By Andrew Liszewski
While tire pressure monitoring systems are by no means new this DIY kit from Suzhou State Auto Electronic Co. (S&T) allows even the cheapest of rides to gain this functionality without having to take a trip to the local garage. The system consists of 4 easy to install valve caps that wirelessly transmit the tire pressure data to a dashboard mounted unit that displays the info in real time.
The ‘wireless master’ as the dashboard unit is called can be plugged into your vehicle’s power or can operate on its own thanks to rechargeable batteries that should last about a week between charges. Besides displaying the current tire pressure the system can also be used to automatically alert you to problems like when tire pressure is too low, too high or even if the pressure is rapidly decreasing which would indicate a soon-to-be flat tire.
But at about $150 for a system that just displays the pressure I would stick with the simple pocket gauge in the glove box and regular checks of the vehicle’s tires.
