Sponsored by The Tire Rack

[boostm3]

There have been several threads on this.. In some, folks say it works.. In others, folks say it doesnt work.. For those who havent read, the idea is that there are receivers in each wheel well which 'reads' the signal from the nearest wheel sensor, and transmits it to the ECU.. or something like that.

Enter the winter season where alot of us want to switch to a tire/wheel pkg which does not have the sensors mounted, or want the freedom to do so without having the added expense of a shop or dealer breaking the bead, installing the sensor, remounting the tire, and if required, rebalancing, all to serve the TPMS god, and whatever lobbies were at work in passing these tpms mandates. The ire only increases proportional to the number of different tire/wheel setup one wants to run.

Along comes this proposed solution: by a 2.5" wide pcv tube, thread a cap onto one end and glue a bottom to the tube. Drill a hole big enough to mount a valve in, Put 4 tpms sensors in the tube, close the cap, inflate the tube with as much air as the tires are supposed to receive, put the contraption in the trunk, and theoretically, the wheel-well receivers receive the signal, and all appears to be well.

Some say it works, others say it does not. Im trying to find out which is the bottom line. No lectures about how this is an infraction; just looking to take back some control, and save a few bucks in the process. And simplify life a little. To those who say it doesnt work, might it be because with all 4 sensors ganged together, a discrete signal is not really sent to each wheel-well receiver, and therefore the signals get 'muddied' (highly technical term)?

Anybody with some insight, or definitive knowledge if this works?

[wolfe]

I'm not positive on this but I would wonder if the range of the TPMS is high enough to let this work.

[1Blazer]

Similiar thing on the lexus is350... i actually did it and the signal was strong enough from the trunk but i was lucky i guess because many said that it didnt work for them... many called it the pipe bomb but placed it on the seats in the cabin... only thing that would concern me is how the temperature would fluctuate in the car and the pressure on the pipe may vary... never happened to me but that was my main concern... good luck to ya!

[RPM90]

Originally Posted by boostm3

There have been several threads on this.. In some, folks say it works.. In others, folks say it doesnt work.. For those who havent read, the idea is that there are receivers in each wheel well which 'reads' the signal from the nearest wheel sensor, and transmits it to the ECU.. or something like that.

Enter the winter season where alot of us want to switch to a tire/wheel pkg which does not have the sensors mounted, or want the freedom to do so without having the added expense of a shop or dealer breaking the bead, installing the sensor, remounting the tire, and if required, rebalancing, all to serve the TPMS god, and whatever lobbies were at work in passing these tpms mandates. The ire only increases proportional to the number of different tire/wheel setup one wants to run.

Along comes this proposed solution: by a 2.5" wide pcv tube, thread a cap onto one end and glue a bottom to the tube. Drill a hole big enough to mount a valve in, Put 4 tpms sensors in the tube, close the cap, inflate the tube with as much air as the tires are supposed to receive, put the contraption in the trunk, and theoretically, the wheel-well receivers receive the signal, and all appears to be well.

Some say it works, others say it does not. Im trying to find out which is the bottom line. No lectures about how this is an infraction; just looking to take back some control, and save a few bucks in the process. And simplify life a little. To those who say it doesnt work, might it be because with all 4 sensors ganged together, a discrete signal is not really sent to each wheel-well receiver, and therefore the signals get 'muddied' (highly technical term)?

Anybody with some insight, or definitive knowledge if this works?

Seems like a lot of trouble to go to, when all you need to do is simply mount sensors in the winter wheels.

How much does a set of 4 sensors cost?

[boostm3]

Originally Posted by RPM90

Seems like a lot of trouble to go to, when all you need to do is simply mount sensors in the winter wheels.

How much does a set of 4 sensors cost?

About $200 from tirerack. I think Ive decided on which winter pkg Im going to buy, so no need for the pcv tube option.