TPMS

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Benefits of TPMS

There are two main reasons that TPMS has been introduced:

• Avoiding traffic accidents due to under-inflated tires by early recognition of the malfunction of tyres.
• Reducing rolling resistance to increase overall fuel efficiency.

Types of TPMS

There are two main types of TPMS. Direct systems or Indirect systems.

• Direct TPMS uses sensors inside each tyre that are attached to the tyre valves. The sensors monitor the pressure of each individual tyre and send a wireless signal back to the vehicle computer. The pressure data is then displayed on the vehicle’s dashboard. If the pressure drops below a preset level it will issue a warning to the driver so they can have that specific tyre checked.
• Indirect TPMS uses data from ABS or wheel-speed sensors to determine a loss of tire pressure. If the difference between one and another tyre exceeds a certain tolerance, the monitoring system will indicate tyre pressure loss.

TPMS Legislation in the UK

TPMS has now become such an important issue due to recent legislation changes regarding it’s use in the United Kingdom and European Union. Important facts about TPMS are below:

• As of 1st November 2012, all new-type vehicles are required by EU law to have a pressure based tyre pressure monitoring system installed. This applies to the road wheels, not the spare. This system can be direct or indirect TPMS.
• By 1st November 2014, all new passenger vehicles had to have TPMS installed by the manufacturer
• The law is not currently retrospective, and does not apply to older vehicles and this law applies to passenger vehicles only, with no more than 7 seats
• TPMS is now part of the annual vehicle test (MOT), and applies to all newly registered cars from January 1st 2012. This means that a car with a faulty TPMS will fail the vehicle test since January 2015
• Until 2015, a faulty TPMS was only an advisory and listed on the testing certificate (UK). Different European countries may interpret the EU legislation differently. So please refer to your own European country legislation

What does TPMS mean for your after market alloy wheel purchase?

So with the implementation of TPMS in most vehicles and the change in legislation, what does this mean when you are buying a new set of after market alloy wheels from AlloyWheels.com

• If your car does not come with a factory fitted TPMS, or is fitted with an indirect TPMS, then there is no change and nothing you need to do. Wheels or wheels and tyres can be purchased without TPMS sensors and fitted to your vehicle with no issues at all.
• If your car comes with a direct TPMS then you will need to make the decision to either re-use your existing sensors or purchase a set of new sensors. At AlloyWheels.com we stock sensors for all vehicles and have the equipment to set all the sensors to the specific settings for your vehicle. If your car has a direct system you will be prompted to add sensors to your order after selecting your alloy wheels.