Christmas brings sharing and love… and surprises. One gift I received this Christmas was a 'Car and Drive Deluxe Air Compressor' which features; a built-in 260 psi air compressor, built-in pressure gauge, built-in spotlight/flasher with swivel and adjustable head, a durable carrying case with triangular emergency reflector, and 3 adapter nozzles that fit most inflatable items. A mouthful but handy and useful.
The unit measures roughly 12 x 13 x 4 (see picture) and fits nicely in the half the depression that sits below the level of the spare tire. The unit is 'built-in' (they did use that word a bit) to a plastic housing that doubles as the carrying case. The cord that plugs into the lighter receptacle is sufficiently long to allow the units use at any corner of the car (at least any Miata).
The unit is a bit loud but works well. The pressure gauge is adequate to get in the ballpark but not exactly precise. I'd advise carrying a more adequate one in the car.
I don't know the price but having used it at work to bring the tires back up to snuff and thinking about the probability of having a flat right after checking the pressure in my spare (NOT) or the ability of going to the track and adjusting my tire pressure when no pump is to be seen, has me seriously considering getting additional units for my other vehicles. (What are they.. ??can't remember, but I vaguely remember paying insurance on the others I do have.) The light also seems useful since we all know that tires only go flat at night…
| Back to Product Reviews | 15 February, 1998 |