[Samfromindia]

TPMS or Tyre Pressure Monitoring system displays tyre pressure in real time and warns users of abnormal or sudden changes in tyre pressure. Users can take preventive action by using recommended tyre pressure after being aware of the warning. Here is why everyone should have a TPMS:

+ Driving with extremely low or high tyre pressure can cause accidents due to tyre failures.
+ Using correct tyre pressure ensures optimal fuel economy.
+ Proper tyre pressure prolongs the life of a tyre.
+ It takes the guesswork out. No longer one needs to check pressure periodically. Changes can be done as soon as incorrect pressure is detected.
+ If car doesn't come with TPMS, its very easy to install an aftermarket one. And cheap too !
+ Countries like USA made TPMS mandatory for all passenger cars from 2007 ! This is one of the most affordable safety device you can buy.


After procrastinating for long, i finally decided to order one. The Chinese accessory market is full of these devices. Many of them gets sold here through Amazon for 2-3 times the price. Some gets re-branded and sold here for a even higher cost, like SensAiry:
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modif...ased-tpms.html (SensAiry : An app-based TPMS)

which is basically this thing with an extra sensor:
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pro..._2266622.pic_0

I am pretty comfortable using Aliexpress to import electronics from China and have purchased numerous products since last 5 years. So my natural choice was Aliexpress. There are many products and all can be categorized into the following types:

Sensor Type

Internal
+Discreet, not visible from outside.
+Cannot be stolen
+Top up air as usual

-Need to go to tyre shop for installation as tyre removal from rim is required.
-If new rim is used which doesn't have a sensor, visit tyre shop again.
-More expensive.

External
+Easy to install. DIY job of 10 mins.
+Can be easily switched from one rim to another.
+Less expensive.

-Easy to spot from outside and can be tampered. Although anti theft nut is given which require a tool to open, its not hard to steal that with the right set of tools.
-Need to remove anti theft nut each time you fill up air. So need to carry the tool all time in glovebox. Removal doesn't take much time but its still an added process.

Display Type

Bluetooth
+Pressure information can be seen on mobile or car head unit.
+No need to add any aftermarket display in dash.

Standalone
+Dedicated display to show information all time unlike mobile where that app needs to be opened.
+Many models come with solar charge which is set it & forget it.

I decided to go for a standalone solar unit with external sensors for the following reasons:

+I already use my phone for navigation & playing music in car. I don't want to run another app in background.
+I don't mind a additional display on dash so long it looks neat without any clutter. A solar unit doesn't require wire for the most part.
+I preferred an internal sensor but i couldn't find any unit with 5 sensors bundled. I always do 5 tyre rotation. So it will be a big hassle for me to change the sensors during rotation.

The options were plenty, but i decided to buy one of the most popular models sold from a popular seller:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Sola...827103383.html

Keep in mind although the unit is branded Visture, the same model can be found with different branding with different seller. While purchasing look for the best deal among reputed sellers.

Let the pictures do the talking:

Solar TPMS


External & Internal sensor options present


Packaging


Unboxing


Installation






Display Monitor






Instruction Manual
TPMS.pdf


Review

+The unit was delivered in 3 weeks. Fast in Aliexpress standard. As usual, no customs were charged for it.

+Its really compact & looks neat.

+It took 5-10 mins to install the external sensors. The sensors have some weight. No idea if wheel balancing is necessary.

+The display is solar charged for most part unless you do prolonged night driving. In that case there is option to charge the unit using any micro-usb cable.

+Temperate & Pressure of all 4 tyres are displayed. There is an option to set lower and upper threshold for both temperature & pressure, crossing which the unit will sound alarm.

+There is provision for tyre rotation by changing id of sensors and also provision to add new sensor

+I did a short highway trip crossing 100 and had no issues in high speed. Everything worked normally. Temperature & pressure rises up with distance & speed as expected.

+Very accurate reading. Same as what was filled in Shell fuel pump.


-The included double sided tape to stick the unit on dashboard didnt work on my dash properly Luckily a double sided 3M tape of car perfume came to the rescue !

-The unit is supposed to auto start whenever vibration / motion is detected and auto stop when everything is silent. It works for the most part, but when it doesn't it ends up discharging itself overnight & requires external charge to bring it back to life. I have started turning off manually after leaving car.

-There are micro rattles coming from the unit. I can notice it especially on a silent road. I don't want to nitpick but i am pretty OCD about these sounds, more so as its located right next to my steering wheel. I expected the solar antenna to be loose and cause the rattle. After opening i found the circuit board to be the cause of the issue.

Disassembly


I need to check if it can be fixed in any way.

Well this concludes my review of the aftermarket TPMS. So far i am pretty happy with the purchase. This is surely an useful accessory and i wish i bought it earlier.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by Samfromindia

Well this concludes my review of the aftermarket TPMS. So far i am pretty happy with the purchase. This is surely an useful accessory and i wish i bought it earlier.

Thanks for this review, TPMS is surely a must have in vehicles these days. I was infact eyeing the exact same model, as a friend had it on his Brezza. As rightly pointed out by you, the same thing is rebranded and available as different brands from different sellers.

He was really happy with the unit, except for the sensors which used to leak air. This nuisance increased after sometime and he had to completely discard the setup. We later came to know that it was a common issue and IIRC, similar problem was faced by a YouTube Vlogger too. I'll share a link of the video when I get it.

Because of all these issues, I decided to go for a much more reputed brand(Schrader). While it doesn't look as cool and discreet as yours, it does it's job just fine.

Quoting my post from the original review:

2. Sensairy was in contention over others from Aliexpress because of the support they were promising. I don't believe in products without any kind of support. What helped in MGA's case was that Nippon was backing the product. Hence no sweat over any failed batteries or tyre valves. Not saying that Sensairy is bad, but it was my assessment that I'll be able to deal with Nippon and Maruti better. Secondly, what is sold by Maruti is essentially a Schrader UK made product. A quick search on the internet revealed that this is a common product in aftermarkets, and there won't be any shortage of anything even if Maruti/Nippon fails to provide support.

I recently came to know that Mahindra is promoting the same TPMS as a part of their accessories lineup, albeit with only 4 sensors. So support won't be an issue at all.



https://www.m2all.com/tyre-pressure-...stem-tpms.html

Some pics of my setup:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq0qQcJKw3o

Link to the actual review: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-...ml#post4485362 (The love of my life - A 2000 Maruti 800 DX 5-Speed. EDIT: Gets export model features on Pg 27)

Regards,
Shashi

EDIT: Found a link of the Vlogger. Kindly jump straight to 7:00

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7y02wZiJas

[Samfromindia]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

He was really happy with the unit, except for the sensors which used to leak air. This nuisance increased after sometime and he had to completely discard the setup. We later came to know that it was a common issue and IIRC, similar problem was faced by a YouTube Vlogger too. I'll share a link of the video when I get it.

Thanks for sharing your detailed experience with TPMS. I am glad you are having a great experience with your device.

Let me tell you something. Whatever you mentioned was warned by senior bhpians to me in group over and over again when i told them my interest in buying one. I also saw numerous negative experience in reviews and youtube videos. However if you see product reviews of original owners in product page, you will find 90% positive reviews. So i decided to bite the bullet an order one. Also i chose a popular and cheaper device as chances of being bad is lesser when its so popular. Also did i mention the great return policy of Aliexpress? Its much better than our amazon and flipkart trust me. I remember buying this storage mat from them. They gave me the same with Ecosport branding. I complained and they refunded me the whole money and let me keep the product
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/155189-american-beauty-my-ford-ecosport-titanium-1-5-diesel.html#post3718803

Another instance i ordered something which didn't arrive within deadline due to some issues. Seller opted for a cheaper shipping without tracking info back then due to which was unaware what happened. Aliexpress refunded me full money. After a week got the product. Felt bad for the seller.
I can give you more and more examples. What i want to say is that i was 100% assured if something goes wrong i will get my money back.

After installing you can always do the soap water test on valve to see if the tyre is leaking. I have them on for about 15 days. At that time the tyre pressure was 31. Now its 29. Looks pretty normal to be. Did a 120km highway run also with legal speeds. I am not sure how it will behave when i drive at speeds mentioning which GTO will boot me out of this forum. I will leave that for long term review of this product.

So i will recommend any prospective customers to go through product reviews of buyers and decide for themselves. If something goes wrong, rest assured you will get your money back.

Please Note: Someone edited the name of this thread as Review of my Visture Solar TPMS. This is not correct as this is a OEM device and Visture happens to be a popular seller. There are hundreds of sellers selling this exact device with their brand name, and experience with them will be similar.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by Samfromindia

Let me tell you something. Whatever you mentioned was warned by senior bhpians to me in group over and over again when i told them my interest in buying one.

Thanks for sharing your experience. This was reassuring and cleared some other doubts regarding Aliexpress.

Another doubt which I would like to ask, what happens if say one sensor is lost or it stops working?? Does the seller provide with extra sensors in that case?

Regards
Shashi

[sdp1975]

Nice review ! I installed this TPMS a few months ago. The only problem I've seen is that in hot sunlight , the LCD display bars at the top start malfunctioning. For example , if the pressure is 36 , the top bar of the digits 3 and 6 just disappear ! This is only for the top 2 rows. After the temperature goes down , they're good again. Have you faced this problem ?

Apart from this problem , I have no complaints really. I don't remain worried on my long drives and don't have to regularly check my pressure.

[anoop.u]

Thanks for sharing, this is a topic majority of owners and manufacturers tend to ignore. Given our pathetic road conditions, dubious puncture walas, acts of vandalism, mischievous kids etc., installing a TPMS gives you peace of mind because tyres are usually taken for granted.

I have been using a the Careud u912 bought off aliexpress for $79.99 including shipping by DHL in Nov, 2016. Paid around Rs. 1400 as customs duties.

Got it installed in February, 2017 and has been running perfectly fine so far.



Image Courtesy: Aliexpress.com


Pros
+ Starts up on ACC mode and turns off when car is switched off.
+ No battery for the display, hence no heating or battery failure issues.
+ User replaceable battery for internal sensor.
+ Individual pressure display location can be changed after tyre rotation
+ Internal sensor, theft proof.
+ Shows temperature, has an audible warning for low pressure.
+ Individual replacement sensors available on aliexpress.
+ Fast, actual pressure gets every updated in 3-5 seconds.
+ No rusting or pressure leak issues so far.


Cons
- Long term reliability is unknown (working fine for almost 2 years now, ~20K kms.)
- Accuracy is off by +1 PSI
- Have to drill a hole incase suitable mounting location is not available.


Regards,
Anoop

[Samfromindia]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Thanks for sharing your experience. This was reassuring and cleared some other doubts regarding Aliexpress.

Another doubt which I would like to ask, what happens if say one sensor is lost or it stops working?? Does the seller provide with extra sensors in that case?

Regards
Shashi

I have more great experiences to share I will leave that for another post.
In case you never ordered from international stores like Aliexpress from India, you can refer this video to have an understanding:

https://youtu.be/0WzCzKapjhQ

Coming to your queries, in case you lose a sensor due to theft or malfunction, that portion of display will turn blank and other 3 will display temperature and pressure as usual.

The unit comes configured with 4 sensors and their position by default. There is a program mode where you can add new sensors and configure their position. You can refer the attached pdf manual for more info on how to do that. As this is a generic device, any external / internal sensor of same model will work with it. The seller i bought the device from sells a single sensor for $8 each:
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pro...74d84571urFJre

Originally Posted by sdp1975

I've seen is that in hot sunlight , the LCD display bars at the top start malfunctioning. For example , if the pressure is 36 , the top bar of the digits 3 and 6 just disappear ! This is only for the top 2 rows. After the temperature goes down , they're good again. Have you faced this problem ?

Sorry to hear about your issue Is this happening from start ? Then you can opt for refund if bought from Aliexpress. I am using this only for two weeks and never faced this problem so far. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Originally Posted by anoop.u

I have been using a the Careud u912 bought off aliexpress for $79.99 including shipping by DHL in Nov, 2016. Paid around Rs. 1400 as customs duties.

Got it installed in February, 2017 and has been running perfectly fine so far.

Nice review Sir. I have ordered so many stuff from Aliexpress but never needed to pay customs in Kolkata. All items were below $100 for single piece. I was under impression that anything under $100 marked as gift will not attract customs. Paying extra money takes away the VFM factor associated with Aliexpress products. I dont know if the rules for paying customs varies from state to state for products bought for personal use (not in bulk).

[atulsian]

Thanks SamfromIndia for sharing your experience with Visture. I got myself the internal one and got it installed yesterday.

Total dent:

Device : 2800 approx for the device. No custom duty paid.

Installation cost :200 for four tyres.
Wheel balancing and alignment :600

One thing I've noticed that the difference in psi is close to +-2. I filled in 24 and it was showing 22 at the time of getting it installed and today when I checked it shows 30 psi on all four tyres.

[Samfromindia]

Originally Posted by atulsian

Thanks SamfromIndia for sharing your experience with Visture. I got myself the internal one and got it installed yesterday.

Total dent:

Device : 2800 approx for the device. No custom duty paid.

Installation cost :200 for four tyres.
Wheel balancing and alignment :600

One thing I've noticed that the difference in psi is close to +-2. I filled in 24 and it was showing 22 at the time of getting it installed and today when I checked it shows 30 psi on all four tyres.

Well Congrats on your purchase. My readings are accurate as per the Shell fuel pump where i normally fill air. When starting car, the last recorded pressure is shown. The pressure is refreshed when you drive the car over 20kmph i think which is mentioned in manual. Pressure increases by few psi as you drive the car which is normal. Also temperature of front tyres is more than rear as its closer to the engine.

[vsrivatsa]

After going thru some of the choices shared on this thread I went ahead and purchased a TPMS system with External Sensors for my Car.

A detailed post on this topic available on this link > (Deelife External TPMS : Installation & Review)

[mathur2012]

Originally Posted by Samfromindia

....So far i am pretty happy with the purchase. This is surely an useful accessory and i wish i bought it earlier.

Hi, I see it's almost an year now since you have been using the said sensors, how is your long-term experience? My main concern is the air leakage.

[SanScorpio]

Hi,
I was inspired by your thread and had got a Visture internal Sensor TPMS. Had no issues till about six months ago when i had to get a tyre replaced for a puncture and the guy changing the tyre broke the sensor. Got a replacement sensor and fixed it with no issues.
Opened up the TPMS to find that the Lithium ion battery had swollen up. So it is not advisable to keep it in the car as it is a fire hazard. Now i decided to have the convenience of the TPMS without the hazard. Literally hacked off the back part of the Display so i can stick it to the dash near the gear lever so that it looks neat and tidy and out of view. No battery and solar panel, works of the USB power when i connect it to the Charging port.

[mercedised]

Originally Posted by SanScorpio

Hi,
I was inspired by your thread and had got a Visture internal Sensor TPMS. Had no issues till about six months ago when i had to get a tyre replaced for a puncture and the guy changing the tyre broke the sensor. Got a replacement sensor and fixed it with no issues.
Opened up the TPMS to find that the Lithium ion battery had swollen up. So it is not advisable to keep it in the car as it is a fire hazard. Now i decided to have the convenience of the TPMS without the hazard. Literally hacked off the back part of the Display so i can stick it to the dash near the gear lever so that it looks neat and tidy and out of view. No battery and solar panel, works of the USB power when i connect it to the Charging port.

Did you power it up directly by 5V mobile charger? I am asking as the battery of this TPMS is rated at 3.3 or 3.7V, I know it as I opened the unit today after reading your post to check whether the battery is swollen up.

[ms001]

https://www.amazon.in/dp/B08HDK65K8/...140ZBA92TPPQ64

Any first hand reviews of this product ?
Considering aliexpress is not shipping to india , this seems to be reasonable option .

[Simhi]

Originally Posted by ms001

https://www.amazon.in/dp/B08HDK65K8/...140ZBA92TPPQ64

Any first hand reviews of this product ?

@ms001 - I also came across this product on Amazon. Did you purchase it? If yes, can you share your review please? I am looking at an external TPMS and the other option is to look at SensAiry though costly.