Recently I purchased an ARB 12v dual compressor to replace the Viair compressor currently in my Tacoma. My primary goal is to reduce the time it takes to air up after running a trail, and my secondary goal is jealousy since a friend recently bought one of these.
Over the years I have accumulated a small collection of air compressors and today I spent some time doing a semi-scientific performance comparison. For each test I used a Staun deflator to air a 265/65R16 Maxxis Bighorn down to 17 psi (confirmed with an accurate gauge). I then timed how long each compressor took to air the tire back up to 32 psi. These tests were all performed with the engine running and using the same hose setup for consistency. Before the starting the timer I ran each compressor until its pressure switch shut it off, this way they all had pressurized the hose.
The reason I say "semi-scientific" is that I had to quickly close the valve on my air hose to get an accurate pressure reading, so depending on how often I checked the pressure it could potentially add to the run time or allow the tire to go a bit over 32 psi, so the times below are not highly accurate. That said, they should give a good relative idea of the performance of the various compressors.
In the list below I tried to provide CFM ratings at similar pressures so the numbers can be directly compared.
#4 - 10+ year old MV50. This compressor lives in the back of my 4Runner and has seen pretty heavy use, to the point where I've had to rebuild it during which I ported the head and replaced the valves with pieces of a feeler gauge.
Ratings: 2-2.5 CFM at an unknown pressure.
Time to fill the tire: 1:48
#3 - Viair 450H that came with the Tacoma.
Ratings: 1.39 CFM @ 40psi, 150psi max
Time to fill the tire: 1:42
#2 - 15 year old Puma PD 1006. I carried this compressor in my ZJ for many years and have used it around the house since then. It's been very reliable, puts out a lot of air, and is pretty large due to the attached tank.
Ratings: 3.4 CFM @ 40psi, 125 psi max
Time to fill the tire: 1:00 (starting with the tank full)
#1 - ARB CKMTA12 dual compressor. This was temporarily hooked up to the Tacoma for testing purposes since I still need to fabricate a bracket.
Ratings: 4.68 CFM @ 29psi, 150psi max
Time to fill the tire: 0:38
Analysis of results
I was quite surprised that the MV50 performed almost as well as the Viair, especially given that the MV50 cost $35 and has led a hard life. When I rebuilt it the cylinder was scored and contained a lot of debris, but that was years ago and it just keeps on running. The Viair is much more expensive which results in better build quality and likely better reliability.
It is no surprise that the dual ARB compressor won this competition, and in fact you would expect it to do so given that it costs about 2x the next most expensive compressor in this list. It is almost three times faster than both the MV50 and the Viair, and was significantly faster than the Puma even though the Puma started with a full tank.
Recommendation
Any of these will work fine for tires that are about 33" diameter or smaller. Filling up faster is nice, but often it just means you sit around waiting for friends with slower compressors to be ready to go (or filling their tires for them). Reliability is critical, and while I would like to fault the MV50 on that front, it required minor maintenance and has run great since then. My hope is that the ARB is even more reliable and that I'll run it for the next 10+ years.
Over the years I have accumulated a small collection of air compressors and today I spent some time doing a semi-scientific performance comparison. For each test I used a Staun deflator to air a 265/65R16 Maxxis Bighorn down to 17 psi (confirmed with an accurate gauge). I then timed how long each compressor took to air the tire back up to 32 psi. These tests were all performed with the engine running and using the same hose setup for consistency. Before the starting the timer I ran each compressor until its pressure switch shut it off, this way they all had pressurized the hose.
The reason I say "semi-scientific" is that I had to quickly close the valve on my air hose to get an accurate pressure reading, so depending on how often I checked the pressure it could potentially add to the run time or allow the tire to go a bit over 32 psi, so the times below are not highly accurate. That said, they should give a good relative idea of the performance of the various compressors.
In the list below I tried to provide CFM ratings at similar pressures so the numbers can be directly compared.
#4 - 10+ year old MV50. This compressor lives in the back of my 4Runner and has seen pretty heavy use, to the point where I've had to rebuild it during which I ported the head and replaced the valves with pieces of a feeler gauge.
Ratings: 2-2.5 CFM at an unknown pressure.
Time to fill the tire: 1:48
#3 - Viair 450H that came with the Tacoma.
Ratings: 1.39 CFM @ 40psi, 150psi max
Time to fill the tire: 1:42
#2 - 15 year old Puma PD 1006. I carried this compressor in my ZJ for many years and have used it around the house since then. It's been very reliable, puts out a lot of air, and is pretty large due to the attached tank.
Ratings: 3.4 CFM @ 40psi, 125 psi max
Time to fill the tire: 1:00 (starting with the tank full)
#1 - ARB CKMTA12 dual compressor. This was temporarily hooked up to the Tacoma for testing purposes since I still need to fabricate a bracket.
Ratings: 4.68 CFM @ 29psi, 150psi max
Time to fill the tire: 0:38
Analysis of results
I was quite surprised that the MV50 performed almost as well as the Viair, especially given that the MV50 cost $35 and has led a hard life. When I rebuilt it the cylinder was scored and contained a lot of debris, but that was years ago and it just keeps on running. The Viair is much more expensive which results in better build quality and likely better reliability.
It is no surprise that the dual ARB compressor won this competition, and in fact you would expect it to do so given that it costs about 2x the next most expensive compressor in this list. It is almost three times faster than both the MV50 and the Viair, and was significantly faster than the Puma even though the Puma started with a full tank.
Recommendation
Any of these will work fine for tires that are about 33" diameter or smaller. Filling up faster is nice, but often it just means you sit around waiting for friends with slower compressors to be ready to go (or filling their tires for them). Reliability is critical, and while I would like to fault the MV50 on that front, it required minor maintenance and has run great since then. My hope is that the ARB is even more reliable and that I'll run it for the next 10+ years.
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