Aftermarket TPMS components

[gary_lucas]

Anyone installed an aftermarket Tire Pressure Monitoring System? I've been doing some reading and I can't seem to find one that doesn't look gimmicked up. but the idea would be very handy... Generally on a blow out you'd know based on tire heat well in advance.

Gary

[a5150nut]

Take a little strol over to RV.Net. Many people run them in their trailer tires. There are quite a few threads to ponder there.

[gary_lucas]

Awesome, thank you.

Gary

[Yukon6.2]

Hi Gary
I don't think you will be able to predict a blow out by tire preasure only.
If your tire has a bad belt it wouln't run any warmer than the other tires If you have sidewall damage same thing it will run the same temp.
Only if a tire becomes under inflated will it heat up,not nesasaraly blow out,it might just go flat.
A lot of tires run flat are considered blowouts because the tire gets destroyed by running on it flat.
The only way to find the defects above are to visually check your tires,and pay attention to new viberations, which can warn you about belt seperation.
I just don't want you to feel that having a electronic device is going to keep you safe from a blowout.
Oh by the way i'v been fixing/selling tires since i was 13 and have seen pretty much every kind of tire failure on the road.
Drive safe
Thomas

[gary_lucas]

Hi Gary
I don't think you will be able to predict a blow out by tire preasure only.
If your tire has a bad belt it wouln't run any warmer than the other tires If you have sidewall damage same thing it will run the same temp.
Only if a tire becomes under inflated will it heat up,not nesasaraly blow out,it might just go flat.
A lot of tires run flat are considered blowouts because the tire gets destroyed by running on it flat.
The only way to find the defects above are to visually check your tires,and pay attention to new viberations, which can warn you about belt seperation.
I just don't want you to feel that having a electronic device is going to keep you safe from a blowout.
Oh by the way i'v been fixing/selling tires since i was 13 and have seen pretty much every kind of tire failure on the road.
Drive safe
Thomas

Thanks for that, it makes sense... Can a tire shop tell if there's been belt separation, can I tell by visual inspection? and if so how... I'd definitely notice and investigate any new vibration...

Part of wanting a TPMS is just a visual guide, I'm pretty lazy about my tires, I generally have a close look about once a month and check the pressure when I remember (never).

[Yukon6.2]

Hi Gary
You can tell a belt seperation by viberation,and the tread will begin to wear funny over the seperation,usually near the center of the tire.Sometimes you can get an impact break which will look like a seperation,either is the end of life for the tire.
Sidewall damage is usually is a bulge outward.
Thomas

[bobt]

I've had two belt separations in the last six months and both times I first felt a vibration that I tried to determine if it was a tire problem or the road surface. When I looked at the tires, I could see there was a raised area of the tread where the belt had broken underneath. On the first one, I was very lucky because I had tunnel vision and blamed it on a front tire balance when it was actually an inside dually and I drove a couple hundred miles before catching the problem(they don't normally stay together near that long.) On the second one, I didn't go very far without checking. On this one, in addition to the raised bump, the tread was stretching the sidewall and tearing away from the sidewall. If you ever feel a suspicious road vibration, don't go very far without a thorough inspection of the tires by rotating them a few feet at a time until you check the entire circumference. On my previous truck, I had three go at different times with little or virtually no warning.
Bob

[gary_lucas]

That's good info, thanks both of you.

G

[DickWells]

Hi, Gary.
I've been running a Smart Tire system in all 8 tires (truck and trailer) since 07. Been very glad to have it there, too. You get a display of the continual scanning for both vehicles (up to 16 wheels), and it will allert you to deviations for both pressure and heat.
The Smart Tire sensors are mounted in the bottom of the rim dish by way of a SS clamp, and that's about the only thing about the system that annoys me, but not often and not very much. You have to be careful about who you let work on your wheels, and, the units weigh just enough that whoever balances them, usually ends up putting on what seems like too much weight. Still, the benefits far outweigh the annoyance.
The valvestem type that I've seen haven't impressed me very much. They just have to be a lot cheaper, though. My whole system stands me over $400, IIRC.
Improvements must have been made since 07, so you're pretty apt to get set up at less cost and with a better system these days, I expect. All-in-all, I wouldn't be without them, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

[bobt]

I think a TPMS is good thing to have. Unfortunately, it was not an available option for my dually. I will say however, that with the five tire failures I've had between my two duallies, none of them was caused by overheating nor was there any loss of air pressure, so a TPMS would not have alerted me to the imminent failure.
Bob

[Inspector]

I have been using the TST system which reads out pressure as well as temps. The only complaint I have is that the system will loose signal now and again and start beeping. I replaced all the batteries but still will loose a signal once in a while on the toad. It can be any wheel. I usually just unplug the monitor for a few minutes and then plug it back in then all is well till the next time. I kinda think the monitor may be the problem. The read outs are within a pound of my tire gauge when all is well.
Denny

[gary_lucas]

Hi, Gary.
I've been running a Smart Tire system in all 8 tires (truck and trailer) since 07. Been very glad to have it there, too. You get a display of the continual scanning for both vehicles (up to 16 wheels), and it will allert you to deviations for both pressure and heat.
The Smart Tire sensors are mounted in the bottom of the rim dish by way of a SS clamp, and that's about the only thing about the system that annoys me, but not often and not very much. You have to be careful about who you let work on your wheels, and, the units weigh just enough that whoever balances them, usually ends up putting on what seems like too much weight. Still, the benefits far outweigh the annoyance.
The valvestem type that I've seen haven't impressed me very much. They just have to be a lot cheaper, though. My whole system stands me over $400, IIRC.
Improvements must have been made since 07, so you're pretty apt to get set up at less cost and with a better system these days, I expect. All-in-all, I wouldn't be without them, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

I just checked the Smart Tire website and it looks like they closed down their automotive / passenger vehicle product lines.

Probably why I didn't come across them as an option when searching.

I ended up ordering a valve stem system from costco canada that had decent reviews, main reason for trying those is I know Costco will take my return if I don't like them and I can see if they seem to fit the bill. I just took our trailer out for the first trip of the season and sure enough the tires were 10lbs low... I'll post back on this thread when I get the costco system with my experiences. All told this system was about $300 + 2 additional sensor for a total of $400 approx.

System we ordered was: TireMinder® Wireless Tire Pressure Monitoring System