Just need to vent...

So any kid in front of the car is inevitably a goner? Diabolical.

 

I did do some more research before sending a huge complaint to Toyota. So the newer cars DO have that technology (of not running into kids in the front) but it's with the Parking Assist feature. What's auto parallel parking got to do with avoid hitting a little kid in the front?

Which makes NO sense not being included in the other pedestrian features.

And I've used that auto parallel parking in the Prius and not a fan....it goes WAY too fast for my comfort level.

 

Another rant....Toyota OEM parts prices.

My 2014 Tundra is getting four new tires so I figured might as well replace the TPMS's since they've been failing during cold winter months. (Batteries getting old)

Rock Auto has them for $18 but everyone knows they'll last just a few years so went to my Toyota dealer to pick up 4....$83 EACH! (Okay got them for $74.70 each with my military discount.)

But, still, shouldn't cost $300 for them.....grrrrrrr

 

lol...my OCD with cars is pretty bad. I HATE how my Prius start the "Maintenance Required" starts coming up when it has 500 miles to the 5,000 point. Bugs me so bad I end up changing the oil a few thousand miles before 5,000.

The TPMS light bugs me like that!

 

i did join the day i was born

 

Amazon has TPMS that simply screw onto the end of the valve stem for those not wanting to have to unmount a wheel and buy the much more expensive internal versions

 

Maybe even prenatal

 

My post count is 656.

When I get to 666, I am quitting. I think the 666 message will be about

 

Yes we've had them for years in the RV community. You can have as many as you need and has a display on your dash that shows temps and PSI for each tire, it rotates around automatically. The best part is it will alarm and flash a red light for any issues, that you set. (Either rapid psi drops and/or high temps...I think most tires will blow around 170 F so set mine to 160 F but haven't seen them go higher than 130F even when it's around 100 outside but it's not fun seeing them go that high....thankfully it's rare in cooler Colorado)

I have them on the 4 wheels in our camper trailer but didn't connect the truck so use the truck for those tires.

 

Had them on one of the motorhomes and trailers .... what a PITA, have to take them off every time to pump up the tyres, the ones on the inner rear and outer rear each side require a magic trick to hold the lock nut while tightening the top unit just right so it seals and holds the valve down to get a reading, but you have to head back inside and turn the thing on to see if it's reading ..... here in Australia, the tyres facing the sun will be a higher pressure than the others, so it sets off an alarm because the pressures on one axle go outside specs ...... it only took a single 5,000km trip for all 8 to end up in the glovebox, and there they stayed.
I'm an aged mechanic and part time truck driver, walk around each stop, put a hand on each tyre and belt it with the wheel nut socket bar and listen to the sound If they aren't all the same, check the tyre pressures, otherwise, you have had the required break away from the wheel, get back in and drive :lol:

T1 Terry

 

TPMS Hack (*)

Have a local tire shop remove the sensors from the rims when you buy new tyres.
Bypass them for about $10 worth of PVC parts.
Search "TPMS hack" on YouTube and other sites for instructions for creating a pressurized chamber out of PVC pipe.
Wait 10 years for the sensors to go bad.
Depressurize, cut off the end cap.
If you're skilled, replace the non-replaceable TPMS batteries that are already programmed for your car.
Otherwise?
Buy new sensors and another end cap.
Repressurize and program the new sensors for the vehicle. (**)
Repeat as necessary every 10 years.




(*) Not recommended for millennials or younger, but really - do those people ever KEEP a car for 10 years?!
It goes without saying that you WILL have to actually check on your tyres semi-occasionally.

(**) If you drive a car manufactured by a horribly corrupt car manufacturer then you may have to have the replacement TPMS "programmed" by a tire shotpor the OEM before removing and putting into the PVC bypass.
I cannot speak to this.
I drive GMCs and so I can reprogram the new sensors with a $10 Amazon tool or without the tool with a little more time and effort and the ability to read an owner's manual.

 

gosh - never realized it was so hard, thinking these TPMS's are so easy. No more difficult than screwing off/on a regular valve stem plastic cap - over here, this side of the pond. Those lock nuts would be important - supposedly - if we were driving through scuzzy areas, where thieves might unscrew these easily removable TPMS's, but that's fortunately not our case. We just tossed 'em.
On our prior motorhome with a dually setup, our inner wheel valve stems were long enough that they protruded out through the outer rim to the point they were just as easy to access as single wheels. As for tire pressure change due to heat, that's easily overcomable using nitrogen.
Just consider formula 1 racing. On a hot track their tires can hit 300° f. Yet pressures remain constant.

.

 

Seems like that claim, if true, would entail that nitrogen is exempt from the Ideal Gas Law.

Can you link any source that suggests F1 tire pressures "remain constant" as the temperature changes?

Here's a contrary source: What Are F1 Tires Filled With? - One Stop Racing

It explains various reasons to prefer nitrogen for F1 tires. The reasons have to do with chemical stability at the high operating temperatures.

It doesn't say anything about nitrogen disobeying temperature-pressure laws. In fact, it specifically mentions heat blankets used on tires in the pit so they can be inflated to suitable pressure for the expected operating temperature.

 

They used N100 for the US pace Shuttle too.

I don't race Formula 1 so the N78 formula is good enough for me.

 

I bet they never said that was because its pressure was invariant with temperature though.

 

Buy your tires at Costco and get free nitrogen. The cost vs minor improvement is the real argument.

 

Gladly. Even so, not a huge fan of nitrogen for most applications. But having been in Aerospace for decades, your typical Jet tires run nitrogen as well. That said, and back to Formula 1;

It's not an absolute, it's just a big advantage, as regular air, which is nearly 80% nitrogen anyway, contains moisture, and that is the thing that expands..
(sorry I lost the above link before I could paste it plus - I'm in the midst of typical ongoing other things .... still - a similar read
Why F1 Tyres are filled with Nitrogen: Purpose behind using it as alternate to normal air - The SportsRush
)