Winter Tire and Wheel Recommendations

[GCJenks204]

Does anyone know of an easy way to turn of the Low Pressure warnings if one was to decide not to install TPMS on a set of winter wheels?

 

[peterk9]

Does anyone know of an easy way to turn of the Low Pressure warnings if one was to decide not to install TPMS on a set of winter wheels?

I believe it would likely involve using Forscan and if it is deemed to be a 'Safety' feature, I'm not sure if it is even possible.

Peter

 

[KayGee]

"Canada, though, doesn't require TPMS on new cars and there are no federal or provincial rules against disabling it, Transport Canada says."

How can I turn off my car's tire pressure monitoring light?

Not sure if it can be bypassed through Forscan or not (maybe there is a way to set the pressure to a negative value so it won't trigger the alarm, but haven't tried this). However, you can get a bypass box which just spoofs the signal from the sensors so the system thinks everything is fine - cheaper than buying sensors and having them installed on a winter/spare set of tires.

TPMS BYPASS – Tire Pressure Sensors Bypass

 

[SuperGreg]

Just got my Explorer I bought this summer set up for winter. Went with 18" black wheels with Blizzak 255/60s. I really like the look of the black wheels and IMO 18" wheels makes it look more rugged than the 20s.

We only get occasional snow nearish Seattle but we live up a steep road and I've been screwed the last few years. Last year we ended up getting around 20" of snow and we were stuck at home for a week. Also going over the passes can be sketchy during winter. But this is the first time I've bought snow tires in almost 20 years of living here. Used to run them all the time in Montana.

Tires are DMV2, wheels are Voxx MGA 18x8 from Discount Tire.

 

[Frank Trivieri]

I just bit the bullet and bought winter approved 20” rims. I have attached a picture. And purchased Bridgestone Blizzak Winter tires and the Ford OEM TPMS monitors.

 

[bigdude2468]

I would strongly recommend dedicated winter tires with the "3PMSF" (3 Peak Mountain Snow Flake) symbol on the sidewall versus M+S. 3PMSF is an industry standard for snow tires that are far better than M+S tires. M+S tires have a compound that gets hard in colder temps while 3PMSF have a much softer compound. 3PMSF tires have a much shorter stopping distance, up to 40% shorter over M+S tires. While M+S tires on an 4WD or AWD vehicle may provide sufficient traction in snowy conditions the AWD does nothing to shorten stopping distances. Tests have proven that a 2WD vehicle with 3PMSF tires performs just as well as an AWD vehicle with M+S tires.

 

[KayGee]

I just bit the bullet and bought winter approved 20” rims.

Can you provide more info on what makes those rims "winter approved"?

I would strongly recommend dedicated winter tires with the "3PMSF" (3 Peak Mountain Snow Flake) symbol on the sidewall versus M+S. 3PMSF is an industry standard for snow tires that are far better than M+S tires. M+S tires have a compound that gets hard in colder temps while 3PMSF have a much softer compound. 3PMSF tires have a much shorter stopping distance, up to 40% shorter over M+S tires. While M+S tires on an 4WD or AWD vehicle may provide sufficient traction in snowy conditions the AWD does nothing to shorten stopping distances. Tests have proven that a 2WD vehicle with 3PMSF tires performs just as well as an AWD vehicle with M+S tires.

To be branded with the 3PMSF symbol only means a tire has to be capable of at least 110% of the traction of a reference all season tire. Not every tire marked with 3PMSF is going to provide the same results.

Some 3PMSF are the same or only marginally better than a really good all season and some 3PMSF are better than some dedicated snow tires. Always do your research.

 

[Frank Trivieri]

KayGee, I am going by specifications on the manufacturers website. I specifically searched for winter approved rims.

https://www.fastwheels.ca/categorie...3%a9triers+rouge)+(traction+int%c3%a9grale)_s

 

[bigdude2468]

What are winter approved rims? I bought a set of four used 18" oem rims for our 2014 Explorer for $200 on Craig's list. They did not come with the TPMS. I saw plenty of the oem rims for $125 each at salvage yards and EBAY.

 

[peterk9]

Can you provide more info on what makes those rims "winter approved"?

According to his provided link, it says "Winter Approved Finish".

Peter

 

[KayGee]

According to his provided link, it says "Winter Approved Finish".

Peter

The link was added as a response to my question.

I'm going to exit stage left on this one. Best of luck.