Since March I have been conducting a comparison test of two different TPM systems. When I started in March the Ambients were down near freezing. I completed my comparison at the end of July with the ambient temperature above 90°F.
I started by checking the accuracy of the various sensor pressure readings. The summary of that post indicated there was no meaningful difference between the systems for pressure readings for the 12 sensors I tested.
In THIS post I confirmed the temperature readings were also essentially the same by comparing the morning readings after a night long temperature soak.
The next step was to see what the systems reported for the hot running temperatures. I expected that the numbers from the internal system would be higher than the numbers from the external sensors. The reason for this is that the external sensor is actually reading the temperature of the outer end of the metal valve stem that is wiping around in outside air being cooled. The small collum of hot air inside the valve stem just can't transfer enough heat as fast as the metal (brass) valve stems is being cooled off. Here are the numbers. But I had to wonder if the cold ambients might somehow be skewing the data so, knowing I was planning to travel to Indiana in April, Michigan in June and Wyoming in July I was hoping that the ambient temperature on one or more of these trips would be significantly warmer than my March trip.
In June I posted my opinion on the value or lack thereof of temperature readings from TPMS. This opinion was not based on any specific results from my testing but just from some serious contemplation to tire temperature recording I had been involved with when working on Indianapolis race car tires and my observations in test laboratories while I worked as a tire design engineer.
Back in May 2012, I posted some actual running temperature images recorded by some high priced laboratory instruments. You can see the results here. Clearly using a handheld IR gun after you come to a stop or depending on the temperature of the air inside the tire, which is obviously an "average" of the hot and cooler areas of a tire, is not going to give you a reading of the hottest part of a running tire.
If we are concerned about the advanced warning of a tire failure, tire temperature numbers from a TPMS is not going to be sufficiently precise to identify the temperature of the hot spot. While high temperature can lead to a tire failure, the failure will most likely occur at the hottest spot which is not the "average" of the internal surface of a tire. Also, extended periods of time at elevated temperature can contribute to the degradation of rubber which could eventually lead to a failure like a belt separation while never being hot enough to set off the high-temperature alarm.
Finally, in July, I could review the results of my readings with higher ambients of the different readings observed with the internal TST 507 system vs the external Tire Traker system.
In mid-Aug I posted the test results of the external Traker system vs the internal TST system.
OK, so what is the bottom line?
IMO the performance of the two different systems is similar enough to make recommending one over the other impossible.
There is a cost penalty with the internal system of a little over $100 plus any purchase price difference. Looking at the two different web sites I find the 6 sensor Tire Traker system with booster available at $398. The Truck System Technology 6 sensor internal system with the booster is listed at $599. You will need to figure there will be an extra charge to pay for the dismount, mount, and balance of the internal system. I had the TST system installed locally for $109.07 which would bring my total to $708.
To answer the question some of you may have. I purchased and use a Tire Traker TPMS in 2009 befroe I started this blog and plan on continuing with that system for the foreseeable future.
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