Winter Tires?
It is a very close match since the size I am looking at was stock on the S. It's within 1 percent so everything should be good.
Oh and there is a way to reset the TPMS without having to go to the dealership. I just tried to tonight and it activates on the car perfectly. The only other thing you need is about a $100 tool to activate the new sensors. But that will pay for itself after 3 tire changes.
Where did you find that? I'm sure some other people would probably be interested in that.
On the forum and in the service manual found on the forum.Moto wrote:Where did you find that? I'm sure some other people would probably be interested in that.
I read almost the entire 3000+ page service manual and then searched to see if anyone else had posted it before--sure enough, someone had but it wasn't stickied. 
Here's the link (needs to be stickied):
http://www.kizashiclub.com/forum/viewto ... 177#p22177
This thread also has confirmed aftermarket sensor part numbers:
http://www.kizashiclub.com/forum/viewto ... out+dealer
I've done some more research and we may not even need the activation tool for the sensors, which explains why some people had the tpms light immediately, while others have it only after a few days. If the sensors are activated but the car hasn't learned them, I think the car will not immediately set an error. While if the sensors are still 'asleep' or 'unactivated', the error message should be immediate.
This whole tpms thing has me royally pissed off. I'm researching on how to reverse engineer the whole system and manufacture a tpms emulator which you can just plug into your cig lighter and be done with this crap once and for all. The emulator will be designed to be for off-road use only such as when you have a set of racing tires or have lowered tire pressure at the drag strip.
The research paper linked in this article has A LOT of information on tpms and how it truly works:
http://www.moderntiredealer.com/blog/b- ... estitial=1
That first thread was mine. I'm glad there is an affordable tool, and I have learned in my experience is that the "newer" TPMS sensors now on the market (like the Continental VDO SE10001HP REDI-Sensor I purchased) don't need the specific Suzuki tool for scanning to program. However, the OEM sensors have to be scanned at the service dept. My tire guy couldn't do the re-learn since I only replaced one sensor and the scanner had to read all four to complete the process.
Oh --and I have come to dislike the whole TPMS system. Reminded again this morning when the low pressure light came on with the cold temperature contracting the air pressure. The first time that happened I left the car home thinking I had a slow leak.
Oh --and I have come to dislike the whole TPMS system. Reminded again this morning when the low pressure light came on with the cold temperature contracting the air pressure. The first time that happened I left the car home thinking I had a slow leak.
Former driver of a 2011 SLS AWD Platinum
Hmmm...this is interesting information. What brand tool was the shop using? All tmps sensors are triggered by the same frequency according to a research paper I read on hacking tpms.Firefly wrote:That first thread was mine. I'm glad there is an affordable tool, and I have learned in my experience is that the "newer" TPMS sensors now on the market (like the Continental VDO SE10001HP REDI-Sensor I purchased) don't need the specific Suzuki tool for scanning to program. However, the OEM sensors have to be scanned at the service dept. My tire guy couldn't do the re-learn since I only replaced one sensor and the scanner had to read all four to complete the process.
Oh --and I have come to dislike the whole TPMS system. Reminded again this morning when the low pressure light came on with the cold temperature contracting the air pressure. The first time that happened I left the car home thinking I had a slow leak.
The service manual specifically states that the Suzuki tool can't do anything with tpms and that an ATEQ VT55, which is made by the same company as the VT15 AND VT30, is the recommended tool.
And all three of these tools use the same triggering circuitry according to ATEQ, just more features with the higher models. As far as I can tell, triggering is all we have to do once we manually get the car in learn mode. The VT55 has an OBD2 connector, so it can directly and quickly input the sensor IDs once it has them. Important for a shop doing several of these a day, but I don't think it's worth the extra $800 to have it.Current "TPMS test tool" cannot be used for registration of tire pressure sensor ID codes. Therefore, use recommended tool ("VT55" made by ATEQ) as an alternative.
I'm currently planning on getting 16x6 sx4 alloy wheels, genuine Suzuki tpms sensors, an ATEQ VT30 and probably Michilin xice3s for a winter setup. Once I figure out the wheel source, I plan to drop them off a shop with the sensors at a local shop and have them mount everything up and check the sensors (since they should be able to perfectly fine). Then I'll bring the tires back and switch them out one at a time and put the old ones away. Then I'll do the relearn procedure including using the VT30 to verify the sensor activation, and after everything seems registered go for an extended drive. I expect no tpms drama. If all goes well, switching back to the 18s should be basically a swap and quick relearn.
I thought about getting the Dorman 974-515 kit that comes with 4 universal sensors and a cloning tool, but since I don't have access to the stock sensor IDs, that wouldn't work for me. But for someone that has the sensor IDs to the ones installed on the car, they can very quickly program the Dormans to clone the existing wheels and then swap at will without ever having to relearn again. Well...until the sensor batteries die. Then they have to do the relearn, but will have to buy a sensor activation tool since the Dorman doesn't have one built-in.
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PittsburghJoe
- Posts: 95
- Joined: Fri Jun 08, 2012 5:55 pm
I have a 2012 AWD SLS and just got winter tires. I went with Glacier grips on a separate set of 17s and I couldn't be happier. I bought new tpms sensors from Advance auto for $50 ea., had the tire shop install them when they put on the tires and went to the dealer who, as he put it "pingged them" for free. The tire shop recommended going with 225/50 on a 17" rim to compensate for the smaller diameter from the OEM 18s. We had our first serious snow here in Pittsburgh and I can't believe how well the tires and car performs. It did well last winter with the dunlop stocks but not like this. The ride is only slightly louder and inferior than the original dunlops which I liked very much. Those tires only have one short summer left on them. Any recommendations for replacing them when I get the snows off? I prefer tight handling over a cushier ride.
I've got 235/50R17 fitted on mine- that size works out to be almost perfect for sidewall height. The 225/50R17 will be slightly lower in the sidewall, but the narrower tread is probably better for use as a winter tyre?PittsburghJoe wrote: The tire shop recommended going with 225/50 on a 17" rim to compensate for the smaller diameter from the OEM 18s. We had our first serious snow here in Pittsburgh and I can't believe how well the tires and car performs. It did well last winter with the dunlop stocks but not like this. The ride is only slightly louder and inferior than the original dunlops which I liked very much. Those tires only have one short summer left on them. Any recommendations for replacing them when I get the snows off? I prefer tight handling over a cushier ride.
You'll have all sorts of options for new 18" tyres - how deep are your pockets?
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... mpare1=yes
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... mpare1=yes
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... mpare1=yes
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... mpare1=yes
David
What 17s did you use? The Advance sensors were probably the VDO Redi-Sensor. It's pretty much taken over the market and being sold under all sorts of different names. It's a little more expensive than the dedicated Kizashi sensor which is only $30.
I don't think they went to the dealership. They probably just found the instructions for the learn mode and used their in-house trigger tool. No dealer will do a relearn via obd for free. The tool for that is an over $1000 investment that they have to get a return on.
That awesome to hear that the car performs well in the snow! I'll have to look into those tires. How much were they?
As far as great summer tires, I've always had great performance with upper end Bridgestone and Firestone products. Since you probably have the same 235/45/18 stock that we do, I'd recommend the Bridgestone RE760 as it has a higher load rating, hence is a much more rigid tire structurally. I've heard great things about the Continenal SportContact 3s as well.
I don't think they went to the dealership. They probably just found the instructions for the learn mode and used their in-house trigger tool. No dealer will do a relearn via obd for free. The tool for that is an over $1000 investment that they have to get a return on.
That awesome to hear that the car performs well in the snow! I'll have to look into those tires. How much were they?
As far as great summer tires, I've always had great performance with upper end Bridgestone and Firestone products. Since you probably have the same 235/45/18 stock that we do, I'd recommend the Bridgestone RE760 as it has a higher load rating, hence is a much more rigid tire structurally. I've heard great things about the Continenal SportContact 3s as well.
So I've revisited this thread and it's interesting how often the General Altimax Arctic's have been mentioned. They're also the number 1 rated tire in one of the snow categories. They probably have more sidewall flex than the xice3's, but they're also almost 50% cheaper and seem to grip better.
xice3's or Altimax? Which would you choose in 215/60/16 or 215/65/16?
xice3's or Altimax? Which would you choose in 215/60/16 or 215/65/16?