How To Monitor Your Tire Pressure from Your Phone

As a person who loves tech, there’s nothing like checking out the technology of a new car, especially new cars that are loaded with the latest tech features.  I enjoy the features during the test drive, then go back to my 2009 Ford Edge.

If you’re in the same boat with an older car, don’t despair.  Today, companies like Nonda, are taking safety technology found in new expensive cars, and adding it to their products for the average car.

One such product is their ZUS Smart Tire Safety Monitor.  A simple 10-minute self-installation of four tire sensors, an in-car receiver, and the ZUS app, and you will see the tire pressure and temperature of every tire.

The app will track tire pressure and temperature over time, so you can keep the history of each tire.  Great information should you have a slow leak and not know about it.

Setting it Up

It’s very easy to set up the ZUS Smart Tire Safety Monitor.  The package comes with 4 tire sensors and an in-car receiver.  

My 12-year old son installed the 4 tire sensors for me in less than 2 minutes while I installed the app and plugged in the in-car receiver. 

To set up,

1.  Plug in the in-car receiver into a USB port in your car.
2.  Download and get an account for the ZUS app
3.  Pair the in-car receiver with the ZUS app
4.  Take the plastic cap off each tire and replace with the ZUS tire sensors
5.  Verify that all four lights on the in-car receiver light up
6.  If you’re nervous about theft, screw on the included 4 locking nuts first, then screw on the sensor.  Now use the included wrench and turn each locking nut counter clockwise.

You should see all four tires show up on the ZUS app picture, indicating the pressure and temperature of each picture.

Evaluating Tire Pressure

Evaluating the tire pressure of your tires is important for these reasons:

1.  You can save up to $.11 per gallon if your tires are filled with the recommended pressure
2.  You can detect over time if you have a slow leak from a nail or screw hidden in a tire
3.  Tire pressure that is too low can lead to a dangerous tire blowout
4.  You can possibly avoid accidents

We often don’t think of tire pressure.  We assume that when our alignment is done, technicians rotate and fill our tires to the proper pressure. 

But when a tire is punctured by something on the road, murphy’s law dictates that we will not know it until we leave for work the next morning and our tire is flat.

Wouldn’t it be helpful to know you have a leak ahead of time, as well as how fast the leak is occurring?  This way you can better plan how you’re going to get it fixed BEFORE the need to arrange for other transportation. 

You can change the tire or have it fixed on your time…well, at least more time to plan ahead of time than when you find a totally flat tire!

I recently looked at the sticker on my driver’s door frame, it says my tires should be at 35PSI.  Funny, I never knew.  I always looked for the PSI on the tire itself (not as easy).

In the ZUS app settings, I entered that each tire should be 35 PSI.  In looking at the app with my pressure history for each tire, I can see they average around the low thirties. 

Here’s a screenshot of my tire pressure.  They are less than the 35 PSI but these numbers fluctuate depending upon the time of day and temperature.  Nonetheless, it looks like I need to fill each tire a bit.

Using the ZUS AccurateTemp, I can see the fluctuation of pressure and temperature over these two days.  It’s amazing how hot my tires can get, sitting out on our driveway in the Southern California heat. 

The green line shows my tire pressure dipped down a bit on Aug. 2nd but picked back up.  If it continued downward, I would know that I have a slow leak.

A slow leak is not easy to detect because the leakage rate is usually around 0.1 PSI per hour.  But using the AccurateTemp, it normalizes the daily temperature fluctuations so I can get a better read on whether my tire pressure is leaking slowly or not.

Features:

• Installs within 10 minutes
• The in-car receiver includes a reversible charging port so you don’t lose a USB port
• Comes with 4 locking nuts to lock sensors in place for anti-theft
• Real-time alerts warn of tire pressure issues which to help tire blowouts
• Proprietary AccurateTemp Algorithm accurately detects leak protection
• Tracks each tire’s pressure and temperature over time
• Gives you low and high-pressure tire alerts
• The in-car receiver will blink and sound an alarm if an issue is detected on one of the tire sensors
• Tire sensors are water-resistant and able to withstand snow, rain, car washing

Pros:

• Properly inflated tires can save up to $.11 per gallon
• The in-car receive visibly shows all four tires. If there is an issue, one tire turns red, giving visual representation without need to check an app
• The slow leak detection helps you to prevent an issue before it occurs
• The advanced AccurateTemp Algorithm takes tire pressure and temperature into account to give a better reading of current tire status
• Installation was easy and straight-forward 
• Is actually better than luxury cars who have a tire pressure management system (TPMS), as ZUS gives accurate and detailed info. 

Cons:

• Coin batteries last one year in each sensor, then you’ll need to replace each one as they die
• Had a little trouble initially connecting all four sensors by Bluetooth to the app
• Since the sensors connect by Bluetooth, you must be near the car to view the tire pressure/temperature data
• There have been some issues reported online regarding road salt corroding the sensors

The Nonda ZUS Smart Tire Safety Monitor is currently available from Amazon for $114.00 with free shipping.

A Mom’s Perspective

I’ll be honest, tire pressure is not something I think about…until I notice one of my tires is a bit low.  Once or twice a year I’ll put air in my tires and I’m sure I over inflate some of them. 

I never knew that keeping your tires at the right pressure can help save on gas mileage.  With the ZUS Smart Tire Safety Monitor, all the guesswork is done. 

I can continue to not think about tire pressure since the ZUS app does the work for me, it will alert me of any tire pressure issues I need to know about.

This warning told me that during the heat of the day (2:22 pm), one of my tires went down to 28PSI.  But after I started the car, it went back up to 33.9 PSI, which is within range.

If you are planning a road trip, it’s always a good idea to check the tire pressure before leaving.  No longer do you need to crouch down to check each tire with a handheld tire gauge. It’s simple to check the ZUS app.  I love the simplicity.

And knowing I can get better gas mileage with properly inflated tires, I’m going to keep them well inflated.

Whenever you can put knowledge into your own hands to keep things better maintained, you save money in the long run.  The ZUS Smart Tire Safety Monitor helps you to do just that.

On a side note, nonda also makes the ZUS Smart Charger, which we recommended in our 3 Unique USB Chargers to Power Your Devices article. 

We tested it and it not only charges your phones fast but using the same ZUS app as the Smart Tire Safety Monitor, it will show where you parked.  I also take it on vacation when we rent cars to make finding my car easier.

*I was given a ZUS Smart Tire Safety Monitor for purposes of review. All opinions are my own.