Winter Tire and Wheel Recommendations

[peterk9]

My guess is the Canadian dealers bought enough 18'"interceptor rims to satisfy the Ex Sport needs for winter tires and prices will go up in December when most winter tires have been sold.

Well my 17" wheels were bought in 2011 for $99 each and that is still what the 18" ones appear to be selling for now.

Peter

 

[Sgt1411]

No way........I will bet you a Venti Eggnog Latte at Starbucks that this is wrong pricing.

The Police wheel is higher grade steel, its tested to a 30MPH/50KPH direct 6" curb strike. I was there I saw the testing. Average retail/consumer wheels don't get that kind of testing. Thus it cant be cheaper.

 

[mctee]

Way... PM me an email and I'll pdf you the quote. Take it in to that dealer and get (or demand) that price.

I would have done so by now but my '14 Sport order seems to be lost in the shuffle! Ordered 09/16. FordService.ca was sympathetic but not very helpful in determining delivery date. My dealer finally advised 11/05 that build date is "end of November and delivery is 3rd week in December". I am not super confident that it will arrive before Xmas.
Fordservice.ca did advise that CDN Explorer plant was shut down last week of October for retooling and that "Job 2" started on November 2nd.
(My apologies for hi-jacking this thread!)

And secondly, nobody actually drinks those (or admits it!), but I'll take you up on a Starbucks. Sounds like we may both be having out '14 Sports delivered approx the same time!

 

[Sgt1411]

Way... PM me an email and I'll pdf you the quote. Take it in to that dealer and get (or demand) that price.

I would have done so by now but my '14 Sport order seems to be lost in the shuffle! Ordered 09/16. FordService.ca was sympathetic but not very helpful in determining delivery date. My dealer finally advised 11/05 that build date is "end of November and delivery is 3rd week in December". I am not super confident that it will arrive before Xmas.
Fordservice.ca did advise that CDN Explorer plant was shut down last week of October for retooling and that "Job 2" started on November 2nd.
(My apologies for hi-jacking this thread!)

And secondly, nobody actually drinks those (or admits it!), but I'll take you up on a Starbucks. Sounds like we may both be having out '14 Sports delivered approx the same time!

I just got a VIN and was told December 2nd build week.

If your in the City I will personally deliver your Venti Eggnog Latte to you in my 13 Interceptor Utility so we can compare your "Fake" Interceptor rims to the REAL ones .....LOL!

 

[mctee]

I just got a VIN and was told December 2nd build week.

If your in the City I will personally deliver your Venti Eggnog Latte to you in my 13 Interceptor Utility so we can compare your "Fake" Interceptor rims to the REAL ones .....LOL!

OK. I'll be the guy with the smug look on his face because I got my authentic Interceptor steelies for over $900.00 LESS than the guy delivering my coffee!
I can't wait! LOL!!!

 

[TheMustangShow]

just received a centre cap i bought on ebay and it's aluminum

Please post a pic.

What's the Ford Part Number?

 

[TheMustangShow]

The 18" OEM Cop Steel Rim is around $80-90, depending on how good a relationship you have with your Ford Parts guy. There are two different kinds of OEM caps for the Cop wheel...the cheap one you see here for $20.01 (with discount)

or a more expensive thicker cap for $78.72 (discounted).

You'll also need the TPMS, over all it is a pretty good functional package, but it does look like
crap.

That said, there are not a lot of options for the SPORT, whereas if you have a new Explorer that is not a SPORT, there are lots of options; used Flex wheels, Ford Taurus wheels, edge wheels, etc., or base Explorer 17"s.

 

[eh cam]

Please post a pic.

What's the Ford Part Number?

the aluminum centre cap part No on the back is F87A-1A096-GB.
Here is a link to an ebay posting showing the more expensive cap

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ford-Ranger...Parts_Accessories&hash=item23301c2881&vxp=mtr

it can be distinguished by the channel intersecting the bolt circles,
compared to your caps . They both look fine

 

[peterk9]

The 18" OEM Cop Steel Rim is around $80-90, depending on how good a relationship you have with your Ford Parts guy. There are two different kinds of OEM caps for the Cop wheel...the cheap one you see here for $20.01 (with discount) or a more expensive thicker cap for $78.72 (discounted).

You'll also need the TPMS, over all it is a pretty good functional package, but it does look like
crap.

You only need the TPMS if you don't want the TPMS dash light on all the time. Otherwise you can go without, if you wish. BTW, I don't think it looks that bad. I bought the 17" base wheel covers for my 17" steelies.

Peter

 

[peterk9]

There is no way a truck/car part is cheaper in Canuckastan then the US.

Just called my dealer parts department and asked for the price on an 18" steel wheel (DG1Z 1015A) and was quoted $99.95. The small center cover was around $92 and a full wheel cover around $126.

Peter

 

[WiEx]

If you switch from 20-inch wheels to something smaller for the winter, you may throw off your Nav system. I have 245/60/18 tires for the winter, and my Nav system stopped accurately positioning the vehicle as soon as the winter tires and wheels went on. The system basically became useless because it often showed the vehicle off-road.

Unlike a standalone GPS unit, it does not work solely off from satellites and instead gets input from the vehicle. It has taken several visits to the dealer to get this resolved. In theory, the system will recalibrate after 200 miles if your winter tires are close enough in size to the stock tires. Mine did not recalibrate last winter, but the vehicle also was subject to a TSB on Nav tracking. The other solution is to disconnect power to the GPS module by pulling the fuse or, if you are not a contortionist, disconnecting the battery. I pulled the negative battery cable for an hour, and the system immediately positioned the vehicle in my driveway instead of in the lake. It can now find its way home without getting lost.

 

[peterk9]

If you switch from 20-inch wheels to something smaller for the winter, you may throw off your Nav system. I have 245/60/18 tires for the winter, and my Nav system stopped accurately positioning the vehicle as soon as the winter tires and wheels went on. The system basically became useless because it often showed the vehicle off-road.

Unlike a standalone GPS unit, it does not work solely off from satellites and instead gets input from the vehicle. It has taken several visits to the dealer to get this resolved. In theory, the system will recalibrate after 200 miles if your winter tires are close enough in size to the stock tires. Mine did not recalibrate last winter, but the vehicle also was subject to a TSB on Nav tracking. The other solution is to disconnect power to the GPS module by pulling the fuse or, if you are not a contortionist, disconnecting the battery. I pulled the negative battery cable for an hour, and the system immediately positioned the vehicle in my driveway instead of in the lake. It can now find its way home without getting lost.

As I posted in a reply to your post in another thread, the 17" wheels I put on my Limited have a greater diameter difference (-1.66%) than yours (-1.55%) and I have never had an issue with the Nav system being off. This is the 3rd time I've had them on.

Peter

 

[WiEx]

As I posted in a reply to your post in another thread, the 17" wheels I put on my Limited have a greater diameter difference (-1.66%) than yours (-1.55%) and I have never had an issue with the Nav system being off. This is the 3rd time I've had them on.

Peter

This issue obviously does not affect everyone who changes tire sizes. However, when my dealer contacted Ford about the tracking problem last week, the first question that they asked was whether the vehicle had the original size tires. They must have seem this before. I would not have suspected that this small change in tire size could confuse the Nav system. My Ex was in the group that had a TSB for the Nav system earlier this year so there might be something unusual about it.

 

[snmhanson]

Winter Tires for 2013 Sport

First post here. Looked a bit and found some info for my question but figured I would post the question to get a definitive answer. We bought a 2013 Explorer Sport last April and love it so far. Now that the winter months are approaching we are looking at our options for some winter tires. We live in an area where we get ice and freezing rain as often as we get snow so studded tires are a benefit. However, I can't find studded tires in the exact 255/50-20 size. After a bunch of research I have come down with three options:

1. We can purchase studless snow tires such as Bridgestone Blizzaks that would be an exact fit to the OEM rim. I have heard they are nice tires but I'm still not sure how they would compare to studded tires. They are also pretty expensive.

2. We could purchase slightly larger 265/50-20 studded tires. A local tire company gave us a decent quote on a set of Hankook RW11s. Are these decent tires and is there any issue going up to 265s on the Sport?

3. We could purchase 18" rims and have a broad selection of 18" tires to choose from. This would initially be expensive, but if we had to buy a second set of tires in a few years we would likely recover the cost. Also, I have heard that you have to be careful when downsizing to be sure to clear the brakes and the TPMS would not work without recalibrating. We could do without the TPMS during winter but is there really an issue with 18" rims of the Sport?

Any advice concerning the tires would be appreciated. In particular, I am curious as to whether the 265s would be a good fit on the Sport and wouldn't cause any issues as well as whether there are any issues running 18" rims on the Sport.

Thanks,

Matt

 

[Sgt1411]

I didn't realize there were so many versions of the Bridgestone Blizzaks out there. Which 18 inch version is best for our Explorers?

 

[WiEx]

3. We could purchase 18" rims and have a broad selection of 18" tires to choose from. This would initially be expensive, but if we had to buy a second set of tires in a few years we would likely recover the cost. Also, I have heard that you have to be careful when downsizing to be sure to clear the brakes and the TPMS would not work without recalibrating. We could do without the TPMS during winter but is there really an issue with 18" rims of the Sport?

The 18-inch XLT wheels fit fine on the Sport. My dealer trains the TPMS sensors without additional cost when doing the seasonal rotation. If you buy the sensors, get them off eBay to save about 75%. I have had problems with the Nav system after switching tire sizes, but that doesn't seem to affect everyone.

 

[Shodan]

Go for the 18" wheels and tires... its worth it to have the convenience to change the tires and rims yourself in the spring/fall. I went with 18" wheels and studded tires on my Sport. They work great. For perfect overall diameter go with 235 65 R18 tires. The narrower tire will help in winter as well.

 

[flowergirl1978]

For about $1,700 the dealership is installing a set of 17 inch BFG snow tires on steel rims with the TPMS included for my 14 Sport. After shopping around this price was competitive. Plus buying from the dealership, they will program the TPMS. One stop shopping. If you buy tires and rims with after market TPMS, you still need to visit the dealership to get them programmed. Finally I have the five year maintenance program so switching out the tires in the spring and fall will be done by the dealership. Again one store shopping.

 

[WiEx]

For about $1,700 the dealership is installing a set of 17 inch BFG snow tires on steel rims with the TPMS included for my 14 Sport.

There have been some posts stating that 17-inch wheels will not clear the brakes on the Sport so it would be helpful if you reported back on how this works.

 

[Shodan]

For about $1,700 the dealership is installing a set of 17 inch BFG snow tires on steel rims with the TPMS included for my 14 Sport. After shopping around this price was competitive. Plus buying from the dealership, they will program the TPMS. One stop shopping. If you buy tires and rims with after market TPMS, you still need to visit the dealership to get them programmed. Finally I have the five year maintenance program so switching out the tires in the spring and fall will be done by the dealership. Again one store shopping.

Also you do not need to program the TPMS sensors. After 30 km or so of driving they program themselves. Ask me how I know.

Sounds like you are spreading miss-information with the wheel sizes and TPMS sensor programming.