A new - better Direct TPMS system

SCOPESYS

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Some time ago I posted about fitting a Direct TPMS system

My understanding is that the HONDA oem INDIRECT TPMS will only detect a low tire pressure if that tire with the low pressure is the only one going low. If all tires go low by the same amount, the Indirect TPMS will not alarm.

The Indirect TPMS system is only really designed to detect when ONE tire starts to go low (typically because of a puncture), and since all cars (sold in the USA, manufactured after a certain date ) ) are required to have some sort of Tire Puncture/low pressure waning system, the INDIRECT TPMS was the cheapest way for Honda to achieve this, as it is only really Software, looking at already measured parameters, (ie wheel rotation speed).

ie The Honda INDIRECT TPMS is NOT going to alarm as winter approaches, and the weather gets colder, resulting in all 4 of your tires, having decreased tire pressure.

For about $30, you can get a DIRECT TPMS with its own display, and then you can tell if any tire pressure changes, measured to 0.1 PSI (absolute accuracy may not be that high, but that is far better than 6-7 Psi )

s-l400.jpg


https://www.ebay.com/itm/Wireless-S...ring-System-4-External-Sensor-US/323913168430
I have one fitted in the SI.. Works very well. Only negative is that it is that the display is not that Bright, so is difficult to see in strong sunlight.
Not so bad for me, as I am able to keep the car in a garage, and at the start of any trip, it is then really easy to read in the shade, and I always know what my starting pressures are. It also alarms with both Visual and Audio alarms, if any tire pressure (or Temperature) goes outside of limits, I can adjust & set myself on the unit.

TPMS_Gauges.jpg
The system worked VERY well, but the only complaint I had was that the screen was not that bright.
The screen used a VFD type display ( which was not very bright at all)

Recently I can across the same looking TPMS system, but this used a LCD display.
GREAT -- may be brighter, so I bought one .. BUT it was dimmer than the original VFD one. :(

But here is the Good news.. There is Nothing you can do about the dim VFD display.
However, the brightness of the LCD display is directly relayed to the brightness of the LED backlight.

As it is supplied, the LCD version has low brightness Leds, so that they do not drain the unit's battery,
BUT - there is nothing stopping you adding addition VERY BRIGHT leds, and having those powered directly off the unit's USB charging port . (5v)
So I added 4 12Mcd leds two on each side, and the Result was FANTASTIC.
(does require a little care and work to do .. taking about 1 hour)

It now matches the Head unit display in Brightness ...

Example: This pic was taken at night... it looks even better is daylight, and like the Head Unit display, it does not get washed out in bright sunlight. (will add a Day time shot tomorrow)
Honda Civic 10th gen A new - better  Direct TPMS system LCD_TPMS_Night


Bottom line is .. it is far better than the former VFD display model (once the LCD one has been "Super Charged, with additional LED lighting)
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mvela

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Have you tested the accuracy with a tire pressure gauge? And can you post a pic of the sensors on the tires? I would like to see how they stand out.
 
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Have you tested the accuracy with a tire pressure gauge? And can you post a pic of the sensors on the tires? I would like to see how they stand out.
Numerous times. Today I went to Costco, and had them put 34 psi Nitrogen in all tires.
(I will bleed off any excess tomorrow morning when they are cold).
At Costco, when I put the Valve sensor back on the tires, all 4 read 34 psi on the TPMS display.

I also have a similar unit on my other car (with Air). If I inflate these with using a digital tire pressure gauge, that reads to 0.5 psi, the TPMS unit always reads the same as the digital type gauge +/- 0.5 psi

Obviously when I drive, the tires get warmer, and the pressure goes up.

If I park in the sun, and it hits just one side of the car, one can see the tires on the sunny side are both warmer, and their pressures higher.

It's TPMS where M stands for MONITORING, and it does a great job doing just that, and for me, is far superior to an "Idiot Light" that goes onto tell you that one or more of your tires "may" be low !!
 

mvela

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Numerous times. Today I went to Costco, and had them put 34 psi Nitrogen in all tires.
(I will bleed off any excess tomorrow morning when they are cold).
At Costco, when I put the Valve sensor back on the tires, all 4 read 34 psi on the TPMS display.

I also have a similar unit on my other car (with Air). If I inflate these with using a digital tire pressure gauge, that reads to 0.5 psi, the TPMS unit always reads the same as the digital type gauge +/- 0.5 psi

Obviously when I drive, the tires get warmer, and the pressure goes up.

If I park in the sun, and it hits just one side of the car, one can see the tires on the sunny side are both warmer, and their pressures higher.

It's TPMS where M stands for MONITORING, and it does a great job doing just that, and for me, is far superior to an "Idiot Light" that goes onto tell you that one or more of your tires "may" be low !!
Awesome! Can you post a pic of the sensors on the wheels
 


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It's TPMS where M stands for MONITORING, and it does a great job doing just that, and for me, is far superior to an "Idiot Light" that goes onto tell you that one or more of your tires "may" be low !!
There's another advantage, too, based on an experience I had two weeks ago.

I left home and thought something felt strange with how my car was accelerating as soon as I pulled out of my driveway. Once I was up to speed, I turned my radio off to see if anything sounded strange, and it did. Right about then, the TPMS light came on.

I turned around at the first place I could and went back home. I'd driven about 1 mile in total. The tire was totally flat. I removed the wheel and saw a screw embedded in the center of the tread. So I dropped the tire off at a nearby shop and asked them to patch it.

They called a few hours later and said once they removed the tire, they could see it was unpatchable due to the sidewall being damaged by driving on it. So I had to buy a new tire.

A true TPMS system like this would've told me my tire was flat as soon as I got into the car, rather than 1/2 a mile up the road like the OEM one, and I wouldn't be out $180 for a new tire.
 

zakarybeach

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After my 2013 Rogue had a full TPMS system, coming to the Civic was a huge let down. Especially with the lack of spare tire, that light is scary to say the least. Just ordered one for myself, thanks a ton for your write up :)
 
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The LED display TPMS system display in Daylight.
It's a very close match in intensity to the Head Unit display :)

Honda Civic 10th gen A new - better  Direct TPMS system LCD_TPMS_Day1

I have it mounted with VELCRO, and it is not going to go anywhere, unless I intentionally want to remove it or re-position it.

This one I purchased on Ebay as well,

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Car-Tire-P...Wireless-TPMS-4-External-Sensors/133094845955

Honda Civic 10th gen A new - better  Direct TPMS system s-l1600

Unfortunately, these Ebay pics do not seem to distinguish between the VFD ones and the LCD ones. You defiantly want the LCD one if you are up to adding the extra LED back-lighting.

The LCD one I got had the Brand-name in white silk screen just above the display.
I removed it with some acetone, as I preferred the look without it.

Also, while the Picture shows FL FR etc on the Valve sensors, the one I got had a graphic showing the corresponding wheel marked on a car graphic.

The Ebay sellers seem to be using GENERIC picture, that may not 100% represent what they are selling :(

The Picture for the LCD one I bought looked more like the other VFD one !!

Just because they say LCD, does not necessarily mean they really are,
(uninformed Ebay sellers !!)

Not that you can easily tell from the Ebay pictures, the PHYSICAL devices have the Pressure Digits on the LCD one are slightly bigger than the VFD digits,One clue might be, is that the LCD has a battery Indicator on the Top RIGHT, and the Pressure digits are white, and the Car in the center is white.
The VFD display has Yellow Pressure digits, and the Car is Blue, and it has no charging indicator.

Maybe, if you wantto make sure you get the LCD one, order from the Ebay seller in this post.
 
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EspadaTiburon

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Gonna give it a try, since the TPMS was one of the things I was unhappy about when I first got the car. Any chance you have a link to the LED bulbs that you used?
Also, your link above doesn't work. You're missing a h in front of it.
 


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SCOPESYS

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Gonna give it a try, since the TPMS was one of the things I was unhappy about when I first got the car. Any chance you have a link to the LED bulbs that you used?
Also, your link above doesn't work. You're missing a h in front of it.
The leds I used were 12K mcd (12,000) white 3mm leds ( 12k mcd is very bright)

for example

https://www.ebay.com/itm/50-x-LED-3...-Bright-USA-Seller-Free-Shipping/223292877074

Then I filed them down from round, to be much smaller & flat, filing away a lot of the plastic lens, but not so much that I filed down to the metal & chip part of the led.
Then when they were small & flat, they slid under the side edges of the LCD panel, and added to the light from the small leds what were on either side (on the Circuit board)
Each led was wires to it's own 220R 1/2 watt resistor, epoxyed into the inside top of the case, and getting power DIRECT from the Micro usb socket. ( Some careful soldering required)

Maybe I'll take it apart this weekend, and do a write up on how to do the mod.
It certainly results in a very satisfactory unit.
 
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My chevy cruze and previous car, Hyundai Elantra, both have/had tire pressure read outs in the center screen but my type R does not. WHY HONDA!? Good solution, I'll definitely look into this!
 

sLing

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Don't you need to rebalance your tire if you using these?
 

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Could you take a picture of the sensors on the wheel? I would like to see how big they are
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