X-Pressure™: the new generation tire pressure monitoring systems

Tyre pressure monitoring systems provided by the car manufacturers are of the indirect type. Usually linked to the size of the tire: they do not evaluate directly, but relative to a comparison with the other tires fitted to the vehicle. With the result - improbable, but technically possible - that if all four tires should be subjected to the same anomaly at the same time, that fact would not be diagnosed. The Pirelli systems work by surveying the tire pressure directly & are divided into various systems. The company puts its weight behind each one.

The important new development starts with a name already known: X-Pressure™. But the substance is completely new. This latest X-Pressure™ will be available soon on the replacement market & is based on a system constituted of a sensor fitted to the tire's valve. Inserted into the valve cap, the mechanism can be used for both conventional tires & the Run Flat, & measures the eventual pressure anomalies in real time (different caps, dependant on the reference value) & communicates it in three different ways:
 

• AcousticBlue: signal via wireless link to the mobile phone;
• Acoustic: signal via the onboard electronic management system;
• Optic: optical signal on the valve cap (white: OK – red alarm).

Apart from the optical signal emitted by the first of the three systems, which immediately identifies the tire that has the anomaly, all the other versions provide acoustic & visual messages, which identify the wheel fitted with the problem tire.

These are the advantages of the three grades of the X-Pressure™ system soon to be introduced:

• Non-invasive: all fitted to the outside of the rim/tire
   
• Minimum weight: from 3.5 to 6 grams: zero risk of imbalance
   
• Standard rim: an (ETRTO) valve is sufficient
   
• Plug & play: immediate fitment: no adjustment required
   
• Maximum accuracy: auto-compensation for different external temperatures & pressures
   
• Maximum life: the battery inside the cap provides 5,000 hours of autonomy
   
• Economy: X-Pressure™ has been developed as a family of modular products in order to optimise costs. The various versions have the objective of being decidedly competitive in their pricing compared to the systems currently on the market & even to set a new standard in terms of price/benefit to the user, as is the case with X-Pressure™ Optic .