tis true. once you've had a tpms, you never go back. so valuable in so many ways.

 

Oh, spare the lecturing. How do you KNOW the blowout would have been prevented by TPMS??? If you slashed a sidewall, there is nothing the TPMS will help you with, trust me, I've been there. TPMS will not help youin the event of sudden, catastrophic tire failure, except to confirm that one of your tires has left the building.

If you have a "slow leak" that will eventually reach the point of danger, it's your own fault for not looking at your tires before you drive, at least once every few days. That's where the pressure gauge comes in.

TPMS = preventive maintenance for dummies.

 

The statistical majority of blowouts are cause by tire overloading. Tire overloading occurs when a tire is subjected to excessive friction and hysterisis (side wall deflection). A TPMS like this observes one major parameter of the tire's operational health and probability of catastrophic failure: Temperature !!!

If you slash a sidewall, you could not even drive away as the TPMS alarms would assault your senses at the turn of the key.

As government and industry testing has indicated, a direct TPMS will help prevent catastrophic tire failures - perhaps not all but at least the majority of the tire failures which are caused by improper operation of a tire. That's is why TPMS systems have been legislated into newer vehicles because neglect and improper maintenance have made tire under-inflation so common.



You don't have to be so insulting and so bent on displaying your displeasure. Keeping a conversation clean and devoid of such scorn and jabs demonstrates a superior attitude worthy of the respect this HCH-II community deserves.


Take care

MSantos

 

Correction: this system on our cars measures PRESSURE only, not temperature. An underinflated tire that has sidewall fatigue to the point of failure may heat up in the sidewall, but it will NOT heat up overall including in the air chamber...it will just fail. And I would make the counterpoint that low pressure, not overloading, is the primary cause of "blowouts". To clarify: we are talking about sudden loss of air from inside the tire while driving. Yes, PV=NRT, but a hot spot in the sidewall will not register on the TPMS.


Lighten up . Disagreeing does not mean insulting. There has been nothing "unclean" about my posts.

Let's look at the issue:

What is the point of TPMS?: To prevent injury/accident due to loss of control from SUDDEN tire failure, at least that is my understanding, correct?

If we agree, then let us look at the practical application of this idea:

Why do tires fail?:

1. Delamination due to prolonged underinflation and sidewall failure. (i.e.; Ford Explorers) This could be due to poor maintenance or a tread puncture with slow leak. I put emphasis on this since I think this is the primary potential benefit of such a system.

2. Sudden siginficant trauma to the tire: pothole, sidewall puncture, bullet hole, etc... No technology will save you here.

What happens if a tire fails?

1.If you lose a rear tire, you will likely have no problem stopping safely. If you have TPMS and are given warning, then that's all you get: early notice, but probably no safety benefit.

2. If you suddenly lose a front tire, you are in trouble. But let's review the potential causes:

a. Sudden failure due to trauma, where TPMS will not help

b. Failure due to prolonged low pressue. This is where a TPMS may help, but also where just walking around your car, and checking the pressure on an iffy (or better yet, all) tire periodically. Also, if you have a significant difference in pressure between the two front tires, you will also have drivability issues that SHOULD warn you, such as a pull to the lower side, etc.

I put TPMS in the category of technology with good intentions, but low practicality. Also in this category are: Run-flat tires, and things like BMW's deletion of an oil dipstick. Yes, you check the oil now by checking the readout on the computer inside the car.

 

First, I always do a visual inspection as I'm walking up to my vehicles. (it's actually a good habit. Growing up, it was just precautionary. But now, it's because of being a pilot) Not always both sides, but definitely any side I walk up to. If a tire was low enough to notice, I would have noticed.

Situation A) Pulling a trailer. Checked tire inflation the night before. All was good. Next morning, hauled racebikes to track. After playing on the tracks for most of the day, reloaded bikes and headed home. A few miles before my exit, sudden vibrations caused me to slow down and pull into the emergency lane. Tirewall shredded. Nail in tire. Must have picked it up somewhere between the track and home as I had driven through neighborhoods with a lot of new construction that day. TPMS would have let me know that tire was leaking down and I could have saved it before the sidewall flexed enough to destroy it.

Situation B) Walked up to my truck and everything looked good, got in, drove for quite some distance before I noticed the truck felt like it was swaying in the corners. Before I got to a suitable pullout area, heard a rumbling sound grow then a sudden thrashing as the tire blew out. Upon inspection, saw a nail in the tire. Don't know where/when I picked that up, but TPMS would have let me know that tire was low way before I was feeling it in the turns and way before sidewall failure.

Lecture? No, not at all. Just living examples. How do I know for sure TPMS would have helped? I'd say at least 90%. The sidewalls blowing was due to heat from flexing. TPMS would have let me know the tire was low before the tire got down to a critical enough pressure to allow the heat from flexing to destroy the sidewall. Instead of paying for two new tires, I'd probably only had to pay for two patches. Yes, I think TPMS helps. Just like the oil warning lamp on the dash helps. Sometimes stuff just happens, no matter what preventative maintenance you do. I check my tire pressure *at least* once a month. TPMS isn't a crutch, it's a tool. There are many phases of flight (driving) where you use every tool at your disposal to ensure a safe outcome. If someone chooses to use some sort of monitor to ensure the functionality of their vehicle, you call them a dummy? Do we disable all the warning lamps on the dashboard, because that just makes driving "too easy?"

I don't have a TPMS in any of my vehicles. But if the next new car I buy has one, I wouldn't be disappointed, or would want it disconnected. I'd say, it's +1 for safety.

 

Correction for what? Did you check the main topic and content of this thread? Also check my text, as it is VERY explicit in referring to this TPMS and not the OEM TPMS applicable only to the 2008 US model.


That is the problem.

When you implicitly call those who seek an after market TPMS installation as "dummies" you are going beyond disagreeing. It is a clear and open insult designed to ridicule other GH members.

Disagreeing on technical or even subjective terms is the lifeblood of this and other forums, but you clearly chose to go beyond a healthy and cordial disagreement. Besides, in strict academic terms, this thread was not about a comparison of products nor a request for information either.

Take care.

MSantos

 

If you choose to spend your time monitoring minutiae, that is clearly your business. This is something usually left to high-level racing teams where very small differences in pressure or temperature can make large differences at the limit of tire performace....a place we do not go, by the way.

You are not interested in information. That explains a lot. I would help to be open to the knowledge and experience of others.

 

GET OVER IT! Agree to disagree and drop this conflict. Different people have different priorities in life, get used to it.

 

Take your own advice. You can ignore the thread if you wish, no need to scold.

If no one discusses their differences in opions, there would be no advancement in anything. Disagreements breed discussion and progress.

 

"TPMS = preventive maintenance for dummies."

Such a comment, though perhaps meant in jest, is not a part of a constructive disagreement or discussion, even with the cute little graphic next to it.

As for your last post:
"Take your own advice. You can ignore the thread if you wish, no need to scold."

I could wish to ignore the thread, but I've been involved in the conversation that the two of you have almost completely derailed. You stated your case, msantos missed the jest, and a flame war started thereby distracting from the intent of the thread, which was to demonstrate one owners TPMS installation.