I have onboard air so I don’t have much input on portable air. My buddy runs the Viair 88P and it’s works fine. A little on the slow side but it gets the job done. As far as deflators go, I use these:

J.T. Brooks Automatic Tire Deflators PRO (ATDP4) Amazon.com: J.T. Brooks Automatic Tire Deflators PRO (ATDP4): Automotive

A lil pricy but I don’t have to constantly squat down. Damn I’m getting lazy LOL

Has anybody tried https://www.offroadwarehouse.com/pro...-system-56-cfm? It looks similar to SmittyBilt and priced only at $115.

Have you guys installed a pressure switch to your Smittys?

I recently bought an adjustable 4-hose system, and with the constant air flow the smitty provides, i'm worried it may ruin something?

I didn’t, I changed the setup of the compressor a little bit though. I put the gauge closer to the compressor so I had the switch right next to the gauge to monitor it.

It is something on my list, but it’s far down on the list as this is working great so far.

No pressure switch on mine. I think that the design of the compressor is probably self limiting in some way. Either way - it doesn't outrun the volume flow through a single valve stem. If it did you'd see the pressure gauge spike up to max pressure while you're filling. It doesn't generally have back pressure above about 50psi while filling. So I don't think it's a problem as it's setup with the open valve chuck.

I don't know what would happen if you plugged the hose though. It would be really easy to add a pressure switch. The little ARB ones would probably work pretty well if it was a concern. On Amazon you can buy a simple pressure switch for around $10. Just wire that inline with the on/off switch.

On my FJ40 compressor - it makes around 12CFM based on displacement calculations of the cylinder, but it'll make upwards of 300psi if left unregulated. A few guys in an old offroad club tried it to see what would happen and they blew up the air hose at around 300psi IIRC and never went any further. So a pressure switch is pretty important to safe use. I use a variable pressure one set to 130psi. In order to fill tires faster - I remove the valve stem when airing up too. It goes in a lot faster that way. - But no one really does the York anymore. It's old school for a good reason. The cheaper 12v compressors are just soo good now. There's really no reason to go to all the time and effort to do it. I wouldn't really even consider doing it again now. Two Smittybuilts would combine for 12cfm and be a lot easier to install and cheaper too.


I've always dreamed of a system where you could inject liquid CO2 in a measured quantity and let it expand inside the tire. That would be super fast. But also not really worth the effort.

OP, I know you specifically asked about air compressors, but here's another option to consider if you didn't already know about it. You can build a DIY power tank for fairly cheap.

DIY Power Tank (Co2 Tank) for Airing Up Tires & Running Air Tools

ARB twin gets my vote, and is what I’m putting in my current 4Runner under the hood. May not fit the definition of affordable, and if not then I’d go with an ARB single.

Just for fun for you youngsters -



Honestly - and OEM really could get cute with a design and put a second small port in the block for one of these and have an ECU function to cut fuel to that cylinder and make it an air compressor. For an EOM it really wouldn't be a difficult thing to do and it'd be a really neat "trick" feature no one else would have.

And also just FYI - this is actually still the basic idea for many or most commercial high volume mobile air compressors. Like the ones they use for blowing out sprinkler systems or mobile sand blasting. They generally use a V8 engine and convert one half of it to be a compressor side, the other half is now a 4cylinder engine drive side. I believe the last Ingersoll Rand tailorable compressor I used was a Ford v8 based compressor.

I have always like the idea of a belt run compressor. I mean you already have a 300hp motor. The piston idea is pretty good and just goes to show how long people have been thinking about this

As for deflators, heh I have tried a bunch (Coyotes, Trailheads, JT Brooks, ARB EZ, a 16p nail). The best most consistent results of the bunch have come from Coyote (a Staun II) and the ARB EZ, both take me about the same amount of time, the ARB EZ is not automagic like the Coyotes but hell it is a fast deflator, it internally pulls the valve core (you can't drop it or lose it) and you slide to actuate the release, it is a slick design and the gauge is pretty accurate on mine.

Yup, the ARB E-Z Deflator worked great for me. Granted it has had minimal use. I also purchased the ARB CKMP12 kit. Comes in a nice case that fits all the inflate deflate tools. A bit pricey, but it should last and I can use it on multiple vehicles.

i run an arb mounted compressor, but one thing you might also want to consider to speed up the air ups/ downs is an 4 tire inflation/deflation setup.

I got the cautro by mid atlantic off road rather than the moreflate... b/c I'm cheap. It was better than expected. No leaks, solid components and gauge is just as accurate as my arb digi gauge.

I didn't time it, but I'm aired up or down in like 5 min.

Like this (made my own)

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

I missed this earlier, else I would have commented. I have a set of these, maybe I got a bad batch. The first time I used them I set them to 25lbs, installed them, they didn't shut off until between 10 and 15lbs all four! None were accurate, at all a couple pounds sure but 10 or more? I tried these a few times, same issues they don't stop deflating when they were "supposed to". Took them apart, cleaned, assembled, tried again, still issues. These are nicely made, doesn't really matter if they don't work, sadly at this point it was a waste of $100.

Have you checked your pressures after you used these? Were they accurate?

EDIT: I reached out to J.T. Brooks they were very responsive, it my bad in interpreting the usage. I was indeed reading the gauge from the top of the lock ring. They work exactly as expected and after clearing that up super happy with how they work!

Yup, but mid atlantic beat my best case parts price by over $20 plus threw in extras... and no labor on my end.

So yeah. No brainer.

Yeah maybe you did as I've heard nothing but good things about these deflators. Have you tried contacting them (I assume you did)? I recently checked and dialed them in to be within 0.5 psi of each other. Currently set to ~20 psi on their indicator but my scangauge is reading ~18.5 psi.