Swapping out 18 inch steelies for 18 inch explorer alloys

[rnitch]

My goal is to have a stock pair of 2016-2017 explorer wheels on a 2016 FPIU

Wondering a few things:

1. Do i need to grab some lugnuts with the new wheels? will the old ones work properly, or are they a diff torque spec, different design, etc.?

2. Should i grab a new set of tires with the wheels that i get? i know they are both 18x8 tires, but do the steelie wheels have a different bead profile?

3. How do i deal with the TPMS? do i swap the originals from the steelies over to the new wheels and keep the same sensors in the same 4 corners of the car with the same rotational orientation, or can i somehow get ford (or a wheel shop) to reprogram the sensors from the new wheels to work with the car? This is assuming the new wheels comes with sensors. Do swapping and reprogramming both work as options? is one cheaper than the other? do the steelies even use the standard shrader valve mounting system that civilian cars use?

Thanks! -Mitch

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Mitch.
1. I believe you can use the same lugnuts. Did the wheels have a center cap or a full wheel cover? When I put the steelies on my 2017 Platinum, I had to change the lug nuts so that I could use the center caps which attach to them. I installed regular valve monitoring sensors. See #3.
2. There should be no reason to change tires if the ones on the wheels are good.
3. As for the TPMs, does your vehicle have readouts for each sensor or just a warning that one of them is low? The ones in the retail 2016+ Explorers are for the individual pressure readouts.

Peter

 

[DHG2496]

My goal is to have a stock pair of 2016-2017 explorer wheels on a 2016 FPIU

Wondering a few things:

1. Do i need to grab some lugnuts with the new wheels? will the old ones work properly, or are they a diff torque spec, different design, etc.?

2. Should i grab a new set of tires with the wheels that i get? i know they are both 18x8 tires, but do the steelie wheels have a different bead profile?

3. How do i deal with the TPMS? do i swap the originals from the steelies over to the new wheels and keep the same sensors in the same 4 corners of the car with the same rotational orientation, or can i somehow get ford (or a wheel shop) to reprogram the sensors from the new wheels to work with the car? This is assuming the new wheels comes with sensors. Do swapping and reprogramming both work as options? is one cheaper than the other? do the steelies even use the standard shrader valve mounting system that civilian cars use?

Thanks! -Mitch

I’m actually in the process of refurbishing a set of wheels for my PIU and moving to 19x8.5 but I think most of my research and plans are about the same as yours.

1. The lugs in the PIU are open and have a flange for the chrome cap to clip on to, so while they probably thread they maybe to large and I wouldn’t want the studs exposed so I plan to get a new set of retail Explorer lugs.

2. If they are both 18x8 they should be able to swap right over assuming you have good tread left and you like the tires. I’m moving up a size and wider so I need to find new tires.

3. Tire shop said factory 2013 ford sensors that came in my new wheels that I’m refurbishing should work in my 2014 piu . But being yours is a 16, I’d double check with a shop or dealer to see if there is a difference in the snesors on a piu from a regular Explorer or just look up the part and see if they are compatible with both piu and Explorer, this is sometimes easier than talking to a shop or dealer.

 

[jmr061]

My goal is to have a stock pair of 2016-2017 explorer wheels on a 2016 FPIU

Wondering a few things:

1. Do i need to grab some lugnuts with the new wheels? will the old ones work properly, or are they a diff torque spec, different design, etc.?

2. Should i grab a new set of tires with the wheels that i get? i know they are both 18x8 tires, but do the steelie wheels have a different bead profile?

3. How do i deal with the TPMS? do i swap the originals from the steelies over to the new wheels and keep the same sensors in the same 4 corners of the car with the same rotational orientation, or can i somehow get ford (or a wheel shop) to reprogram the sensors from the new wheels to work with the car? This is assuming the new wheels comes with sensors. Do swapping and reprogramming both work as options? is one cheaper than the other? do the steelies even use the standard shrader valve mounting system that civilian cars use?

Thanks! -Mitch

1. Use the correct lug nuts for the new wheels. They will be a different design.

2. As long as the wheel size is the same, you should be able to swap your tires. You many want to consider having summer/winter wheel setup though depending on how bad winters are there.

3. The vehicle auto learns the TMPS sensors. As long as you have the correct spec sensors for your vehicle you won't have an issue. Just get ones installed in the new wheels if they don't have them.

 

[rnitch]

1. Use the correct lug nuts for the new wheels. They will be a different design.

2. As long as the wheel size is the same, you should be able to swap your tires. You many want to consider having summer/winter wheel setup though depending on how bad winters are there.

3. The vehicle auto learns the TMPS sensors. As long as you have the correct spec sensors for your vehicle you won't have an issue. Just get ones installed in the new wheels if they don't have them.

If I drive the car with the standard Steelies on and have 4 upgraded tires in the trunk with Tpms sensors in them and have to transport them 50 miles back home like this, will 8 Tpms sensors mess with the car?
-Mitch

 

[jmr061]

If I drive the car with the standard Steelies on and have 4 upgraded tires in the trunk with Tpms sensors in them and have to transport them 50 miles back home like this, will 8 Tpms sensors mess with the car?
-Mitch

Don't worry about that. Just store the old wheels away from the vehicle once you have them back home. And it may take a while for the new ones to register just FYI. Its not going to be immediate.