Take The Pressure Out Of Checking Your Tires
By Rick Reimundez
Tire pressure is one of those oft-overlooked items on our customizing checklist. Considering how much time we spend trying to go faster, turn better, and burn less dead dinosaurs, we don’t spend nearly enough time checking up on the stuff that really counts. Maybe we’d be more likely to keep an eye on pressures if they were available in-cockpit via a sweet-looking custom module — like the TC-400 system from German automotive tech giant Hella.
Man, is this thing cool. It really takes the guesswork out of keeping track of your tires’ health. The sensors replace your standard tire valves, and they communicate with the head unit via a radio signal. The sensors don’t only measure air pressure, but also temperature. Oh, and lest you think the head unit will clash with your factory instrumentation – you can dial in any one of seven different background colors for the unit’s display.
The system ships with four sensors, but replacement sensors are available. The control unit can monitor up to seven tires – two front, four rear, and a spare. That means that you guys with duallys can use this as well. The sensors are preset for each corner, so you don’t even need to program anything.
The best time to install this is when you’re swapping tires. (I wish I had known about this kit a few months ago when I got mine.) Expect to pay around $250 for the convenience: Tire Rack has it for $250 right now (despite Google Products claiming they’ve got it for $230), and spare sensors go for $56.
Remember: tracking your air pressure isn’t just a convenience. Proper tire pressure will maximize grip, minimize tire wear, and improve fuel mileage. So even if you don’t get a cool tire pressure monitoring system — go check your tires.
TC-400 Tire Pressure Monitoring System [Hella]
Street Prices [Google Products]
Hella TC-400 Tire Pressure Monitoring System [Tire Rack]
September 17th, 2007 at 11:56 am
Finally! The first time I saw these was for large passenger jets so the ground crews could do faster pressure checks sine getting to inner tires in a row was not easy. I will definitely look at getting one of these. I hate checking my tires during an Arizona summer.