Do you use a TPMS as a tire gauge?

SMSW

Joined
Sep 4, 2013
Messages
8,175
Location
Cleveland
Bike
2010 ST1300
I have a FOBO Bike TPMS, and I've found that my bourdon tube pressure gauge which I use to check the pressure in the morning before every ride is within half a pound of what my TPMS shows. Today the front and back pressures were .2 lb off (can't read the gauge any closer than half a pound).

I'm thinking of simply using the TPMS to check tire pressure in the morning and if it shows air is needed then pull out my other gauge with the air pump.

Anyone using their TPMS this way to check tire pressures?
 
Yep.. using the Orange unit but same end result, mor eopportunity to be lazy... er... more time to ride and not worry about the small stuff.
 
I always use the hand gauge to check my tire pressures before a ride.

Once riding I use the TPMS on my BMW to verify I don't need worry about my tire pressures. The TPMS will also warn me if I have a sudden loss in tire pressure.
 
I agree with Andy's method when I fill the tires I use my hand gage and use the TPMS to monitor the tires not really as a gage.
 
SMSW said:
I have a FOBO Bike TPMS, and I've found that my bourdon tube pressure gauge which I use to check the pressure in the morning before every ride is within half a pound of what my TPMS shows. Today the front and back pressures were .2 lb off (can't read the gauge any closer than half a pound).

I'm thinking of simply using the TPMS to check tire pressure in the morning and if it shows air is needed then pull out my other gauge with the air pump.

Anyone using their TPMS this way to check tire pressures?
Click to expand...

I do exactly that, also with the FOBO. It generally reads about a half pound lower than my digital gauge. Close enough, and it alerts me when I am close to the lower limit.
 
SMSW said:
Today the front and back pressures were .2 lb off (can't read the gauge any closer than half a pound).
Click to expand...

Saying something is off doesn't work unless the difference is greater than the largest of the measurement increments. All other things being equal and assuming the two instruments are correct, if the pressure is 41.3 and the TPMS can tell you that, the gauge has to punt and read 41.0 or 41.5. Standard mechanical gauges are usually good to ±3%, so figure ±1.5 psi for those. Electronic sensors in your TPMS or a digital gauge are good to ±1%, so at 42 psi, you're looking at slightly better than 0.5 psi in either direction.

The spec is 42 psi and not 42.0, 42.00 or 42.000 psi because the pressure doesn't need to be laboratory-precise for the tires to function correctly. You don't have a lot of control over that anyway since a one-degree change in the temperature of the air in the tires will result in a 0.1 psi change in the pressure. (Ergo, you don't need to stop and make a 1.5-psi adjustment on a 75-degree afternoon when it was right first thing in the morning and the temperature was 60.

I'm thinking of simply using the TPMS to check tire pressure in the morning and if it shows air is needed then pull out my other gauge with the air pump. Anyone using their TPMS this way to check tire pressures?
Click to expand...

There's nothing wrong with it as long as you trust the information the TPMS is providing. Take the Ronald Reagan approach and make sure you're confident that it's right.

I do the same thing with the oil: I no longer check it by the book; I've done it that way enough times and looked at the sight glass the next morning that I know where the level should be when cold.

--Mark
 
I too use the FOBO app as a gauge. In the past I had another TPMS that required that the wheels be moving to transmit a pressure reading - not very practical if you're heading out and find that a tire needs air.
 
I have the Hawks head battery powered pocket unit and, IIRC, the monitor remembers the last settings and goes to sleep after a few minutes of no motion. Same with the sensors. It may take a mile or so of riding for the unit to update.

Do the FOBO sensors constantly broadcast? Seems like that would make for short battery life on the sensors. I had to replace batteries in my sensors after about a year.

I bought the Cyclops TPMS for the FJ09, but have not yet installed it.
 
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sirepair said:
Do the FOBO sensors constantly broadcast? Seems like that would make for short battery life on the sensors. I had to replace batteries in my sensors after about a year.
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Yes they do. My bike lives within Bluetooth range of our kitchen and I get low pressure warnings routinely while I am having morning coffee, if the temperature has dropped overnight or if I have not ridden in a while.

FOBO uses the CR3025 battery, I think. Mine last for about a season, I think, though I do not track them that closely. I need to replace the rest, because it is broadcasting "I'm tired" warnings now.
 
One more feature about a BT TPMS is that alarms can be sent directly to your helmet speakers if your phone is paired to a BT headset, e.g., Sena.
 
STraymond said:
One more feature about a BT TPMS is that alarms can be sent directly to your helmet speakers if your phone is paired to a BT headset, e.g., Sena.
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Huh. Never thought of that. When I got my FOBO the Sena was at the bottom of my Farkle List or maybe not even yet on it.

Now that I have one the FOBO just became even more functional. Thanks!
 
STraymond said:
I too use the FOBO app as a gauge. In the past I had another TPMS that required that the wheels be moving to transmit a pressure reading - not very practical if you're heading out and find that a tire needs air.
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Interested in going to these - FOBO. Does the phone "wake up" when a low tire pressure alert happens. IE - phone is sleeping in cradle, will the app turn the phone on to display t he alarm?
 
Kevin -

I just ran a test - releasing air from my tire so that the pressure was below my low pressure setting. The sleeping phone, with FOBO running in the background, did not wake. It did send the alarm when I opened the display. However, I know that I have gotten the audio alarms in my Sena while riding - usually because the max temp or pressure was exceeded.

Ray
 
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