General > Product Reviews
TyreSure Wireless Monitor - Review....
RedRobin:
It's very easy to dismiss this gadget as something totally unnecessary and certainly not worth spending money on. However, although it's not an essential it offers more than what at first meets the eye.
WHAT IS IT?
A wirelessly operated Tyre Pressure Monitoring System - Also known as a TPMS - With digital display. It constantly displays either tyre pressure and temperature in either bar/psi and degrees Celsius/Fahrenheit and you easily toggle switch between them. After setting your own thresholds an audible alert and red light warning for the individual wheel is automatically activated.
WHY BUY ONE?
No matter how powerful or extensively modified your car is, the only point of contact it has with the road are four individual patches of tyre, each no bigger than a CD disc. Not so much a problem among the performance car drivers, but it's very scary indeed the large number of drivers who neither check their tyres' condition nor their tyre pressures. They are an accident waiting to happen. Being aware of the pressure and temperature of your tyres can only be welcome and a good assistant.
If you regularly do trackdays I'd go as far as saying that this a must-have gadget. I recently did my first trackday at Spa Francorchamps and was lucky enough to have instruction. The first question the instructor asked me was how were my tyres. But, apart from trackdays it feels very reassuring to be able to see how your tyres are by just a quick glance at the display. It's also quite fascinating to see how tyre temperatures change as the system automatically updates itself every few seconds, but I expect that novelty will wear off.
Next time a wheel nut comes adrift as it did with friend Hurdy at the Nordschleife, if the wheel goes off in leaps and bounds over the nearest hedge or armco, at least you'll know which wheel you've lost!
An additional safety alert would result from tyres becoming too hot due to a problem such as worn bearings. I assume that if you were unfortunate enough to have a problem on more than one wheel, the system would alert you accordingly.
ALTERNATIVES:
TPM systems are being increasingly adopted by car manufacturers but they merely inform you of a problem existing and not which tyre and not the extent of the problem. It's far cheaper to use a good quality hand monitor to check pressures but you need to do so very regularly come rain or shine. You can say that the TyreSure kit is a luxury and indeed it is, but it's a very welcome luxury and more importantly helps keep you safe.
SOURCING:
Web: Revolution247
Phone: 0845 002 3000 - Keith Tyler (General Manager)
Email: keith@revolution247.com
Price: £179 inc vat but exc shipping (check with supplier).
Longstanding forum member 'The wheel man' (Ben) is the main UK importer and is more than happy to answer any queries.
INSTALLATION:
A wireless transmitter sensor is installed in each tyre. The sensor valves need replacing when the tyres are replaced but they cost less than £4 each. The display unit can either be powered via the onboard 12v socket or hardwired. I chose to hardwire mine so it automatically fires up with the ignition. The installation instructions are all there but their print is tiny and the whole booklet seems more complicated than it needs to be.
When you rotate or change tyres, the system allows the sensors to be re-synchronised appropriately. Again, not that simple to work out first time but at least it's a useful capability.
You set your own high/low thresholds for warnings - red light and audible - to be activated. For now I'm inclined just to regularly monitor the display visually but will program my high/low settings later.
^ No holes drilled - The wiring is tucked in the flexible plastic sides of the console ^
Mine is hardwired to be automatically active on ignition - Yet another startup beep!
Please note that if you hardwire by keeping the supplied 12v male insert and not cutting it off (sensible to keep for the future), then make sure it's deeply set into the female socket and also taped up well. If not, power can get cut off to the TyreSure display, as happened to me.
Note that the display looks very bright while driving at night and so this may limit where you locate the unit. Mine is hidden from view by my forearm while driving (always both hands on the wheel at 'quarter-to-three' position but I just lift my elbow and can then see the displayed values very easily.
PLUS POINTS:
- Constantly displays useful information to increase awareness, and therefore improve safety.
- Constantly displays tyre pressure and temperature in either bar/psi and degrees Celsius/Fahrenheit.
- Can automatically display pressures and temperatures in turn about every 5 seconds.
- Audio alerts according to your presets.
- Compact unit with high visibility colour screen.
MINUS POINTS:
- Relatively expensive.
- Tedious printed manual and installation instruction booklet.
- No cradle attachment supplied and so limited display positions in the car.
- A brightly lit display means that display positions may be limited.
SUMMARY:
A very stylish and functional product which improves safety significantly and, very importantly, makes you feel safer. Once you are used to it you may wonder how you managed without it.
stealthwolf:
:congrats:
Awesome write-up RR. This is something I was seriously considering as I'm one of those people who check tyre pressures religiously. Except I find by checking, I've let a little air out so have to bring out thr foot pump and reinflate the 0.5 or 1psi so pressures are dead on.
The main reasons I held back were because of its perceived luxury (not too difficult to check pressures), visibility (need it to be easily hidden from thieves) and positioning (needs to be in a place wgere its not too intrusive but can be seen with a glance).
How do you find using it in practice? Especially given that it's not within your normal field of vision so you have to turn your head? This is the main thing I don't like about the rns - I have to take my eyes off the road for too long to see where I'm supposed to go next.
john_o:
very nice RR
you got a pic of the sensor? I assume its located in the rubber valve bit? how long does the battery in it last?
I like it a lot , but know that I couldnt have the 4 wheel psi readings showing +/- 1 out :signLOL: so Id be forever adjusting them...
whats the readings at a track day ?? can you see the front/rear go up differently?
:happy2:
RedRobin:
--- Quote from: stealthwolf on October 17, 2009, 09:28:10 am --- :congrats:
Awesome write-up RR. This is something I was seriously considering as I'm one of those people who check tyre pressures religiously. Except I find by checking, I've let a little air out so have to bring out the foot pump and reinflate the 0.5 or 1psi so pressures are dead on.
--- End quote ---
....This is why I haven't set my warning thresholds yet - I am surprised to occasionally see a tiny variation in the tyre pressures but they quickly settle back to the same reading. I'll try psi because the numeric value increments are possibly more accurate than bar.
--- Quote from: stealthwolf on October 17, 2009, 09:28:10 am ---
The main reasons I held back were because of its perceived luxury (not too difficult to check pressures), visibility (need it to be easily hidden from thieves) and positioning (needs to be in a place where its not too intrusive but can be seen with a glance).
--- End quote ---
....Regarding 'visibility'/security, the display unit can be attached using velcro and so can be easily unplugged and removed.
Regarding positioning, there are several places it could be attached by using velcro. One position I considered was in the bottom of the rev counter as you don't need to see the needle register less than 500 revs and neither does it max out (or you've then got other more pressing problems!). Surprisingly it almost looked oem because the thin aluminium surround matches the oem dials. But I decided that the lit display would be too strong.
Consequently I have positioned it next to the handbrake - Yes, I have to look down but a very quick glance is all that's needed and not often (until I am used to it!). I would not wish to alter settings while in motion.
--- Quote from: stealthwolf on October 17, 2009, 09:28:10 am ---
How do you find using it in practice? Especially given that it's not within your normal field of vision so you have to turn your head? This is the main thing I don't like about the rns - I have to take my eyes off the road for too long to see where I'm supposed to go next.
--- End quote ---
....It's early days in my using it, but I only have to move my eyes rather than my whole head. For the same reason you mention, my SatNav (built-in Alpine) is fitted in the upper position so it remains in my normal driving sightline and everything is still in my peripheral vision. I assume that "rns" means Route Navigation System.
:happy2:
RedRobin:
--- Quote from: john_o on October 17, 2009, 10:09:10 am ---very nice RR
you got a pic of the sensor? I assume its located in the rubber valve bit? how long does the battery in it last?
I like it a lot , but know that I couldnt have the 4 wheel psi readings showing +/- 1 out :signLOL: so Id be forever adjusting them...
whats the readings at a track day ?? can you see the front/rear go up differently?
:happy2:
--- End quote ---
....My VW dealer has his own tyre bay and I wasn't there when they fitted the sensors. I'm adding a pic of just the valve and sensor unit to my original review post above.
Battery is stated to last 7 years.
Most unfortunately, because I wanted to Zaino coat my OZ's before tyres were fitted, my tyre fitting was delayed until only the day before leaving for Nurburgring and my trackday at Spa. I didn't want to rush my decision as to where to hardwire the TyreSure display and we then discovered that the front 'ashtray' 12v socket is a different size than the one in the boot! It's smaller and so I couldn't temporarily plug in my TyreSure to use it. Apparently some Golfs have different size sockets instead of them being universal - Not very Germanically organised! I've now had my front 12v socket changed.
However, in spite of not fully testing it on a trackday (yet!), I can report that the rear tyres take longer to warm up than the fronts and also that even driving fast on an A-road the temperatures don't rise as quickly as you might expect ("Well, Officer, Sir, I was testing my tyre temperatures"). The temps registered very much matched to axle pairs. Next week I have a 500-mile round trip and will report what I see.
I think that tyre temps may be according to tyre rubber type as well and I plan to talk to Goodyear Technical about this next week too.
Hurdy will be out testing his TyreSure on Snake Pass aka The English Nurburgring, and so he will have useful info to report as well.
:happy2:
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version