TPMS review - Aneesh

An update guys! Super happy that I’ve received my scooter back, same day, without ANY scratches on the rim! All because of the hydraulic machine, which takes of things with love!

Scooter was picked up from my home at 8:30 am! The rider who came, wasn’t aware of TPMS being installed, hence question related to the same were looked upon with a confused glance by him :sweat_smile:

Anyways, made tons of request to him and mentioned in the job card as well :
“Kindly do not scratch the rim while installing the TPMS.”

Once the scooter was picked up, I could immediately see the change in my app. Starting with - my S1 image being replaced with regular white 450x.

Also I could see the location of my scooter reaching IBC knowledge park. Once all that was done and after a busy day at office, i realised my bike hadn’t come yet ! Immediately called the Ather call center and was attended to, in 20 seconds. :scream: When asked about my scooter, i was put on hold by a kind gent, named dawood, who kept me on hold, and checked my scooter’s status.

Eventually came to know after waiting for 2 mins on call, that the scooter is going through a final inspection, and should reach my home in another 45 mins!

The moment of truth was soon to be witnessed, scratches or no?

Super-suprised - but not a SINGLE hairline scratch :heart_eyes:.

To my disbelief i asked, were the sensors even installed, to which the rider replied - “ oh yes sir!”

And proceeded to show me the screen - which displayed :

Super excited ! Will tomorrow by various tests, check how accurate this lil gadget is. Thank you Ather ! :grinning:

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Awesome! Try a few things if possible:

  1. Manually deflate the tyres < 25 psi to see the UI when the tyre pressure is low, and to check that you’re receiving notifications.
  2. Use your favourite air pump or visit the local petrol pump to fill up air to the optimum levels. Check what their machine shows and what the dashboard reports. It should usually be within +/- 2 PSI.
  3. Take a long trip on your scooter and see if the tyre pressure changes over the ride
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Phase 1 testing : Mi portable inflator

Aim during Phase 1 was to deflate - Inflate tyres at home and check for :

  • App notification over phone
  • Dashboard notification on scooter
  • Feedback time from the sensor to the phone and dashboard
  • Variation in readings

TAKING STATIC READINGS :

Step 1 : Took the static readings via dashboard and phone

Step 2 : Connected the Mi portable inflator to verify readings to be within +/- 2 psi

  • 3 psi variation (Front)

  • 2 psi variation (Rear)

DEFLATION : (FRONT)
With this done, Started deflating the front tyre slowly to see the communication time amongst 2 devices (Phone and dashboard)
Observation - Immediate feedback from the sensor to the dashboard and phone.
No lag observed.

Success. The readings are well within the variation allowed.

DEFLATION : (REAR)
Started deflating the rear tyre slowly, similar way to see the communication time amongst 2 devices (Phone and dashboard)
Observation - Immediate feedback from the sensor to the dashboard and phone.
No lag observed.

  • 2 psi Variation

INFLATION : (FRONT and REAR) The moment the portable pump started, the sensors were able to show every psi increasing step by step successfully. No jumps (eg. from 20 psi to 30 psi directly). You could see in the video posted below.

At the end, yes, the feedback is live and superb IMO. With no lag, its a great feauture to have along with reminders to top up air, or detect a puncture beforehand and avoid an accident.

A few questions I had though, at the end of phase 1 testing - @abhishek.balaji

  • Let’s say, if the tyre deflates dangerously to 4-5 psi, and the tyre barely has any air, how robust is the sensor within the tyre to take that abuse on road ? Would that destroy the sensor completely?

  • Is there a chance of the sensor being unpaired with our scooter’s bluetooth? if so, how do we ensure that doesn’t happen in future?

  • Although the battery would last a good 3 years (which is good in comparison to SensAiry’s product) what would be the next step? would we need to purchase the sensor again, or it would be replaced free of cost.

  • Would the addition of sensors require wheel balancing?

  • due to lack of time today, I couldn’t test one theory - are the sensors entirely independent of 4g connectivity (Scooter / mobile phone) to relay TPMS information over our phone, or they would send that data across purely via Bluetooth, when the owner is nearby?

Observation - my tyres don’t have the wobbly nozzles any more! Its a solid L bent neck with zero flexibility! Thank you for that, they seem much sturdier.

Phase 2 - Filling air at petrol stations… coming soon

Fin.

6 Likes

Hmm, was this just after you took a ride or was the scooter parked for a few hours when you filled air?

I’ll have to get this checked with the team, but the sensor itself is installed in the rim well (?), so it shouldnt be making contact directly.

Unlikely, the sensor just sends readings, and the sensor’s bluetooth properties are stored along with the scooter’s properties. So it should sync right back up.

You would have to purchase the sensor again, the whole unit is completely sealed and the battery is non replaceable.

Will have to check this, but dont think so for two wheelers.

The connection between the sensors and the dashboard is independent of the network connectivity. The relay of info to the app requires connectivity. The sensors do not interface directly with your phone.

Interesting, were you able to fill air on the tyres more easier? For me, I noticed there was hardly a change of 1/2 PSI over a month, so seems to be going good so far.

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I also wanted to check using manual filling stations to understand the loss or over filling.

I personally never ever prefer manual filling places as loss of air would be more or the handling is not good but will try that way to understand the impact now as we could get more accurate info as what happens when automated filling vs manual filling comes into pictures :smile:

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This was taken 40 mins, after coming back home from office.
Air - filled last by Ather during installation on 3rd dec.

Correct. No direct contact with the road, but wouldn’t the weight of the entire rim be on the sensor inside the tyre, incase of a puncture :sweat_smile: Just curious.

Ah ok! :+1:t3:

Noted :+1:t3:

Ahh ok

These valves felt MUCH better than the previous one! Since psychologically I always thought they were inferior valves, to what i have seen. I did find it much easier to fill. But its normal for a tyre to lose slight pressure as time passes.

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Wondering when do the Mumbai guys get the TPMS for beta-testing. It looks like we would get the final product only!

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Finally got the TPMS installed at the Mumbai EC on Friday. Seamless experience.

Initial observation:

I see that the tyre pressure readings change automatically when the flight is parked. The variation isn’t too much but I am not sure if this is the expected behaviour?

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Yeah, varies slightly after you take a ride, and when the ambient temperature changes over the day and night. That’s normal, do check/fill air when your scooter is parked for a while.

Does it mean, that if I fill the air on a road, I need to top up around 1~2 PSI more? I observed that if I fill up the specified 32~30 PSI, the pressure drops by 1~2 PSI when the flight is parked for an hour or so. If I fill up 34~32 during a ride, it shows the pressure as 32~30 after parking for a while.

The recommended pressure of 32~30 needs to be maintained during ride time right?

I wasn’t riding for a couple of days and saw that the app was showing last synced 5 days back. I suddenly saw a drop in my ride efficiency figures. The app shows readings as 29-31. However, when I reset the flight and checked the numbers on the flight, they are showing 28-30.

The app still shows 29-31 after sync. There is no warning though. I will fill up the air this evening and check if I get better efficiency figures.

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Purposefully deflated both tyres today evening - got immediate alerts

Updates are real-time. It would be useful if each trip statistics would carry the PSI for both tyres too. Gives a good sense of correlation between PSI and efficiency figures

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I am observing rapid drop in rear tyre pressure and I strongly suspect it is a puncture. Can I fill in air and take it to a normal tyre shop for fixing the puncture with the TPMS fitted in? Any specific steps / precautions to be taken?

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Yep you can.

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I am now facing this issue. The details are only seen in the app but not on the dashboard. This has been the state for last 5 days. Tried restarting dashboard. Reinstalled app. None helped.

Can someone please help on recovery steps to it working again.

The issue still continues to exist. Should I visit the service center @abhishek.balaji

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Unable to attack images here :frowning:. There was an app exclusive for Forum. I uninstalled it for latest update. But now I do not see it Google Play store for reinstallion. Now using the forum through Ather app.

I installed tpms last year june it was introduced new in hyderabad only 1 week ,i faced problem with tpms 2-3 times,now i have given it for service and they arr saying to rrplace it and ur warranty is over so u should pay 5000,and this arr made to last for only 1 yr

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buying a Air compressor is way cheaper these days then having a TPMS

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Facing this issue with the front tyre (-1). Have tried everything; restarted my Ather, deflated completely and then inflated. I’m facing this issue after the update.

Can any help provide me a solution apart from visiting the service center.