Types of Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS)

TMPS is an electronic system that monitors the tire air pressure and alerts you when the pressure falls lower than what's normally required. 

TPMS – that stands for Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems – are electronic systems that are supposed to monitor tire pressure as well as temperature. In case of the sudden deflation of your tires, this system informs drivers about it. The TPMS is programmed in a way that it transmits data to the car and is depicted via a pictogram display, voice activation and a simple warning light on the dashboard. To recognize the significance of tire pressure safety & maintenance, the law has been passed in many countries that companies should manufacture cars equipped with TPMS.

Since TPMS notifies in case the vehicle's tire pressure is low, it helps you maintain proper tire pressure. Inevitably, the TPMS increases your safety while driving by improving your car’s handling, reducing braking distance, decreasing tire wear and bettering fuel economy. Here're a few major types of TPMS that you must know about. So let's dive in;

Direct TPMS

Direct TPMS is the type of system that can measure the exact pressure in every single tire due to individual sensors placed directly in all 4-tires. Unlike the indirect TPMS, it gives a precise data of not only the tire pressure but also the temperature. Perhaps that's the reason why it's the best option when it comes to preventing over-heating situation. When something gets unusual in any tire, the information is transmitted through the car’s computer to the driver.

The direct TPMS is powered separately through either batteries or a system of electromagnetic induction that creates electricity. Alongside solving the battery short life issues, induction allows the TPMS to generate information faster that inevitably decreases the sensors' weight. Since they're placed outside the vehicle, the sensors are very much vulnerable to be broken in case of a significant impact thereby leading to the deprogramming of the sensor at times.

Indirect TPMS

Indirect TPMS is directly linked to the Anti-Lock Braking System - ABS for short - to evaluate an approximate tire pressure. Here's a simple principle that's applied here; In case of the tire deflation or tire being flat, the overall diameter will be smaller leading to the increasing number of rotations and increasing speed as compared to the other properly inflated tires. Since the indirect systems - as the name implies - don't measure the pressure directly but estimate it simply by comparing the data of other, that's why this system is known as indirect TPMS.

Mainly, it's the onboard computer that's evaluating in case the tire gets deflated, and that warns the driver through car's computer. Keep in mind! The indirect TPMS is useful but doesn't give an accurate real-time data. Instead, the system relies on the pressure of the other tires. And when you get the tire reflated appropriately, it takes about an hour for the computer to relearn the new parameters of the sensor no matter what Brand tyre you’re using.