Michelin Rapid 12262 Tyre Inflator Review

What We Say

What is it:

The Rapid Tyre Inflator (12262) from Michelin is one of their range of digital tyre pumps. Michelin are obviously well known for their production of Tyres so they can't be too bad at making tyre inflators too!? The digital display allows you to switch between PSI, Bar and KPa, once attached to a tyre you will get a readout on the digital display giving you the current tyre pressure.

It is a circular shape with feet on the bottom to reduce vibration, overall it feels like a well built solid unit that would last the test of time. It also comes equipped with 4 high power LED's for illuminating the tyre valve at night which is useful in the winter months.

To inflate a tyre simply set your required value, screw the connector to the valve and switch on, once it reaches the request pressure it will automatically shut off.

Michelin claim to be able to inflate a tyre from flat to 30PSI in 3 minutes.

How we tested it:

After looking for a second pump to backup our aging Ring Automotive pump we decided to give this tyre pump a shot.

We tested it on a vehicle with TPMS (Tire-pressure monitoring system) to allow us to gauge its accuracy.

We Liked:

• We compared the tyre pressure shown on the digital display with our onboard TPMS and they both displayed the same value, so seems accurate.
• It feels solid and well made
• Quick enough to inflate tyres

We Didn't Like:

• Sometimes it's a bit fiddly to remove the valve without letting air out of your tyres, but that's the same with most pumps
• No carry case to keep it in
• You can pick up comparable pumps for a cheaper price

Overall:

Overall it's a good pump that does the job and does it well. It would be nice to see this come with some kind of protective carry case as most of the time it's stored in your boot or garage. Price-wise, you can pick up a comparable pump (eg the Ring Automotive RAC630) for cheaper which comes with everything this pump does. So, I think if you could pick this up on offer then it's a good buy, otherwise, I think I'd go for a competitors product.