Tow Vehicle Tires

[COtoFLsurf]

I run Toyo Open Country on my F250, they were awesome all-season (incl snow) in CO and have been great here in FL as well. Great traction, they have worn very well, and still relatively quiet on the road. I will be replacing them with same when time comes

 

[MattFX4]

Looks like you have already made your choice, but I'm running 35x12.50x20's on my F150 and they have been great. Have about 20k miles on them and they are barely worn. Good luck with the Coopers. They look great!

 

[PEARCE]

The stock tires were much smaller Firestones and the system is programmed to 70 front and 80 rear I think. The max psi on these is 65.

That's some low PSI on a heavy duty truck. Are they E rated? On my truck I have a light load button that I can push when I run a lower PSI. I've never used it though since I'm always running with some sort of load. I always have 70 on the front and it will vary a little in the rear. Usually no less then 70 there as well.

 

[F.M.]

That's some low PSI on a heavy duty truck. Are they E rated? On my truck I have a light load button that I can push when I run a lower PSI. I've never used it though since I'm always running with some sort of load. I always have 70 on the front and it will vary a little in the rear. Usually no less then 70 there as well.

Yep, E rated.

 

[Sbrown]

I doubt the dealership will be able to do that. There are strict laws about TPMS and it usually cannot be messed with by the dealers.

This is not an accurate statement. I worked for several different brand new car dealerships, and tpms pressure is easily and legally adjusted max and min. On most Toyotas there is a button in the knee bolster area that lets the consumer change tpms values. I have aftermarket scan tools on my truck right now that can change tpms settings.

Side note: You might want them to set an accurate tire size while they're at it.

 

[F.M.]

Just got off the phone with Cooper Tires. 65 psi max and it has a load rating of 3195 lbs. Which is more than enough for the my truck loaded to full capacity.

 

[Jameson Clark]

This is not an accurate statement. I worked for several different brand new car dealerships, and tpms pressure is easily and legally adjusted max and min. On most Toyotas there is a button in the knee bolster area that lets the consumer change tpms values. I have aftermarket scan tools on my truck right now that can change tpms settings.

Side note: You might want them to set an accurate tire size while they're at it.

That is an accurate statement. I currently work in the automotive business and have worked with Ford, GM, and Chrysler. Those three, you cannot adjust with the manufacturer scan tools (such as IDS for Ford.) TPMS is a federally mandated system and if dealers were given access to change the parameters, what is the point? You could just set the parameters to 0-100psi and never have to see the light on. But, that would avoid the whole purpose and negate a system designed to increase safety.

With that said, yes, there are plenty of AFTERMARKET programmers that can do it. My F150 has a simple SCT X4 on it with some custom tunes and I can adjust mine with it, but I could not do it with the Ford IDS.

Ford has even cut down on tire size and axle ratio programming and the only tire sizes you can program the vehicle for were optional factory tire sizes or factory rear gear ratios now. You used to be able to enter in whatever tire size you wanted after you calculated the revolutions per mile and put that figure in but not anymore. It is all under the programmable parameters section of IDS.

 

[viggen]

Do you drive at max psi?

When I went with 37’s on my Jeep (ridge grappler) I run less pressure then the smaller tires I had before

I have never heard of a max tire pressure setting

 

[F.M.]

I just towed the boat 200 miles this morning at 55psi and everything seemed great. Now I just need the tpms to stop telling me I have low pressure.

 

[Sbrown]

I just towed the boat 200 miles this morning at 55psi and everything seemed great. Now I just need the tpms to stop telling me I have low pressure.

I spoke with several Chrysler/Fiat technicians today and they all agreed TPMS threshold was an easily adjustable parameter and doable at the dealer.
As a side note; I also spoke with several GM dealer techs and Ford dealer tech (I am a toolman after all) and they all also said the TPMS thresholds on their respective vehicles was adjustable at the dealer level. This also agrees with my 25 years worth of experience as a dealer master technician before I became a toolman.

 

[Bennie]

I'm in the same boat.... time for a new set of tires.

These price quotes are starting to hurt my feelings. But even more confusing is what a few of these tire reps are recommending: Balancing Beads.

I'm seeing really mixed reviews on the web about them. Have you guys heard of them? Know of them?

Apparently some dealerships use these to "assist" in balancing larger tires. I've personally never heard of them and they just seem like something else to reduce my mpg.

 

[MattFX4]

I'm in the same boat.... time for a new set of tires.

These price quotes are starting to hurt my feelings. But even more confusing is what a few of these tire reps are recommending: Balancing Beads.

I'm seeing really mixed reviews on the web about them. Have you guys heard of them? Know of them?

Apparently some dealerships use these to "assist" in balancing larger tires. I've personally never heard of them and they just seem like something else to reduce my mpg.

Forget all that man. I’m running 35x12.50x20 BFG KO2’s on my F150 and rides like factory. 20k miles on them so far and they look great. Have towed boat, driven to Florida, and daily driver to work. They aren’t cheap though! Think I spent around $1,500

 

[Sbrown]

But even more confusing is what a few of these tire reps are recommending: Balancing Beads.

I'm seeing really mixed reviews on the web about them. Have you guys heard of them? Know of them?

They are mostly used in big truck tires, and are pretty effective. I know of a couple of my customers who are using them in larger light truck tires with pretty good success. The advantage they have over regular weights on the rim is the beads can actually compensate for a tire that is slightly out of round or inconsistencies in the sidewall structure/strength; commonly known in the industry as road force variations. Basically, they don't do anything that a good tech with a good road force balancer couldn't do, they just do it easier and quicker therefore making more money for the tire retailer.

 

[Sbrown]

Finally got out to my 2017 Ram with a scan tool, heres some pictures

Sorry about the shoddy quality of the images

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

Finally got out to my 2017 Ram with a scan tool, heres some pictures
View attachment 79787 View attachment 79789 View attachment 79790View attachment 79791
Sorry about the shoddy quality of the images

Do you work for a dealer? How much would they normally charge to change my tire size in the computer? I am going to see if the guy can do it for free - can't imagine it takes long.

 

[Sbrown]

Do you work for a dealer? How much would they normally charge to change my tire size in the computer? I am going to see if the guy can do it for free - can't imagine it takes long.

I don't work for a dealer presently; I worked as a master mechanic in multiple dealerships for 25 years and I've been doing my own thing as a Toolman for the last five years. Anybody with a decent scan tool, whether it be dealer or aftermarket, should be able to set your TPMS threshold parameters. The above pictures were of a Mac Tools ETX431Tab10 scan tool being used on my own 2017 Ram 1500 Ecodiesel. I could set TPMS threshold and tire size as well as multiple other parameters.

As far as how much they would charge, that would be at the discretion of the shop. I do it for free.

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

Hmm - know of any at a decent price? May not be a bad thing to keep in the toolbox.

 

[Sbrown]

Hmm - know of any at a decent price? May not be a bad thing to keep in the toolbox.

Right now about $3200 is about the best bang for the buck as far as scan tools. Then it's 700.00 a year to maintain an update subscription.

 

[F.M.]

So..... I stopped my truck off this morning to have 2 recalls done, and to have the tpms threshold adjusted while it is there. I'm headed to pick it up now, but I'm being told that the tpms can't be changed with the dealers scan tool. The tech and the shop manager say that the scan tool doesn't even give them that option. Now I'll have to make some phone calls to find someone with an aftermarket scan tool that can do it for me.

 

[Sbrown]

So..... I stopped my truck off this morning to have 2 recalls done, and to have the tpms threshold adjusted while it is there. I'm headed to pick it up now, but I'm being told that the tpms can't be changed with the dealers scan tool. The tech and the shop manager say that the scan tool doesn't even give them that option. Now I'll have to make some phone calls to find someone with an aftermarket scan tool that can do it for me.

That's kind of odd; one of my stops is a Chrysler/Jeep/ Dodge dealer and all the techs I spoke with said they could do it.