Crown

Board: Porsche - 911 - 997 Language: English Region: Worldwide Share/Save/Bookmark Close

Forum - Thread


    TPMS a useful option?

    Hi all,
    Just wanted some advice on the tyre pressure monitoring System, has anyone had it on a previous car?
    Is it a MUST option to have? How accurate is it?
    I was wondering how it works and if it makes changing the wheels something only a Porsche Centre can do?

    thanks

    Nilesh

    Re: TPMS a useful option?

    It's not essential, depends on how high safety is on your list of priorities - just go through the used car finder on the Porsche website, I guess less than 10% of cars have TPMS (although it's standard on the 997 turbo).

    I specified it on my car and in my opinion it's worth every cent for the peace of mind it gives. If I were to order another car it would be on my essential things to have, far above any cosmetic options. I have the computer set up so that it displays tyre pressures in the display all the time. It is very reassuring to have that information and know that the tyres are OK. It only has to save you from loss of control due to a deflating tyre or a blow out once.....

    Re tyre changing this doesn't have to be one by a Porsche Centre, but it is important to let the fitter know that it's there so that he doesn't damage the sensors with tyre levers, etc. Once the new tyres are fitted, the TPMS system can be easily reset using the onboard computer.

    There has been a fair number of posts here about the accuracy of TPMS, and I would always inflate the tyres using an accurate gauge (which is the advice given in the manual). It id certainly better than the system that BMW and others use which rely on detecting changes in wheel rotational speed to detect a deflated tyre rather than by actual pressure drop.

    And in practice how often do you check the tyre pressures - recommended every time you fuel the car?

    Re: TPMS a useful option?

    I think it's a 'must have', not because of it's accuracy, but because it measures pressure equality. It therefore gives early warning of any tyre problems.

    Re: TPMS a useful option?

    Ask actual guys who know about cars and have actually been _saved_ by TPMS.

    Everybody else is theorizing responsibly.

    If I remember correctly our own Rennteamer Carlos got a flat and TPMS got him to the side of the road just in time to prevent tire and wheel damage. Despite his considerable experience Carlos said, because of the low profile, he would NOT have noticed the deflation in time to save the tire.*

    Result: I was instantly sold on TPMS.

    Keep in mind your car doesn't come with a spare. You need all the help you can get to live with that. TPMS is part of that compensatory equipment.



    * Carlos, I have my fingers crossed hoping I got the details correct here.

    Re: TPMS a useful option?

    required by law here in the US...

    Re: TPMS a useful option?

    hi guys,
    thanks for the quick replies. It certainly does sound like a you wont need it until you REALLY NEED IT, then it can save you the cost of a new tyre, better still, avoid a nasty accident!

    Re: TPMS a useful option?

    0 pressure they look like runflats...very useful

    Re: TPMS a useful option?

    Quote:
    MMD said:
    If I remember correctly our own Rennteamer Carlos got a flat and TPMS got him to the side of the road just in time to prevent tire and wheel damage. Despite his considerable experience Carlos said, because of the low profile, he would NOT have noticed the deflation in time to save the tire.*



    Thats excatly right! I wolud have undertaken a 200 mile round trip with a flat tire that would have let me stranded in the middle of the road without a spare in the best of the scenarios, in the worst the lack of air could have led to an accident while driving at higher speeds.

    Instead with the TMPS, as soon as I was out of the garage it notified me of the underinflation and sure enough, while not noticeable to the driver, and just barely visibile if you looked at the tire from outside due to the low profile tires, the pressure checked by an analogue gauge was very very low.

    So drove the car back to the garage and grabbed another car and went safely and on schedule on my trip.

    Conclusion: an absolute must have option in my opinion that cannot be retrofited later if you don't order it from factory.

    Re: TPMS a useful option?

    I didnt have TPMS on my first C2S and i regreted it! Now I ordered this option on my new FL.
    I had many occasions whereby I felt unconfident of tire pressure and had to park aside and do the manual guage test. If you do tight cornering and consider yourself anal about "feeling the road" when driving, get TPMS!!!

    Taking a tight corner at with an over-deflated tyre will probably end up with a damaged tyre..if not worse.

    Re: TPMS a useful option?

    For me it's a must on every car. It's a matter of being safer on the road. It works great too!

    Re: TPMS a useful option?

    TPMS should be standard on every car. Given that it is still an option (outside the US), you shouldn't order a car without it

    Re: TPMS a useful option?

    Quote:
    Nilesh said:
    Hi all,
    Just wanted some advice on the tyre pressure monitoring System, has anyone had it on a previous car?
    Is it a MUST option to have? How accurate is it?


    I was wondering how it works and if it makes changing the wheels something only a Porsche Centre can do?

    thanks

    Nilesh



    The pressure figures that are given may or may not be super accurate, but the important feature of the TPMS is that it does (accurately) tell you when your pressure is low or the tire is flat or going flat. It happened to me once, and it was probably the valve core that was the problem (although I replaced all four tires with a set of Michelin PS2's, which I needed). Better to know when your tire is flat than spending a load to get a new wheel. Bottom line, the TPMS is worth it (I got it as an option before it was made mandatory equipment in the U.S.).

    Jim

    Re: TPMS a useful option?

    Quote:
    Jim48 said:

    The pressure figures that are given may or may not be super accurate,




    FWIW, it really p*ssed me of BIGTIME when I first learned of this. WTF they would NOT be accurate, or calibrate-able is a true fng mind blower.

    I remember trying to calibrate them on my 06 997S but was un successful. Have things hanged since then? I don't want to waste my time trying again if not.

    Re: TPMS a useful option?

    Its a must have especially if you use the performance of the car. At low speed in traffic you really cant feel a soft tyre - until you speed up and enter a bend!! Have it on current car and regretted not having it on the previous. I had to drive over the results of a big autobahn shunt the other day and carefully monitored the tyre pressure for the next few miles. Great peace of mind.

    Re: TPMS a useful option?

    The four individual sensors in my '07 are not terribly accurate. If I fill all four tires to the same pressure per the Griott's electronic pressure guage, the Porsche readings differ by as much as 2 pounts.

    That being said, 2 pounds isn't the problem - the system is terribly useful for telling you that you're 8 pounds down. You really can't tell by looking at the tires or by handling feel. Until it's too late ...

    Re: TPMS a useful option?

    I wonder why in some cars the TMPS is perfectly accurate and in others its not in mine it has always been spot on accurate when ever I have re-checked the readings vs an electronic and/or analog gauges. Could those that are inaccurate be fixed by a re-calibration or does it still not help?

    Re: TPMS a useful option?

    Accuracy is not really the point because it varies based on temp. anyway. When I fill my tires I use a separate digital gauge but it has been accurate, it's just easier to dial in the right pressure using a digital gauge while at the tire then having to keep going inside the car to look. The point of having the TPMS IMO is to notify you of a decrease in pressure of a tire. So as long as the tires all rise somewhat equally w/ increased temp or fall equally (when cold) than you know you're good to go. With such low profile tires you'd be hard pressed to notice/feel even a significant loss of pressure without the TPMS. I keep mine on all the time in the display & check it frequently whether it be on start-up or while driving. Without it I probably wouldnt enjoy the car as much because I would frequently wonder if I had lost pressure. It's a great piece of mind. "Useful option"? Most definitely.

    Re: TPMS a useful option?

    Quote:
    Carlos from Spain said:
    I wonder why in some cars the TMPS is perfectly accurate and in others its not in mine it has always been spot on accurate when ever I have re-checked the readings vs an electronic and/or analog gauges. Could those that are inaccurate be fixed by a re-calibration or does it still not help?




    Dunno. When I had my 997S with TPMS I went at it 100% with all the beru.com information and tried to get readings to agree with my hand held guage. All I remember is I failed to get any satisfaction (no agreement). Checked excellent hand held guages against each other etc etc.

    Kinda bugs me now, with my new car, that when I start it and get a reading those numbers do not agree with the hand-held guage I have which I "know" is accurate. No matter what..., hot, cold, just sitting there or what: the guage in my hand does not match the readings on the dash.

    Gonna try again to calibrate this new car someday.




    oops!!! Just remembered this: not sure if true. I think the tires have to be fully _deflated_ (remove valve stem) and then follow the mumbo jumbo to calibrate. Might be confusing this with another system. I never did this to my 997s.


    !

    Quote:
    MMD said:
    Quote:
    Carlos from Spain said:
    I wonder why in some cars the TMPS is perfectly accurate and in others its not in mine it has always been spot on accurate when ever I have re-checked the readings vs an electronic and/or analog gauges. Could those that are inaccurate be fixed by a re-calibration or does it still not help?




    Dunno. When I had my 997S with TPMS I went at it 100% with all the beru.com information and tried to get readings to agree with my hand held guage. All I remember is I failed to get any satisfaction (no agreement). Checked excellent hand held guages against each other etc etc.

    Kinda bugs me now, with my new car, that when I start it and get a reading those numbers do not agree with the hand-held guage I have which I "know" is accurate. No matter what..., hot, cold, just sitting there or what: the guage in my hand does not match the readings on the dash.

    Gonna try again to calibrate this new car someday.




    oops!!! Just remembered this: not sure if true. I think the tires have to be fully _deflated_ (remove valve stem) and then follow the mumbo jumbo to calibrate. Might be confusing this with another system. I never did this to my 997s.




    Forget it! THERE IS NO PROVISION FOR RECALIBRATING TPMS SENSORS! PERIOD!
    (Well, actually those are exclamation marks, not periods).

    If only people were to RTFM and use the TPMS display readings accordingly they would not feel the need to recalibrate the sensors. Since people cannot be relied on to RTFM, how dangerous would it be if drivers were to be put in a position to "recalibrate" sensors which do not really need it, just because those drivers are incapable of understanding the physics behind the readings they see on the display? That would surely be a product-liability nightmare.

    Re: !

    Go to beru.com and check it out. They make the system for Porsche. Here's their PDF manual cover from a while ago.

    I'm sorry don't have time to get to the bottom of this:

    Re: !

    Quote:
    MMD said:
    Go to beru.com and check it out.

    No kidding..., I don't have time to get to the bottom of this:



    Been there, done that. There's nothing to get to the bottom of.

    Re: !

    Quote:
    fritz said:
    Quote:
    MMD said:
    Go to beru.com and check it out.

    No kidding..., I don't have time to get to the bottom of this:



    Been there, done that. There's nothing to get to the bottom of.






    Then the system is a POS. By definition it is a POS.

    That's maybe why I didn't succeed a few years ago. Sorry can't remember details.

    Why bother giving numbers at all which are inaccurate and can't be calibrated ? You mean my tires have a different numbering system? 43 really means 39?

    When guys go to dealer to complain about the POS system in their _Excellence is Expected_ Porsches which gives numbers which mean something different than normal numbers, WTF does the dealer say?

    "Uh..., the numbers don't mean anything, they're just there to show you've got air in the tires. They're different for every car no matter if the pressures are the same. Nobody thought to develope a means of calibration. Duh."

    Just asking.


    Re: !

    Quote:
    MMD said:
    Quote:
    fritz said:
    Quote:
    MMD said:
    Go to beru.com and check it out.

    No kidding..., I don't have time to get to the bottom of this:



    Been there, done that. There's nothing to get to the bottom of.






    Then the system is a POS. By definition it is a POS.

    That's maybe why I didn't succeed a few years ago. Sorry can't remember details.

    Why bother giving numbers at all which are inaccurate and can't be calibrated ? You mean my tires have a different numbering system? 43 really means 39?

    When guys go to dealer to complain about the POS system in their _Excellence is Expected_ Porsches which gives numbers which mean something different than normal numbers, WTF does the dealer say?

    "Uh..., the numbers don't mean anything, they're just there to show you've got air in the tires. They're different for every car no matter if the pressures are the same. Nobody thought to develope a means of calibration. Duh."

    Just asking.





    Sorry MMD, I don't give physics lessons.

    Been thru this topic several times before on the website. I've given up hope.

    PS: I will relent and give you a clue: 43 psi at 20* Celsius (or Fahrenheit equivalent) is not 43 psi at 10* C or at 30* C.

    Re: TPMS a useful option?

    Quote:
    STRADALE said:
    Accuracy is not really the point because it varies based on temp. anyway. When I fill my tires I use a separate digital gauge but it has been accurate, it's just easier to dial in the right pressure using a digital gauge while at the tire then having to keep going inside the car to look.



    The TMPS can be temperature independant, i.e. there is a display for the TMPS inside the OBC menu that will give the delta of the tire pressures with respect to the factory recomended pressures at the standard 20*C, independant of the actual temperature your tires at at that moment. It takes that temp into account and corrects the readout for it. Thats the display you should use to inflate your tires with, and is only accesible when the car is stopped, but it will always give you the correct pressure needed in each tire no matter the temp. Its expremly usefull! With an ordinary gauge you cannot know what the temp of the tire is (cold tire temps can be different inside a garage than outside, or in Spain vs Canada) in order to compare it to the factory recomended presures which are given for 20*C.

    The regular reading in the OBC is the one that is temp dependant, and I use that one too when I drive for a quick check to see if any tire has lost any presure with respect to the opposite one while driving, and also I find it usefull to get an aprox idea of the temp the tires have achieved as they warm up from driving. But this one should not be used for filling up the tires.

    Re: !

    Quote:
    fritz said:


    Sorry MMD, I don't give physics lessons.





    LOL. Yes, no problem.

    Sorry for my quasi-rant.

    Re: !

    I just think, as I said before, that it is invaluable in indicating a tyre problem irrespective of pressure accuracy.

    Re: !

    Quote:
    John H said:
    I just think, as I said before, that it is invaluable in indicating a tyre problem irrespective of pressure accuracy.



    Yup John, but doesn't it bother you that the _numbers_ are innacurate? Why have inaccurate numbers? Something's "broken" if that's the case.

    Okay, I'll shut up now.




    Re: !

    Quote:
    John H said:
    I just think, as I said before, that it is invaluable in indicating a tyre problem irrespective of pressure accuracy.



    I agree, just for that alone, it's priceless. Without the TMPS and such low-profile stii-carcass sport tires you won't know that you have a flat until its too late (you are left stranded on the side of the highway without a spare or have an accident) and its great peace of mind to have it when you push the car on a good road or start a trip, knowing that pressures are OK.

    Re: TPMS a useful option?

    Quote:
    Carlos from Spain said:
    Quote:
    STRADALE said:
    Accuracy is not really the point because it varies based on temp. anyway. When I fill my tires I use a separate digital gauge but it has been accurate, it's just easier to dial in the right pressure using a digital gauge while at the tire then having to keep going inside the car to look.



    The TMPS can be temperature independant, i.e. there is a display for the TMPS inside the OBC menu that will give the delta of the tire pressures with respect to the factory recomended pressures at the standard 20*C, independant of the actual temperature your tires at at that moment. It takes that temp into account and corrects the readout for it. Thats the display you should use to inflate your tires with, and is only accesible when the car is stopped, but it will always give you the correct pressure needed in each tire no matter the temp. Its expremly usefull! With an ordinary gauge you cannot know what the temp of the tire is (cold tire temps can be different inside a garage than outside, or in Spain vs Canada) in order to compare it to the factory recomended presures which are given for 20*C.

    The regular reading in the OBC is the one that is temp dependant, and I use that one too when I drive for a quick check to see if any tire has lost any presure with respect to the opposite one while driving, and also I find it usefull to get an aprox idea of the temp the tires have achieved as they warm up from driving. But this one should be used for filling up the tires.



    Way to go, Carlos!

    One typo crept in though - last sentence should have read:

    But this one should NOT be used for filling up the tires.

    It was obviously just a typo from what you had written before that.

    Re: TPMS a useful option?

    Quote:
    fritz said:
    Way to go, Carlos!

    One typo crept in though - last sentence should have read:

    But this one should NOT be used for filling up the tires.

    It was obviously just a typo from what you had written before that.



    Thanks for catching that Fritz!! it read exactly the oposite of what I was trying to say, I have edited it now

     
    Edit

    Forum

    Board Subject Last post Rating Views Replies
    Porsche Sticky SUN'S LAST RUN TO WILSON, WY - 991 C2S CAB LIFE, END OF AN ERA (Part II) 5/15/24 8:44 AM
    art.italy
    811280 1808
    Porsche Sticky Welcome to Rennteam: Cars and Coffee... (photos) 4/7/24 11:48 AM
    Boxster Coupe GTS
    451342 565
    Porsche Sticky OFFICIAL: Porsche 911 (992) GT3 RS - 2022 3/12/24 8:28 AM
    DJM48
    268734 323
    Porsche Sticky The new Macan: the first all-electric SUV from Porsche 1/30/24 9:18 AM
    RCA
    91531 45
    Porsche Sticky OFFICIAL: Taycan 2024 Facelift 3/15/24 1:23 PM
    CGX car nut
    8342 50
    Porsche The moment I've been waiting for... 2/1/24 7:01 PM
    Pilot
     
     
     
     
     
    890093 1364
    Porsche 992 GT3 7/23/23 7:01 PM
    Grant
    847327 3868
    Porsche GT4RS 4/21/24 11:50 AM
    mcdelaug
    403840 1454
    Porsche Welcome to the new Taycan Forum! 2/10/24 4:43 PM
    nberry
    400315 1526
    Others Tesla 2 the new thread 12/13/23 2:48 PM
    CGX car nut
    387656 2401
    Porsche Donor vehicle for Singer Vehicle Design 7/3/23 12:30 PM
    Porker
    372605 797
    Porsche Red Nipples 991.2 GT3 Touring on tour 5/12/24 6:23 PM
    blueflame
    294990 669
    Porsche Collected my 997 GTS today 10/19/23 7:06 PM
    CGX car nut
     
     
     
     
     
    269202 812
    Lambo Huracán EVO STO 7/30/23 6:59 PM
    mcdelaug
    245116 346
    Lotus Lotus Emira 6/25/23 2:53 PM
    Enmanuel
    239496 101
    Others Corvette C8 10/16/23 3:24 PM
    Enmanuel
    223604 488
    Others Gordon Murray - T.50 11/22/23 10:27 AM
    mcdelaug
    174160 387
    Porsche Back to basics - 996 GT3 RS 6/11/23 5:13 PM
    CGX car nut
    145824 144
    BMW M 2024 BMW M3 CS Official Now 12/29/23 9:04 AM
    RCA
    122374 303
    Motor Sp. 2023 Formula One 12/19/23 5:38 AM
    WhoopsyM
    114343 685
    Porsche 2022 992 Safari Model 3/7/24 4:22 PM
    WhoopsyM
    86722 239
    AMG Mercedes-Benz W124 500E aka Porsche typ 2758 2/23/24 10:03 PM
    blueflame
    77002 297
    Porsche 992 GT3 RS 3/3/24 7:22 PM
    WhoopsyM
    56167 314
    Motor Sp. Porsche 963 5/18/24 9:44 PM
    Wonderbar
    27920 249
    Ferrari Ferrari 296 GTB (830PS, Hybrid V6) 1/21/24 4:29 PM
    GT-Boy
    22568 103
    BMW M 2022 BMW M5 CS 4/8/24 1:43 PM
    Ferdie
    21303 140
    AMG G63 sold out 9/15/23 7:38 PM
    Nico997
    17762 120
    AMG [2022] Mercedes-AMG SL 4/23/24 1:24 PM
    RCA
    15794 225
    Porsche Porsche Mission X Hypercar 12/3/23 8:52 AM
    996FourEss
    11690 63
    Porsche 911 S/T 10/10/23 8:53 AM
    RCA
    11047 55
    118 items found, displaying 1 to 30.