Capri Racer In Thin Air!

[RidingOnRailz]

What?

Hold on, you mean reading tire pressures contactless?

Yes, this customer was in my store yesterday, with one of those 'nerd' pouches in his breast-pocket. A pen, a small screwdriver, a small wrench, and yes, a stick-plunger style tire gauge.

I complimented him on the handly tool assortment, especially the gauge.

His response was, "Well, it's kind of for show now, since cars all have dashboard TPMS readouts". He then went on to explain how he "never gauges a tire valve" any longer, because there's always that one time when the springy thingy inside the valve won't completely bounce back, and overnight you'll lose all the air in that tire.

So I asked him what he uses. He mentioned a wireless device you just hold near each tire, and it determines the pressure in the tire through thin air! Accurate to within 1/5psi.

Any idea, Barry, what this guy was on about? I told him no thanks, I don't care what my instrument panel tells me, or about some new wireless tire gauge - I'm sticking to the dial and stick press-on gauges in my drawer!

[shorod]

I suspect he's referring to a TPMS reader that reads the tire pressure according to the TPMS sensor inside the tire. I have an Autel TS408 and it works quite well.
That's all my daughter uses too, when she's at my house. However, if her TPMS light comes on while she's at college she knows how to use that old school gauge too.

-Rod

[RidingOnRailz]

Originally Posted by shorod

I suspect he's referring to a TPMS reader that reads the tire pressure according to the TPMS sensor inside the tire. I have an Autel TS408 and it works quite well.
That's all my daughter uses too, when she's at my house. However, if her TPMS light comes on while she's at college she knows how to use that old school gauge too.

-Rod

I find that term offensive, personally. But thanks for sharing what device can do that. So it essentially gets the tire pressure that the TPMS in the tire picked up.

[shorod]

Yep, and the health of the battery in the TPMS sensor in most cases as well.