Team-BHP - Review: Goodyear RCP-B31C Digital Air Compressor (Tyre Inflator)
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The front right tyre on my XUV 5OO has always been a little "leaky". It never holds its air at the desired psi for more than a week or ten days. I have had it checked for slow punctures, wall pin and what not, everything checks out OK. But it still never retains the pressure for more than ten days. The other three tyres are not having this issue. I can't swap my spare for this one, since it was already swapped following a side wall puncture caused by the sharp edge of a broken highway "cat's eye" marker. I don't want to change the tyre since it has hardly used up half its life.

So I was searching for a tyre inflator to avoid the regular trips to the filling station, the waiting there, faulty guages, cranky attendants, "pump not working saar", you know the issues. I did a lot of searching both here and on good ol' Google. This thread on tyre pressure guages, portable inflators and foot pumps is an invaluable resource going back ages. Kudos to everyone who has contributed to it. I learnt a lot about what to expect and what not to.

I wanted an electric pump (simply because I am too lazy for manual foot pumps and just thinking of exercise makes me sweat) that would be reasonably fast and would have the auto cut-off feature, so that I don't over or under inflate too much. Look and size were also factors in my decision, since I don't want to be lugging around some monstrous thing that looks like a heat exchanger taking up much needed luggage space which is at a premium (read does-not-exist) in the XUV when 7 people are in it. Obviously, reliability was also important, who likes breakdowns, exchanges, etc?

Considering all this, I narrowed down on the GoodYear RCP-B31C model because it had everything I wanted with the bonus of being backed by the GoodYear name. There are three models from GoodYear and two from Michelin for those looking at the higher end of the product line. I chose this one since I didn't like the look of the Michelins. The other two GoodYears are both having analogue gauges and they are more suited for bikes than cars. Anyway, I ordered this one from Amazon for Rs. 3,150/- and it was duly delivered the next day.

Review: Goodyear RCP-B31C Digital Air Compressor (Tyre Inflator)-gy001.jpg

Although the specs list the size clearly, it is still surprising to see how small it actually is. The phone is a Micromax Canvas 2, for scale. OK, you can see all the relevant information in this picture. What is doesn't mention is that the unit operates at 10A current rating. This is mentioned in the leaflet/manual inside the package, which is not very detailed, but then the unit is not very complex. Incidentally, the unit is Made In China. Looks like everything is made there, nowadays.

Review: Goodyear RCP-B31C Digital Air Compressor (Tyre Inflator)-gy002.jpg

When you take it out of the packaging, the unit is even smaller! There are only three "buttons". One for On/Off, one for light mode (press for continuous white, again for slow blink red, again for fast blink red, again for off) and one rotary knob to set the pressure.

Review: Goodyear RCP-B31C Digital Air Compressor (Tyre Inflator)-gy003.jpg

The back of the unit has the housing for the 12V cable, which is about 3 meters (9 feet) in length. This is be sufficient to reach both front tyres comfortably and the rear ones at a stretch. However, since the XUV has three 12V sockets (one in front, one in the middle and one at the back) I don't see any problem in reaching all the tyres with this cable.

Review: Goodyear RCP-B31C Digital Air Compressor (Tyre Inflator)-gy004.jpg

The cable that connects to the tyre itself is made of sturdy woven nylon fibre over some kind of stiff-ish tube. The end is screw type, so that it can be screwed onto the tyre's air inlet nozzle. It looks quite durable and very well built. In fact, the whole unit is quite sturdy and well built. No loose things rattling around inside or any such problems.

OK, time to take it out to do the job is meant to do. First, I connect the 12V socket and set the pressure to 34 psi. Then the connector is screwed onto the tyre. It almost immediately shows the current tyre pressure as 28 psi. Now I press the On button. It makes some noise, not very loud, but not quiet either. You will know that it is running and so will your neighbour (depending on how close he is!) but the neighbour one house further down may not hear anything.

Review: Goodyear RCP-B31C Digital Air Compressor (Tyre Inflator)-gy005.jpg

The smaller number is the set pressure, the bigger number is the current pressure with a nice progress bar at the top, showing how quickly it is filling up. I was really surprised at how fast this little beauty fills up air in that big 235/17 tyre. It went from 28 psi to 34 psi in about 15 seconds! Not bad for such a puny motor, hey?

Review: Goodyear RCP-B31C Digital Air Compressor (Tyre Inflator)-gy006.jpg

One word about the auto cut-off. The unit stops pumping air once the set pressure is reached, but the pump itself doesn't switch off and continue to run merrily without doing anything useful. I was waiting for it to turn itself off and after some more time of zero action, I switched it off myself. Tried it twice to be sure, this seems to be how it is designed.

There seems to be some disagreement about the actual pressure in the tyre between the BlueSense app on my phone and the guage on the unit. The app was showing 33 psi and the guage was showing 34. So I reset for 35 and pump again. Now the app shows 34. This could be because while you unscrew the connector, some amount of air escapes. But I think it is more a calibration issue in either the TPMS or the unit. Anyway, I will stick with the TPMS reading since that is what I have been relying on.

Once everything is done and the unit is ready to be stowed in the car, I was deciding where to keep it. I thought I will check in the main glove box (for those who don't know, the XUV has so many compartments, it is confusing) and voila, it fits perfectly!

Review: Goodyear RCP-B31C Digital Air Compressor (Tyre Inflator)-gy007.jpg

Another example of how small the unit is. Of course, that glove box is big in itself, but I think it will fit into any car's glove box easily. It won't fit into the top glove box however, as the lid won't close fully once this is inside. Anyway, you can always keep it in the boot if your car has one, or in the spare wheel well if you can secure it properly to avoid rattling.

All in all, I am very happy with my purchase and its performance. It is still too early to provide a comprehensive performance review, as it arrived only yesterday. I will update this thread if I face any issues with the unit.

Thanks for reading and hope it helps someone to make a decision!

Mod note: Thread moved to Modifications & Accessories. Thanks for sharing.

I have a cheaper version of Goodyear inflator. The only good part about it is the Goodyear badge, rest of all is a cheap chinese inflator. Makes hell lot of noise, has to be handheld as its so lightweight with so much vibration that it dances all over the place when placed on ground. It is also slow.

In fact the other unbranded one I have is much better, it has a bigger motor, faster inflation speed, it is stable on ground.

@ Anshuman Sir
What's the other one that you have? I'm looking for one with display in the 2k range. Any suggestions?

I was just wondering if any of these DC socket powered portable compressors have the ability of inflating a tyre from zero pressure? that is.. right after a tyre has been installed on the rim, because I feel the tyre loosely sits on the rim initially and the flow available by these small compressors could easily escape before the tyre inflates substantially and grips the rim.

I've never tried it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tgo (Post 3861789)
I was just wondering if any of these DC socket powered portable compressors have the ability of inflating a tyre from zero pressure?

I've tried that (but with an inflator made by coido) and surprisingly they can handle that.

Thanks for posting, this could very well be the product I am looking for, as I hate going to a petrol pump just to fill up air and the roadside shops gauges are never accurate (end up filling much more air most of the times)

Just wanted to know, whether this product deflates the tire too in case if the air pressure in the tire is higher than the set air pressure on the compressor?

Hi,

I use a Slime Tyre Inflator purchased in USA but a Chinese make. See below
Review: Goodyear RCP-B31C Digital Air Compressor (Tyre Inflator)-img20140721wa000.jpg

Review: Goodyear RCP-B31C Digital Air Compressor (Tyre Inflator)-img20140721wa001.jpg

It does make high noise and could be highly irritating in the basement.

It takes almost 10-12 minutes to take the tyre pressure from 0 to 30 psi in my Fortuner, I guess it's slow.

We also have a dedicated thread on Tyre Inflator. Posting the link below.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifi...foot-pump.html

Reg your tyre- did you try by putting the good (leaky tyre) on the spare rim/wheel ?
This combination will still keep the current spare tyre as spare.

Try it once.

I bought one of these tyre inflators a year and a half ago at Tyre Empire HSR.

Very useful indeed.

I can't remember the make but it cost me 2200/-

Very handy whenever air pressure lowers or in case of a puncture/ leakage.

Takes 10 minutes to pump the tyre up to 33PSI.
I usually leave the car on with the engine running while using the inflator to fill air.

It does make a bit of a clatter but thats ok.

Gets the job done.

Fits nicely in the boot area in its own nice little plastic box.

@Stryker,
Thanks a lot for this review, I am going to buy one for myself!
Just a elementary doubt, how do you use this on a bike? Any other option of connectors for direct power from AC nearby etc.? (assuming no car nearby the bike)

Quote:

Originally Posted by SnS_12 (Post 3861837)
Just wanted to know, whether this product deflates the tire too in case if the air pressure in the tire is higher than the set air pressure on the compressor?

Thanks, SnS_12. The unit itself doesn't deflate extra pressure, but that is pretty easy as partially unscrewing the connector lets air out. The reading updates continuously so this can be used for getting to the desired value. Manual method, but it should work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by condor (Post 3862220)
Reg your tyre- did you try by putting the good (leaky tyre) on the spare rim/wheel ? This combination will still keep the current spare tyre as spare.

No, I haven't tried that. Good idea, thanks. I will have to take it to the tyre dealer with proper equipment to get this done, wouldn't want to trust the local puncture wala to do this properly. I read somewhere that this type of leak can be caused by an imperfect seal between the rim and tyre, so maybe swapping the rim would work. Need to check this out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aniket6 (Post 3862337)
@Stryker,
Thanks a lot for this review, I am going to buy one for myself!
Just a elementary doubt, how do you use this on a bike? Any other option of connectors for direct power from AC nearby etc.? (assuming no car nearby the bike)

Thanks, Aniket. Some of the other models have a dedicated bike connector, which is basically two leads that will hooked onto the battery terminals and ends in a standard 12V socket, where you can plugin the unit's connector. It is not present in this model, I saw one with the ResQtech. Maybe you can check that one out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stryker (Post 3862532)
Thanks, Aniket. Some of the other models have a dedicated bike connector, which is basically two leads that will hooked onto the battery terminals and ends in a standard 12V socket, where you can plugin the unit's connector. It is not present in this model, I saw one with the ResQtech. Maybe you can check that one out.

I guess the simplest thing would be to run this from my XUV to my bike. I hope the wire is long enough. Let me know if you try this someday.
I like the fact that it neatly fits into the glovebox :)

Hi Stryker. Sorry to ask a silly question. Suppose the tyre pressure is above optimal level. Does this pump help in lowering it down to the primal level? Or is it useful only for raising the tyre pressure?

Hey Stryker,

That was really a great review of a product that is must for people who love munching miles in their vehicles. I was looking for one as I am planning for a roadtrip very soon. You have literally detailed all the aspects of this Tyre Inflator.

Thank You for this review and for clearing all my apprehensions, I am surely going for this.

Thanks once again :thumbs up


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