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New tires and a TPMS question


Erazor983

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So my factory original Wrangler RT/S tires have managed to last 66k miles and I'm getting tired of the squealing every time I take a corner. Not to mention the awful wet and snow performance they had, but I was cheap and I managed to push them to the max I think I can get from them. Now I'm looking to replace them, upgrade a bit, and get some preventative maintenance in all at the same time.

Planning on the Wrangler All-Terrain Adventure w/Kevlar right now either in the stock size P255/70R16 or slightly taller LT245/75R16 blackwall. I pushed my parents into trying these tires when they were still sold as Silent Armor and they liked the wear and noise reduction. My dads' only complaint was they chunked some early on, but I did some research and that was more of an issue with the P rated softer compound tires so I'm leaning more toward the LT. Anyone running these or the older Silent Armor Pro-Grade that can give any insights on wear or ride quality?

When the tires are done I also intend to have my 16" Y-spoke alloys cleaned up and powder coated black. Since the wheels are being stripped down for the powder coating I know the TPMS equipment has to come off them, but with the truck being 6 years old now the TPMS sensors are pushing their life expectancy so I've been pricing out new sensors, bands, and cradles. When I checked RockAuto I found they listed the valve stem mounted sensors as valid replacements for the band mounted sensors. Has anyone had any experience swapping out the OEM style TPMS sensors?

I'm looking at a difference of maybe $15 right now between eBay sensors and bands versus RockAuto valve stem mounted sensors, so price isn't really the issue just curiosity.
 


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Stick with band mounted sensors, Valve stem sensors have more issues.
 

adsm08

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Ford rates their TPMS sensors with a service life of 10 years 100,000 miles. You might be more than half way through that, but I wouldn't say you are "pushing it".

I prefer the band mounted ones as well. They might be harder to pinpoint with the tire on, but they are not at easily damaged during tire mounting. Stem mounted sensors also make servicing the valve stems more difficult and expensive.
 

Bronco638

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Another issue you may not have thought about; P versus LT tires. The LT's may make the ride quite harsh. Check the load rating for both tire types.
 

Erazor983

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Another issue you may not have thought about; P versus LT tires. The LT's may make the ride quite harsh. Check the load rating for both tire types.
I am worried about this. For the most part my truck doesn't see much if any towing or heavy load carrying in a given year. She's a daily driver with almost no off-pavement driving (unfortunately). The New England snow is my only real concern these days. Maybe some weekend trips up to VT or NY for some winter fun. I was leaning toward the LT for the snow rating that the P rated tires don't seem to carry, but further digging is showing that more to be a western states law thing than actual performance difference in the snow. I guess that leaves me with the P rated All-Terrain Adventures in the stock size for now.

Back to the TPMS, can the cradles for the sensors be reused or will I need to replace them as well? Also, I've not really settled on a powdercoater yet if anyone has an recommendations in/around the Hartford, CT area. Thanks for the help folks.
 
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adsm08

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The bands and cradles have to be replaced if you are having the rims powder coated.

The original bands are crimped and have to be cut off to be removed. The replacements are just huge hose clamps.

The cradles are held from sliding by 3M tape. Without it they will slide back and forth as you drive and cause a tire vibration. Also, holding the sensor on with zip-ties will produce the same issue.

I agree with the statements about P vs LT tires. LT tires will ride like crap on a Ranger, and you will not lose one bit of snow performance by going with P tires. In fact Ps might be better in snow because the sidewalls aren't as stiff. Many snow tires use softer rubber so they can flex and grab better in lower temps.
 

Erazor983

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Ford rates their TPMS sensors with a service life of 10 years 100,000 miles. You might be more than half way through that, but I wouldn't say you are "pushing it".
First off, thanks for your responses adsm08. Secondly, has this been your typical experience as a Ford tech? My truck doesn't get loads of miles on it every year if just hitting 66k isn't a dead giveaway of that, but it's been in some cold weather climates for most of its' life, Nebraska early on and Connecticut now.

Maybe I'm overestimating the work to replace a failed sensor or all of the sensors once I've got the wheels and tires back together with new bands and cradles. I've mounted and balanced tires before, but it was ages ago and I don't have access to the machines for it these days. This was long before TPMS came onto the scene anyways.
 

adsm08

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It is fairly rare to see TPMS sensors fail before the 10/100 mark. 10/100 is the official rated service life per the training class on TPMS. My personal experience has been that if they don't fail in the first 3 years they will more than likely outlive the rated service life.

As for ease of replacement, it's not hard. I'd rate the difficulty as being on par with swapping out a valve stem. All I ever do for the cradle ones is break the outer bead and use the roller on the machine (or the bar if there isn't a roller) to hold the tire down and swap the sensor out quick. At home you could do it with a car and a scissor jack, if you know that trick.
 

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Updates

I managed to find a good recommendation for a wheel repair place up in Easthampton, MA if anyone else needs this sort of work done. They did a great job for $125 a wheel. That covered dismounting the old tires and TPMS, cleaning up the wheels, powdercoating, remounting TPMS, mounting new tires, and balancing. I gave them the truck for a week while I was out of town, but they told me they typically can turn around a set in two days if heavy repairs are not needed.

Before:
20141105_162645.jpg
A bit corroded with those hard wearing Wrangler RT/S.

After:
20141202_161316.jpg
In 60% gloss black, with stock sized Wrangler A/T Adventure w/ Kevlar.

Now if I could only get a few sunny days to enjoy looking at them! New England weather has been the pits lately, and coming and going to work in the dark is making it tough.
 

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