Really liking my Cheap Winter Tires/Wheels

Lone Wolf 75 · 10-21-2009, 09:11 PM

Spearfish25 - Thanks for this thread. I was in the same boat as you and will likely be buying winter tires soon as well. I was contemplating buying some 350Z rims (I could never determine that they would fit), but now with the Tirerack package I can just buy the rims and tires without worrying about fitment and going to a shop/transporting tires, and the other headaches that would likely ensue.

I do have a question, since you chose not to opt for the TPMS. Does the code clear when you put the stock tires back on? $360 seems a bit expensive to get another set of TPMS sending units and if there's no consequence (other than not knowing your tire pressure and seeing a warning light) of opting out of purchasing it, maybe that's the way I'll go too. It would be nice if there were a way of deactivating it.

G35guy84 · 10-21-2009, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lone Wolf 75

Spearfish25 - Thanks for this thread. I was in the same boat as you and will likely be buying winter tires soon as well. I was contemplating buying some 350Z rims (I could never determine that they would fit), but now with the Tirerack package I can just buy the rims and tires without worrying about fitment and going to a shop/transporting tires, and the other headaches that would likely ensue.

I do have a question, since you chose not to opt for the TPMS. Does the code clear when you put the stock tires back on? $360 seems a bit expensive to get another set of TPMS sending units and if there's no consequence (other than not knowing your tire pressure and seeing a warning light) of opting out of purchasing it, maybe that's the way I'll go too. It would be nice if there were a way of deactivating it.

I don't exactly know how to deactivate the TPMS light, but I do know that it is illegal to do so. My last car had a damaged TPMS sensor and I didn't want to go through the hassle of replacing it, so I also thought about disabling it. But after doing a little research on the subject, I found out that it wasn't such a smart idea.

Tire Review - The Final Word: NHTSA Clears the Air on TPMS Regs and Plus-...

AK370Z · 10-21-2009, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lone Wolf 75

Spearfish25 - Thanks for this thread. I was in the same boat as you and will likely be buying winter tires soon as well. I was contemplating buying some 350Z rims (I could never determine that they would fit), but now with the Tirerack package I can just buy the rims and tires without worrying about fitment and going to a shop/transporting tires, and the other headaches that would likely ensue.

I do have a question, since you chose not to opt for the TPMS. Does the code clear when you put the stock tires back on? $360 seems a bit expensive to get another set of TPMS sending units and if there's no consequence (other than not knowing your tire pressure and seeing a warning light) of opting out of purchasing it, maybe that's the way I'll go too. It would be nice if there were a way of deactivating it.

No problems other than the TPMS warning sign on the dash and you have to physically check tires before driving off EVERY TIME. I personally think it's worth the $360 since it's a safety issue.

Lone Wolf 75 · 10-21-2009, 10:11 PM

Wow, thanks for all the quick responses, G35guy84, nogoodname, and AK370Z.

I had no idea that it was illegal to disable the TPMS warning light. My last car was a 2002 model, which didn't have TPMS. As someone who has lived without it up until 3 months ago, this is a new technology that I could consider living without., but won't disable something if it is illegal. The Nissan manual does make it sound like one should never drive with a non-TPMS equipped tire. What I'm not a fan of is having to take the car back to the dealer to reset it or get the light to turn off.

Can anyone who has bought the TPMS's as part of the rim package confirm that the new TPMS sending units need to be calibrated by the dealer? Is this something I will have to do everytime I swap my tires from summer to winter?

AK370Z · 10-22-2009, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lone Wolf 75

Wow, thanks for all the quick responses, G35guy84, nogoodname, and AK370Z.

Can anyone who has bought the TPMS's as part of the rim package confirm that the new TPMS sending units need to be calibrated by the dealer? Is this something I will have to do everytime I swap my tires from summer to winter?

Just spoke to TireRack and dealer. The new TPMS needs to be calibrated by the Nissan Dealer after they are put on since the car won't recognize them as is. The fee that dealer will charge is half hour labor which is $52/50 for all four rims. BUT when it's time to put the summer wheels backs on (19" rays), I have to bring the car BACK to the dealer again to get those calibrated to car. Which means, every time you put new rims on (once summer, once winter), you have to recalibrate TPMS. Hope this helps you.

spearfish25 · 10-22-2009, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AK370Z

Just spoke to TireRack and dealer. The new TPMS needs to be calibrated by the Nissan Dealer after they are put on since the car won't recognize them as is. The fee that dealer will charge is half hour labor which is $52/50 for all four rims. BUT when it's time to put the summer wheels backs on (19" rays), I have to bring the car BACK to the dealer again to get those calibrated to car. Which means, every time you put new rims on (once summer, once winter), you have to recalibrate TPMS. Hope this helps you.

For this reason alone, I decided to dump the TPMS sensors on my new setup. When you also account for the butt-reaming price of $80/sensor, leaving them off was a no-brainer for me. Why the car is too stupid to just learn 8 sensor codes is beyond me. The light will go off when I put the summer tires/rims back on, so it's no big deal.

As for this whole TPMS issue...frankly I think it's a formality that only benefits house-wives who wouldn't notice a flat tire if it hit them in the face. If the 370Z still showed each tire's pressure individually, I would have bought the sensors. But for a system to tell me that my tire pressure is >25% below the ideal pressure and to NOT say which tire it is...well that's just a stupid system. I check my tires frequently enough to find a problem anyway. Hell, I've driven 13 years without a TPMS system. The times I had a flat, I knew I had a flat.

G35Guy84, I took the tires back myself to save the return shipping cost since South Bend is only 90 miles from me. I suppose you could always just take them to a local UPS Store and have them quote it for you. Knowing what you paid to have them delivered, I bet you could get the same deal. Just make sure you tell them you're shipping to a company/business...it's always cheaper.

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10-21-2009, 09:11 PM	#1 (permalink)
Lone Wolf 75 Base Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: The Future Age: 50 Posts: 191 Drives: 09 370Z PG 6M Rep Power: 16	Spearfish25 - Thanks for this thread. I was in the same boat as you and will likely be buying winter tires soon as well. I was contemplating buying some 350Z rims (I could never determine that they would fit), but now with the Tirerack package I can just buy the rims and tires without worrying about fitment and going to a shop/transporting tires, and the other headaches that would likely ensue. I do have a question, since you chose not to opt for the TPMS. Does the code clear when you put the stock tires back on? $360 seems a bit expensive to get another set of TPMS sending units and if there's no consequence (other than not knowing your tire pressure and seeing a warning light) of opting out of purchasing it, maybe that's the way I'll go too. It would be nice if there were a way of deactivating it.

10-21-2009, 10:11 PM	#4 (permalink)
Lone Wolf 75 Base Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: The Future Age: 50 Posts: 191 Drives: 09 370Z PG 6M Rep Power: 16	Wow, thanks for all the quick responses, G35guy84, nogoodname, and AK370Z. I had no idea that it was illegal to disable the TPMS warning light. My last car was a 2002 model, which didn't have TPMS. As someone who has lived without it up until 3 months ago, this is a new technology that I could consider living without., but won't disable something if it is illegal. The Nissan manual does make it sound like one should never drive with a non-TPMS equipped tire. What I'm not a fan of is having to take the car back to the dealer to reset it or get the light to turn off. Can anyone who has bought the TPMS's as part of the rim package confirm that the new TPMS sending units need to be calibrated by the dealer? Is this something I will have to do everytime I swap my tires from summer to winter?