Seriously...TPMS?

[ruffdog]

I have had 16 vehicles with abs over the years. Most of the early ones I could hear and feel the abs motor doing it's thing trying to keep the tires from skidding. Some were not too bad while some would cycle too slowly to be fully effective. Over the years the abs systems have been getting much better. I'm really surprised at my latest ride, a new GMC 1500. I have not "felt" the abs at all. We have had some bad ice on the roads that you could hardly walk on it too. While trying to skid, there is no buzzing through the peddle, no pulsing action of the brakes at all. The truck just stops. I was delivering sand to my parents house after the ice storm because the have a nasty off camber turn on a hill on their driveway. The truck went down that with no drama at all. Amazing!

 

[rsallen]

Aczlan,
Read the text more carefully; it states SOME systems and not all.
I would submit the boarder line systems they were panning were the 'meet a/the profit/sales line' to an uneducated public.
But it's true if I were doing motocross ABS would not be used.......however TPM might be real useful.

And no Check,
We're not talking about different issues.
If you're not feeling the car through the seat of your pants and steering feed back then you're too detached to know what is going on to be screwing around on the brakes.

 

[aczlan]

Aczlan,
Read the text more carefully; it states SOME systems and not all.
I would submit the boarder line systems they were panning were the 'meet a/the profit/sales line' to an uneducated public.
But it's true if I were doing motocross ABS would not be used.......however TPM might be real useful.

Specifically, it says "Some ABS calibrations reduce this problem by slowing the cycling time, thus letting the wheels repeatedly briefly lock and unlock."

Aaron Z

 

[kenmac]

The lights have made it worse? Not even close. Before TPMS there were more cars on the road with under inflated tires...plain and simple. Seeing people on the side of the road with "blow outs", and flats, used to be far more common than it is now, and a part of that is TPMS. Sure, tires are probably better, but the average car is heavier today than it was 30 years ago (yes, they really are), so they need to be, and the speed limits are as high as they have ever been....most of the highway I drive to work is all 70mph zones, and that's common. Smart people see the light come on, and do something about it. In the past, they drove until the tire was ruined, or worse. Stupid people there really isn't a fix for.

Checking the tires before you leave does nothing to help the common situations where you pick up debris while you're driving....nothing at all.

Where do you come up with this stuff. Cars are heavier today than they were 30 yrs ago ??? Really ???? Auto makers aren't getting the fuel mileage they are getting out of these autos by building them heavier. around 30 yrs ago the imports were getting better gas mileage than us made vehicles . You know why ???? Smaller engines smaller vehicles that were lighter in weight. There's not a lot of magic in getting fuel mileage... Loose weight !!!! All vehicles today are made out of lighter weight material than they were 30 yrs ago.. that's a fact !!!. I also see cars all over the side of the road with flat blown out tires. I know you don't believe it but, people still drive with the light on thinking they'll air up the tire when they get a chance. TPMS does nothing for a sudden blow out when someone runs over an object on the hwy. Like truckers, I give my vehicles a look B-4 I just jump in and drive off

 

[kenmac]

The NHTSA report I linked earlier gave their stats. I think they said around 33K accidents annually are caused by under inflated tires, and those led to around 600 fatalities. I guess it would only help if you're one of those 600 or so who might have benefited from a system telling the driver that something was wrong in advance of it become a bigger problem.

There's proof that TPMS would have prevented any of these. If you want someone to follow you around and make sure you don't hurt yourself ,or help you out when you need it ,that's ok with me. I'm a full grown man and don't need anyone (especially the government) to follow me around to wipe my butt.. Really !! I can handle it !!!

 

[rsallen]

Whoa Kenmac,
As far as I know the only mandates are with individual state inspections.
Most say that IF the vehicles is equipped with such or such they must be in working order.

Most of what is going around on this thread is not federally mandated.

 

[ruffdog]

If someone is having lots of flats and blow-outs, maybe you need better tires, or stop driving through the salvage yard????

 

[GManBart]

Because it is another mandate from our government, and I don't like my government mandating me to purchase things.

You are giving excellent arguments for the advantages of having TPMS, and I happen to agree with them. I think TPMS is a great idea and appreciate that my car has it. Here are some other things my car has. I'd be curious to know which of these you think would also be a good law to force people to purchase.

The only things on the list that I'd agree with as laws are ABS, and TPMS. Pretty much all the other stuff can be covered by safe driving practices. On the other hand, nobody can stop a car in panic conditions as well as ABS can (on average), and nobody can tell when their tires first start to lose pressure. That's why those two things have become mandatory, or so it seems.

 

[GManBart]

While I generally agree with your statement, in low traction situations (deep snow, gravel, dirt, etc) ABS can actually cause longer stopping distances.

True, but tires with tread blocks, grooves, and sipes increase stopping distances on dry pavement, but nobody complains about that right?

 

[check]

Aczlan,
Read the text more carefully; it states SOME systems and not all.
I would submit the boarder line systems they were panning were the 'meet a/the profit/sales line' to an uneducated public.
But it's true if I were doing motocross ABS would not be used.......however TPM might be real useful.

And no Check,
We're not talking about different issues.
If you're not feeling the car through the seat of your pants and steering feed back then you're too detached to know what is going on to be screwing around on the brakes.

Yes we are talking about different issues. ABS is for when you are already in trouble. And, if you are at the point where you can feel it through the steering wheel or the seat of your pants, then you have already gone too fast. I am talking about not getting to that point in the first place.