Arthur Saruhanov from “Behind the wheel” talked about the pros and cons of “smart” monitoring system of tyre pressure from the company Fobo Tire.
The subject of the monitoring of tire pressure (Tire Pressure Monitoring System, TPMS) is not new. The pioneer in this field — the USA — they began to introduce it in production cars in the late 1990s, and in 2008, monitoring has become mandatory for all sold in the local market of passenger cars and LCV. By the end of the 2000s arrived, the decision — caps, screw on the valve swap wheels and having a color indicator of pressure. Cheap, but too not without a sin — wheel constantly had to explore before the trip.
And now comes the technology, the idea which lay on the surface. Manufacturers of electronics have realized that the transmit data from the sensors over the air to your smartphone? No sooner said than done. Information from device is called Fobo Tire is always in your pocket via Bluetooth. And tire pressure check in the mobile app.
Why do motorists know what the pressure in the wheels of cars? First, for your own comfort and peace of mind. Imagine going to an important meeting, run out of the house and front porch awaits unpleasant surprise — a flat tire. Or what is worse — the car is without wheels.
Neokazannye tires have greater load on the sidewalls, resulting in increased fuel consumption, poor handling, increased braking distance, increased heat generation and, consequently, rapid destruction of the tire (cracking, peeling rubber, breaking). On the other hand, over inflated tires are at greater risk of damage by potholes in asphalt or various objects lying on the road. Over inflated tyres also lead to increased braking distance. Both insufficient and excessive pressure can cause uneven tread wear that reduces the life of the tire.
Fobo Tire sales in Russia was launched a couple of months ago. Included in the device unit receiver and four sensors that screw onto the valves of the wheels of your car. Aesthetically, the device looks not very good, and not see a scolding pioneers with your yard will not be able. But there is a nuance. First, to steal the sensors makes no sense — they are individual for each set. In addition to them, accompanied by a special plastic nuts to prevent theft.
Communication with Fobo Tire begins with downloading the same apps from the App Store or Google Play. Formally, it is only necessary to pre-configure the device — then you can use the display on the unit is the receiver. But it will indicate the problematic wheel, nothing more.
App tested on iPhone 6, is not without drawbacks. When you try to make recommended readings on tire pressure in bars it crashes. Hopefully, after the feedback received, the manufacturer will fix this bug in the next firmware. Nothing to do, had to convert bars in Kgf/cm2 according to the formula: 1 Bar = 14.5 Psi = 100 Kpa = 1,02 Kgf/cm2.
Next go around with all four smartphone pre-installed on the wheels of the sensor — and voila, you can use it! All in all took less than five minutes.
The next trick was expected with the onset of the Russian winter. Well as winter — at night the temperature dropped below -2°C. the Stated range at which a usable sensors — from -40 to +85°C. But there is a caveat: the brand new battery is “planted” in them for the week. Manufacturer, of course, warns users in the manual that cold and frequent forced an appeal to the information from the sensors entail the rapid release of batteries fail. It should be borne in mind that up to 2 years referred to in the description of the product, measured at +25°C.
After washing the car everything is not all right. The manufacturer claims that the sensors are protected from water according to standard IP57. Recall that the number “5” in the designation refers to the protection from water jets from any direction (do not drop, namely, the jets), “7” is guarantees protection against flooding at a certain duration and under certain pressure. In fact, after washing with three of four sensors began to fail until, until the car drove a couple of miles. Visual alerts are accompanied by the beeping of the buzzer on the block-the receiver.
There are two color caps — silver and black. Fobo Tire is a versatile product, it can be used for Bicycle, motorcycle and other equipment with inflatable wheels. The cost of this toy — 11 950 RUB If you run anything more serious than a passenger car, the option Fobo Tire Plus c pressure up to 6 bar will cost 15 500 rubles.
