Saturday, October 21, 2006 9:05 PM PDT

Nitrogen - an efficient alternative

By DOMINIKA MASLIKOWSKI

The Daily News

BULLHEAD CITY - A 10-minute procedure can save car owners gas money, and make their cars safer and more environmentally friendly.

Nitrogen-filled tires have been used in NASCAR and commercial aircraft for years, but now they're available to the general public.

And thanks to Swanty's service manager John Thames, they're available in the Tri-state.

Thames said he saw the new technology at the auto shows he attended and got a machine for the dealership that deflates the air out of tires and pumps them up again with nitrogen.

“It's real new to everybody,” Thames said. “We did it in employee vehicles first and found the average mile increase of three miles per gallon.”

Conventional air will lose 1 1/2 pounds a month per tire, while it will take nitrogen tires six months to lose that same amount, Thames said. Which makes nitrogen an added bonus to the estimated 85 percent of car owners who never check their tire pressure.

The procedure costs $20 for all four tires and lasts a lifetime - Swanty's keeps it topped off for free.

The procedure is so new that Thames says most of the customers who get it done hear about it by seeing the sign in the shop or by word of mouth.

Because nitrogen tires also grip the road better, Thames said it can also make a car safer.

“I had my truck done and it really has made a difference,” said dealership administrator Greg Durrett. “My truck is a 4x4 and driving it around town I was getting about 10 miles to the gallon. When I brought it down (to get nitrogen tires) I reset my mileage on my trip computer and that night I drove it home up the hill. When I put it in the driveway, it was 11.5 miles to the gallon - just going up the hill. The next day to work was 12.5. So that's about a 2.5 mile/gallon increase.”

On longer road trips, Durrett said, he gets a 3-mile-to-the-gallon difference.

“I really noticed a difference in the way it drives and the way it feels, too,” he said.

“It even grips the ground better.”

Swanty's is located at 2494 Highway 95.