The Box and Goodies -
The box that the GoSafe TPMS arrived in was much smaller than I expected. It did have the prerequisite marketing information on both the front and the back of the box including a list of reasons you would want to grab this.

Inside the box you will find the four pressure sensors and a receiver/transmitter. Also in the box you will find a Velcro pad, a small wrench and two bolts (intended as an anti-theft device) four batteries for the sensors, a manual and a DC adapter for the receiver.

In all everything you need to get the GoSafe TPMS up and running.

The Sensors and Receiver -
The four sensors are designed to read the pressure and temperature of the air inside your tires and report that information back to a central receiver. This receiver then transmits that information to you mobile device Via Bluetooth in order to be displayed by an app.

Installation is very simple, remove the old caps for the air valve stem, clean the thread and then screw on the sensor. If you want to ensure that at least two of your sensors do not get stolen you can add an extra nut on the stem first and then screw the sensor and nut with the provided wrench. It would have been better if PAPAGO! had of included four of these as just having two is just not enough.

In the manual PAPAGO! recommends that you install the driver’s side tire first and then work counter clockwise around the vehicle. Once you have all of the sensors in place you will now need to install the batteries in each. To do this you remove the plastic cap and slide the battery in.

The last thing you need to do is find a place for the receiver/transmitter. After you have it mounted you can plug it into a USB port in your vehicle (if you have one) or use the provided adapter.

GoSafe TPMS App -
PAPAGO! has made the rather wise decision to provide an app for both of the major mobile operating systems; iOS and Android. You Windows Phone and Blackberry guys are out of luck for now. The app is fair small and simple to get going.

Once you get the app downloaded and installed on your mobile device (and you launch it) you are greeted with what looks like a splash screen. However, what you need to do here is select the vehicle you are using the TPMS with. As we were using this on our car we picked the picture of the car and taped it.

If this is the first time you are connecting you will need to select the GoSafe TPMS Bluetooth device and let it connect. Once you are done with that you will get to the readout screen. Here you get to see the pressure in all of your tires as well as the temperature in them. The voltage readout is the power level of the battery that is running each one. When it gets low it is, obviously, an indication that you need to replace them.  

At the bottom of the screen are several options. On the ID screen you can chose the different sensors and reset/change the name of them if you want to. The setup screen allows you to change the readout from Celsius to Fahrenheit and also change from PSI (pounds per square inch). You can also adjust the high and low pressure as well as high temperature alarms for your vehicle.

The last screen allows you to choose the sounds you want for your alarms.

In all a very simple application.

Performance -
The GoSafe TPMS 500BT system performed very well in our tests. If did a great job of letting us know when there were temperature or pressure issue in our tires. It did this without any complications although we do wish there was a way to turn off the transceiver without the need to unplug it. This issue was problematic as the system is always on and continues to drain the battery even when you are not connected. True it is not a big drain on the battery, but it is not something you want to leave running all the time.

Value -
Value is another very subjective topic. What is expensive to some might be a deal to others. You can look at this topic in multiple ways. One is raw price and the other is what you get for the money. Each is accurate and both are correct ways to look at price/value. We tend to look at features, performance and real-property when we discuss value. However, we also take into account the raw cash cost of the item. The GoSafe TPMS 500BT will set you back about $195-$200. This sounds like a lot of money until you take a look at what it costs to replace a tire or a rim. Being able to monitor the pressure in your tires can warn you of impending issues from leaks, or even faults in the tire. When you look at it like that $200 is not all that much to spend.

Conclusion -
The PAPAGO! TPMS 500BT is a very nice product. It gives you a view into one area of a vehicle that many people simply overlook, the tires. Being able to keep an eye on the air pressure in your tires can help you with gas mileage and even the quality of the ride in a vehicle. The hardware installs in a few minutes while the app is easy to install and get setup. If you do not have a vehicle that already provides this option then the PAPAGO! GoSafe TPMS is certainly an option you will want to look into.
For is simplicity, accuracy and ease of use we award the GoSafe TPMS 500BT our Silver Key award.

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