Like everyone else who drives a car, we try to keep them maintained so they are reliable and safe.

And, of course, we aren't exempt from the high gas prices, so we are looking for ways to get better fuel mileage.

Cleveland-based Valley Ford fixes and maintains our cars and told us about an alternative for our tires.

Nitrogen is being offered to replace air in tires now. Valley Ford mechanics say there are plenty of benefits.

Nitrogen helps maintain the proper tire pressure  for a longer periord of time.  With any tire you will have leaks, but experts say air leaks out of tires three to four times faster than nitrogen.

With gas prices at $4 a gallon and climbing, fuel economy is important.

It has been reported that an average vehicle will see a 4 percent mile-per-gallon improvement, which is roughly three tanks of gas a year.

In addition to improving gas mileage, there are safety benefits. Tire blowouts can be very dangerous on the roads and especially on the highways at higer speeds.

The number one cause of blowouts is under-inflated tires.

Nitrogen helps keep a constant pressure because it is inert and dry, therefore, it is not heating and cooling, which causes tires to expand and compress.

Click HERE for more information about nitrogen.

Watch the video to get some more tips from the professionals at Valley Ford.