I have consistently checked my tire pressures twice a month for years, but I like the system, too. It has prevented me from damaging two tires and has allowed me to change them at home in my garage instead of by the roadside. I don't check them every day and a tire that is 20% low won't necessarily look low or feel weird when driving. YMMV.
TPMS Question
- Thread starter DBMaster
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Originally Posted By: supton
I'd think truckers would of all drivers be most interested in such systems. Pick up a nail and have a slow leak? Since you guys are often driving for hours on end it may be a good while before a tire check could occur.
It has its place, no doubt. But the end user should be the one to determine that, and then they can get the system that most meets their needs. On my commercial trucks, not interested. And I have run wide based singles instead of duals for almost 1 million miles and not found a situation that the cost would have been worth it. Sure, I use it to take a look at pressures in the DIC on the pickup that I have it on, but as for replacing the sensors when they die, at the most it would be when tires changed out in the same way that DBMaster stated. I just haven't come across anything with my vehicles, commercial or personal, where TPMS is worth the cost.
My biggest gripe and really the main reason I don't like TPMS from the OEM, is that it is set up for what the OEM decides I should run the tire pressures at. On my Chevy 2500 with E rated tires, I don't follow their recommendation, so the TPMS is always having a fit. They recommend 60 psi up front and 70 psi in the rear. Fine, if one is at gross of 9500 lb, which is what that pressure recommendation is based on. But for running empty or light loaded, I find better tire wear, better ride, and better handling by dropping the tire pressures to 55 psi all the way around. This is the similar methodology recommended on commercial truck tires.... base the psi on the actual load on the tires. It has worked well on my commercial tires, as I got 447,000 miles out of the last set of wide based drive tires on my semi. And it has had good results on my 2500.
Now if the TPMS allowed end user setting changes, it might be more tolerable. Asked a couple of dealers to change the TPMS to the 55 psi all the way around and none of them would do it. Claimed they couldn't, but that is not true. My guess is they didn't want to diverge from OEM and possible felt a liability concern.
I'd think truckers would of all drivers be most interested in such systems. Pick up a nail and have a slow leak? Since you guys are often driving for hours on end it may be a good while before a tire check could occur.
It has its place, no doubt. But the end user should be the one to determine that, and then they can get the system that most meets their needs. On my commercial trucks, not interested. And I have run wide based singles instead of duals for almost 1 million miles and not found a situation that the cost would have been worth it. Sure, I use it to take a look at pressures in the DIC on the pickup that I have it on, but as for replacing the sensors when they die, at the most it would be when tires changed out in the same way that DBMaster stated. I just haven't come across anything with my vehicles, commercial or personal, where TPMS is worth the cost.
My biggest gripe and really the main reason I don't like TPMS from the OEM, is that it is set up for what the OEM decides I should run the tire pressures at. On my Chevy 2500 with E rated tires, I don't follow their recommendation, so the TPMS is always having a fit. They recommend 60 psi up front and 70 psi in the rear. Fine, if one is at gross of 9500 lb, which is what that pressure recommendation is based on. But for running empty or light loaded, I find better tire wear, better ride, and better handling by dropping the tire pressures to 55 psi all the way around. This is the similar methodology recommended on commercial truck tires.... base the psi on the actual load on the tires. It has worked well on my commercial tires, as I got 447,000 miles out of the last set of wide based drive tires on my semi. And it has had good results on my 2500.
Now if the TPMS allowed end user setting changes, it might be more tolerable. Asked a couple of dealers to change the TPMS to the 55 psi all the way around and none of them would do it. Claimed they couldn't, but that is not true. My guess is they didn't want to diverge from OEM and possible felt a liability concern.
I don't see why on a commercial application it would be the same as passenger. I mean, a simple readout on the dash, rotating through all 10-18 wheels (maybe rotating through all oil temps too, whatever the driver wants to see). Perhaps a couple buttons so you could set a threshold for when to alarm (may have to have two thresholds, as I suspect fronts are different pressures than rears?). Whenever you change tire pressures, you get back in the cab, you update the alarm thresholds, and off you go. [Would a high threshold be good? I thought overloaded tires ran hotter, wonder if a high threshold would make sense.]
I do know that I plan to toss my TPMS sensors as they die, I wouldn't have a claim to like them. At the very least I dislike the implementation in my vehicles, just a dumb light--I won't defend a poor TPMS setup, like what I have. On the flip side, sensor prices have nowhere but down to go: at some point I might actually flip back, and install TPMS, at least when I can buy a nice system that reads out all four tires, and tells what corner is what (I know they exist but I'm too cheap right now to bother).
I do know that I plan to toss my TPMS sensors as they die, I wouldn't have a claim to like them. At the very least I dislike the implementation in my vehicles, just a dumb light--I won't defend a poor TPMS setup, like what I have. On the flip side, sensor prices have nowhere but down to go: at some point I might actually flip back, and install TPMS, at least when I can buy a nice system that reads out all four tires, and tells what corner is what (I know they exist but I'm too cheap right now to bother).
We get it on our Altima from time to time when driving winding roads.
Don't know if curvy roads trigger it. Maybe the system checks both the rotation count from the ABS system and the pressure sensor.
The pressure will be fine, but a curvy road might set it off. Drive straight for a few miles and it goes off.
Wierd.
Don't know if curvy roads trigger it. Maybe the system checks both the rotation count from the ABS system and the pressure sensor.
The pressure will be fine, but a curvy road might set it off. Drive straight for a few miles and it goes off.
Wierd.
Originally Posted By: javacontour
We get it on our Altima from time to time when driving winding roads.
Don't know if curvy roads trigger it. Maybe the system checks both the rotation count from the ABS system and the pressure sensor.
The pressure will be fine, but a curvy road might set it off. Drive straight for a few miles and it goes off.
Wierd.
Funny you mention that. This was on a curvy road that I enjoy using at a fairly high speed. It went off midway through a curve.
We get it on our Altima from time to time when driving winding roads.
Don't know if curvy roads trigger it. Maybe the system checks both the rotation count from the ABS system and the pressure sensor.
The pressure will be fine, but a curvy road might set it off. Drive straight for a few miles and it goes off.
Wierd.
Funny you mention that. This was on a curvy road that I enjoy using at a fairly high speed. It went off midway through a curve.
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