The importance of using a TPMS on your 4WD
A 4×4 tyre pressure monitoring system monitors the tyre pressures and temperatures of your 4WD, why is it a good idea to have one? Tyre pressures are so important for a number of reasons. This includes extending your tyre life, improving ride comfort, reducing the risk of blowouts and overall road safety. Knowing your tyre pressures all the time, ensures your tyres are at the right pressure for the conditions you are driving in. Be it the ambient air temperature, or road conditions, load in the rear of your 4×4, towing and the tow ball weight on your rear axle among other things. A 4 sensor tyre pressure monitoring system installed on your 4WD ensures you are continuously aware of the pressures in each tyre and how they are changing as you drive.
A 4WD (TPMS) tyre pressure monitoring system also provides you with real-time temperature readings for each tyre. Why is this important? Well, tyre temperatures are extremely important as it provides you with important data. This data can assist you in determining whether or not your cold tyre pressure was set correctly for the conditions you are driving in. It will also provide you with early warning signs of any tyre pressure problems. Depending on your load, whether you are towing, the ambient air temperature and road conditions, normal tyre temperatures should be somewhere below 50 degrees Celsius. Of course, you will see tyre temperatures exceed 50 degrees in certain conditions but being aware of each tyre temperature allows you to make some important decisions before anything catastrophic happens.
Being able to see how your 4×4 tyre pressures are changing as you drive provides you with some very useful information. If you are towing a caravan and you notice that your tyre pressures in the rear are increasing a lot more than you expected, straight away you know that your initial cold pressures were too low. Some people talk about the 4PSI rule which can be used as a guide but not a source of truth. The 4PSI rule is fairly simple so is a good starting point to ensure you have the correct cold tyre pressure (of course ensuring you are running within your vehicle and tyre recommendations). Basically, the idea is that if you notice that after an hour of driving that your tyre pressures have increased by more than 4PSI then your cold pressure was too low. For example, if you started at 38PSI and after an hour they are sitting at 48PSI, then you probably should increase your cold pressures to somewhere closer to 44PSI. This would be the same if the opposite occurred. That being said, if your tyres only increased by say 2PSI then you would probably reduce your cold tyre pressures. This is only to be used as a guide ensuring you are within your vehicle and tyre maximum recommendations. In summary, you don’t want to be seeing large increases in tyre pressures, probably somewhere around 10% or so. If your tyre pressures are increasing more than they should this will cause tyre temperatures to also increase and potentially lead to failure.
Running 4 sensors on your 4×4 as a bare minimum will give you peace of mind whilst driving. Having live data sent straight to your 4WD dashboard via a TPMS tyre pressure monitor is a safe bet against having any potential tyre issues. Especially if you are towing a caravan, having a 4×4 tyre pressure monitoring system installed on your 4WD and Caravan, you can rest at ease without the worrying concept of a potential tyre blowout. Whether utilising 4 or more sensors on your 4×4, a 4wd tyre pressure monitoring is essential. Aftermarket tyre pressure monitoring systems have become far more affordable these days and is a small price to pay in protecting and monitoring the pressures and temperatures on your 4×4 and Caravan.
