Okay, so last Sunday I drive back to my parking space to pack up my stuff and I discover that ALL of my stuff had been run over. I guess it was some guys in a Subaru who just didn't see it was in front of their car. I didn't see their car but I can only imagine it did some damage becuase they ran over a 10" high steel box that kept most of my suff along with my torque wrench, mazda air pump kit, floor mat and 12v portable air compressor.

Anyway, after assesing the damage it looks like the only thing that is truely broken is my portable air pump, the steel box and an old clash CD.....Needless to say, I didn't bother tracking them down and scolding them for not being more careful. I figure their car probably got a little messed up from the whole incident and I'm sure they didn't mean it....

So anyone got a recommendation on a good replacement 12v airpump? I've been using the cheap ones for years but wouldn't mind spending a little more money on something that can pump a little more air. Kragen has one for $39.99 that looks pretty industrial but I'm not sure it's worth the extra price.
Thanks in advance....

 

I think this one kicks @ss for the price: http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...cStoreNum=8125

One very cool feature is you can set it to auto shutoff when it gets to the pressure you want. You don't have to sit there and babysit it, just turn it on and go work on something else, when you hear it shut off just go the next tire and repeat.

I never spend more than $30 for 12V pump, they get run over , lost, stolen, rained on etc.

 

Better yet, get a cordless compressor. Costco has a great combo at http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...opnav=&browse=. The compressor itself goes for higher at Brookstone, http://www.brookstone.com/shop/produ...Air+Compressor.

Seen it in action at autox and it's pretty cool/convenient. It comes with a case, so less chance of being ruined by getting run over again.

The Mazda OEM unit works too (and it's free!)

 

Thanks, I'm hesitant to go with cordless because I already have enough batteries and chargers lying around.....Plus, it's one more thing to think about before a race day.

 

What about just getting a cheap air tank at sears etc? I fill mine up at a gas station the night before to 120 psi and it's usually enough to make tire pressure adjustments on two cars the whole day plus it's much faster filling the tires.

 

^ +1. Although I fill mine in the morning with my air compressor. I hated paying 75 cents (what happened to free?) to fill my air tank each time. It is quite bigger than the portable air compressor, but it is way way faster.

 

I bought a cordless one from Target that has a built in battery with a wall charger and 12V charger. The performance is better than the plug in 12V I used to use.

The auto shutoff of the Home Depot one is a nice feature though.

 

I had a few cordless compressors and wouldn't recommend them. They're slower and heavier, and the first time to run out of charge at an event, you'll hate yourself for paying more to get one.

 

The one I've got is definitely heavier but pumps faster than my old 12V, plus it's got a 12V adapter just in case the battery runs out.

 

I do not like air tanks... They take up a lot of space in the car. While they may be fine for one event over the course of a weekend or practice you have a limited amount of air, just one more thing to fill.

 

I've always dragged around an air tank...until i started running the '8 and lost the extra carrying capacity of my tire trailer. Now, with the race wheels/tires, jack, 18V impact gun, small cooler, helmet and bag, there's just no place to put the tank. So, I've been borrowing air or using someone else's compressor. I reccomend this, because it saves the cost of buying a compressor for yourself and if it breaks, its not your problem

JK, after reading this thread, I think I'll invest in one

 

the best ones cost several hundred dollars, 100% duty cycle allows them to be run continuously. The issue with the cheap ones is they're only intended for short duration use, 15 minutes tops. They usually burn up ...

the good ones will require clamping to the battery posts, the lighter plug can't handle the amps of a good compressor

http://www.viaircorp.com/pcompressors.html

http://www.fourwheeler.com/techartic...pressor_guide/

 

The Home Depot pump looks pretty tough to beat for the price.....At $20 I'm not really going to care if someone runs over it. I was thinking I might go for one that had a bigger pump but I'm just not sure they're worth the extra price.

Anyone have experience with one of these expensive 12V pumps?

 

You're just excited about that way cool "flash light" feature...

 

I use to have the "cheaper is better" mentality, figuring to replace stuff every year or two

unfortunately having stuff fail when you really need it is teh suxorz. Now I don't need the aggravation and would rather pay, not necessarily top dollar but at least above-average quality

 

I hear you, I hate paying 50 cents each race weekend and it's a hassle. There is only 1 out of about 10 gas stations around here that has a compressor new/strong enough to fill the tank up to 120 psi most of them usually sound like they're going to explode around 90.

I need to invest in an air compressor but i'm already out of room in a small apt garage with 2 cars and crap in it.

 

Does the 18V impact gun actually take the lugs off without loosening first? If so that would save a lot of time in changing wheels. What brand do you have and what's the cost on one of those?

 

The one I have has no problem busting torqued (75-90lb) lug nuts loose...I can do a number (like 4-5) of sets of wheels over the course of a weekend with one battery. Only thing I have to be concerned with is not laying on the lugs nuts when tightening...this thing will over torque lug nuts if you're not paying attention. Also, it weighs in pretty good...some cordless impact guns are significantly lighter, which is no big thing to me, but important to others.

http://www.toolbarn.com/product/milwaukee/9079-22/

 

Some people need "big" tools to make up for other areas of inadequecy.......

BTW -

 

For cordless impact wrench, see https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?p=1500932 for discussion of Goodyear Racing 24v unit, sold at Pepboys for $60 (lowest I saw). $80 is the going price.

Good alternative if you don't have a fabulous wife like Mike's, who keeps on buying him expensive autox gifts.

 

My wife is very cool. Not only did she buy me the Milwaukee impact gun a couple of years ago, she bought me a set of Blackwatch tire bags this past Christmas. Like most of us, I married waaaaaaay over my head

OK, enough of my thread hijacks. Back to the 12v compressor subject...does Sears/Craftsman offer one that might have some type of lifetime warranty? That would seem to be a good compromise between big $$ (Viair etc.) and cheap, but breakable...

 

ours is starting to crap out after a year, it won't hardly remove the lugnuts even with a full charge, we've even started dropping our torque wrench settings to no avail, it's banging the crap out the nuts so the battery seems ok, just seems to have lost it's actual impact strength

I'm going to bust out for the Longacre 24V model as a replacement soon

 

Hmm, I have to test mine just to be safe. Haven't used it to actually break torqued lug nuts loose ever since I broke the wheel stud. Even though I'm using McGuard lug nuts now instead of OEM, the pain of shelling out $$$ for rear wheel stud replacement by dealer has scarred me for life. I now use breaker bar to loose torqued nuts and airblow the inside of lugs to remove metal filings and wipe down the stud thread. Talk about overkill...

You can get reimbursement from your credit card company since it's covered for an additional one year. Longcare costs pretty penny, so anything to offset is good =)

 

CRX, one word...actually, two: anti seize

A little bit on the wheel stud threads every once in a while will pretty much insure you don't get the galling which leads to busted studs. Some may say you don't get as true of torque readings or that it isn't a good idea, but I've never had a problem with either galled threads or lug nuts backing off since I started using small quantities on the threads. I think, since we change our wheels so often, it is a good thing.

 

see my compressor reply above about cost vs aggravation

we were looking at the big set of two impact guns, three batteries, and a charger that comes fitted in an aluminum carrying case, two people can whip them out Nascar style ...