rwtucker wrote:I just had an interesting conversation with a guy at Desser. He says that Goodyear and Michelin tubes are made of the same low leak butyl compound as used by Leak-Guard. There is no need to buy special tubes except that the Leak-Guard brand is $20 less expensive.
I have found this to be untrue, With stock Goodyear tubes air had to be topped up pretty much every week. Since switching to Michelin tubes once every couple of months is fine.
However ...
I made this change years ago, so it may now be true that Goodyear tubes hold air better than they used to.
The important bits are the kneeling pad, extender tube and the precision crafted wire loop. Actually, it's a section cut from a wire coat hanger with the ends twisted together and covered with PVC tape. I push that under the tyre pant and hook it around the valve stem, then pull it down so that the valve cap can be reached to unscrew it and screw on the extender. The separate pressure gauge isn't really necessary, but it's handy as it locks the reading.
Still haven't found a way to check the front tyre while its pant is in place. The access hole is much too small.
Seeing Keith's kit for maintaining his DA40s pressure, I started surfing the web for the stem extension, when I stumbled upon this air pressure monitoring system on Sporty's that monitors the tire pressure much as we have on our cars. http://www.sportys.com/pilotshop/aircra ... 0-psi.html. Product 1680A.
Sadly the product has not been rated. Has anyone tried this technology?
I don't have this so I can't rate it. I am concerned about the mechanism, though. The sensor is in the cap, which depresses the Schrader valve in the valve stem. The only thing keeping pressure in the tube is the seal on the cap. If it loosens or develops a leak...
Compare to the stock set up. The Schrader valve is the primary seal, then the metal valve cap with an O-ring is the secondary seal. Either one will keep the tube pressurized. In the auto application, there is still a redundant seal, and the TPMS transducer is mounted inside the wheel.
TBow wrote:Seeing Keith's kit for maintaining his DA40s pressure, I started surfing the web for the stem extension, when I stumbled upon this air pressure monitoring system on Sporty's that monitors the tire pressure much as we have on our cars. http://www.sportys.com/pilotshop/aircra ... 0-psi.html. Product 1680A.
Sadly the product has not been rated. Has anyone tried this technology?
Tom
Aftermarket devices like this have been mounted on quite a number of motorcycles and I haven't heard of any real problems with sudden loss of pressure due to them failing.
On the other hand, I seriously doubt these caps would fit on the mains on my DA40. They are larger than you might think. I don't know about the smaller wheels, but there is very little clearance between the normal valve caps and the bolt that secures the axle nut cap on the older, larger wheels.
NOTE: From the ad:
Requires 337 form. Experimental aircraft only. Includes monitor, three sensor/transmitters, installation manual, batteries, and three anti-rotation collars (use is optional).
