OEM wheels and tires

[radin2son]

Before the 35,000 mile service, without looking at the tires, the service manager mentioned that NV tires are being replaced at 30,000 miles. My tires were fine with plenty of tread left.

 

What happens after the tires max out. As near as I can tell the best replacement choice is between Firestone and Michelin. The NV dealer has OEM Firestone Transforce tires. Discount Tire has the Micheline equivalent.

 

My main concern is which is the right tire (both rated for use on the NV) on the OEM rims? MSRP is about the same, so price is not a deciding factor. Firestone offers no mileage rating, while Michelin rates theirs at 70,000 miles. (I read somewhere here about having 56,000 miles on the OEM tires and planning to get Michelin tires.)

 

Truck Trend has an interesting article from July "Understanding Tire Load Ratings" for non-dually light trucks that I mostly understand but wonder how this applies to cargo vans. Maybe Nissan or more likely the tire manufacturers have this covered. Too bad the "tough love" videos didn't address tires.

[radin2son]

Is replying to oneself the same as talking to oneself?

 

No other responses can be one due to one of many reasons. No interest. Not enough NVs close to replacing tires. Brand loyalty. Upgrading to larger rims and tires...

 

Brand loyalty and the shop experience, based on the last set of tires and installation, are probably most important for me for my VW. I have no brand loyalty for the NV, but I am satisfied with the OEM tires. The question is whether or not there is a better tire out there. Another factor is the TPSM. Does this need to be replaced at the same frequency as normal valve stems? I know Nissan does not have to do this, but will there be issues down the road if they don't?

 

One more factor is the yet to be used spare tire. If I stay with the Firestone Transforce tire, I only have to buy 3 tires and keep the best tire for a spare. The only issue is whether or not the spare has the TPSM.

 

What to do?

[Mc2guy]

Tires have two expiration issues you need to consider.  First is tread-wear, the obvious death of a tire.  The second is age.  The rubber compounds start to break down with oxygen and especially UV exposure.  Generally, 6-7 years is the useful life of a tire, regardless of it's mileage.  If your spare is only two years old, then you are fine reusing it, but keep in mind it will have a shorter life than the new tires.  That may not matter to you give your application.

 

I usually shop via tirerack to see what the reviews are saying for a particular brand/style/application.  Since these are high load rated tires, you need be careful to match or exceed the load rating recommendation.  Beyond that, I'd shop based on tread life warranty and price... and maybe availability if you have a favored and trusted tire shop.  I personally buy on tirerack and have my tires drop shipped to a local shop that I trust.  It generally is cheaper and opens up my choice to pretty much any tire I want vs. what the shop has or can order (at their marked up retail prices).

[radin2son]

I have looked at Tire Rack for tires; they are cheaper for all "E" rated tires except Michelin. Like most reviews, you get a mixed bag. Plus, the reviews mostly are written by Ford and Ram pickup owners. There don't seem to be any van specific reviews. It appears a lot of, if not most, OEM tires are replaced with Michelin. This includes Ford van owners on the Sportsmobile (SMB) forum. In Florida, we met the owner of a Sprinter SMB who went the other way. He replaced the OEM Michelin tires with Firestone based on price. He liked the value and the ride.

 

In our case, the NV camper conversion adds about a 1/2 ton. When loaded for travel approximately a 1/2 ton is added. This is not a mostly empty pickup that is being used like a car. So, when the time comes, we may stick with the OEM Firestone tires and whatever sale the dealer has going (buy 3 and get the 4th for $1). Then again, maybe Nissan will be installing a different OEM tire.

 

There also is the issue of checking the alignment. Discount tire doesn't do this locally.

 

I do get the old spare issue. In the mid 90s, I had a blow out and put on the spare, which also blew out in short order, midway between Glia Bend and Yuma, AZ. I was not that far from a farm machinery repair shop that sold truck tires. Made it to Yuma and bought 4 Michelin tires for our VW camper.

[axulsuv]

I've got almost 55k on my OE's ... and they are still over half of their tread depth without weather cracks ... And from experience most tpms batteries last about 4 to 5 years , so save the future hassle and replace the sensors when you do tires ... less labor ....

Glenn 

[radin2son]

What I don't know is endless... Never considered TPSM would require batteries in each wheel that last around 4-5000 miles. I did expect the stems to be replaced with the tires and that the TPSM would be reset. I can only imagine how annoying it would be if a battery failed...

 

Firestone Transforce HT tread depth, when new, is 14/32 and I have 6/32+ remaining at 35,000 miles. I'm sure I will not get your NV's tire mileage, but will be happy with 45,000 miles.

 

8/22 If you have a warranty policy on these tires or the tire fails due to a defect, the tire will only be replaced if the tread depth is 2/32 or more. No need to get into replacement policy; rather, at 2/32 it will be time to replace the tires.

Edited August 22, 2014 by radin2son

[axulsuv]

And the Bat. is part of the sensor/ valve stem ... No replacing just the battery . Big brother watching out for us !!!

[radin2son]

Another expensive part no doubt. (Had to replace one of the rear backup sensors that was pushed back into the bumper. I thought it was a rubber gasket, but it is hard plastic and one piece. The "gasket" was broken and the sensor wouldn't stay in place. $235 part.)

[Mc2guy]

Another expensive part no doubt. (Had to replace one of the rear backup sensors that was pushed back into the bumper. I thought it was a rubber gasket, but it is hard plastic and one piece. The "gasket" was broken and the sensor wouldn't stay in place. $235 part.)

 

Ouch.  I would have just "glued" it in place with some epoxy.  Assuming the sensor was still working, that is.  

 

Did you bump it, or did the seating ring just fail?

[radin2son]

The "seating ring" and sensor are one piece and all the sensors are exposed to easy damage. They also are not kept in stock by dealers and it took 2 days to get it. Not something you would wait for when traveling. There is an override when towing, but this has to be reset every time you switch the ignition off.

 

I don't recall backing into anything and there were no marks on the bumper. I earlier was parallel parked and may have kissed the car behind me when exiting, or the other car could have. The odd thing is that I later backed out of a space at a rest area and there was no alert. That happened later.

 

It is one of those expenses you chalk up to ownership and throw away culture. Just don't multiply this by 4 or by however many front sensors there are on the passenger vans. Scary expensive.

 

Without disconnecting it, I tried pushing it back in place. Nothing to hold it in place even if you could epoxy it. Otherwise, it looked fine, so it may still have worked.

 

Back to the TPMS, battery, stem etc. Although we have had our van 2 years, it was built in late 2011. (The camper conversion dates from early September to when we bought it at the end of September.) This means the TPMS is 3 years old, so it would be an unnecessary gamble to not change out the battery, stem etc. no matter what it costs. I would have to decipher the tire code but the tires could be 3 to 4 years old.

Edited August 22, 2014 by radin2son

[Mc2guy]

Does the NV actually have "real" TPMS where it will tell you the pressure in each tire?  Or is it the kind that only alerts you when it senses a tire is "low" via a dash light?

 

I ask because while the former does, the latter type system does not use pressure sensors, but rather relies on the ABS sensors on the brakes to determine when a wheel is rotating more than it should, indicating a lower tire pressure.

[radin2son]

TPMS will show the psi in each tire provided you are moving at 16+ mph. Not that easy to see. It shows the front psi first as you twist the knob/button. There also is an alert that specifies which tire is low. This can be cleared by pushing the same button.

 

There is a dash light that comes on but does not specify low psi. This came on several time many trips ago. No problem found, so it might mean there is a sensor problem.

 

I see the benefit of TPMS but wouldn't order this if it was a option given the problem I had and the fact that this seems to be a Nissan dedicated system. Make it universal and it will make sense.

Still don't know what the replacement cost will be.

Bates?

[Bates]

As a personal opinion I dislike TPS systems immensely, I find the trouble outweighs the benefits. Up here where we can get to -40c it's just a big hassle when the weather swings. Our service bay spends the first week of cold winter topping up everyone's tires. 

 

- NV TPS part is about $100 retail just for the part (remember I'm up here in Canada and you guys in the US tend to get parts much cheaper, never mind labour...which in my town is $145 an hour)

- If I redo tires for someone or someone purchases winter tires/rims we use an aftermarket one and it retails for about $70. No clue on the brand name, tire shop handles for me.

 

I was told by one customer that somewhere is the ability to turn off the TPS in the computer on the vehicle but my techs have never been able to find it and Nissan says you flat out can't turn the system off.

[radin2son]

You can disable it, temporarily similar to the back up sensor on/off toggle, by clearing it per screen instructions until you turn off the ignition. Turn on the ignition and there it is again and again...

 

I'm surprised aftermarket ones work and wonder if a tire dealer can also get them to work without going through a Nissan dealer. $280-400 plus the cost of tires.... Phew! Thanks for the info.

[Bates]

Yeah I meant in the fancy computer scan tool that the techs have to disable.

 

No complaints (out of the ordinary anyways) for the aftermarket ones thus far.Have sold several of the after market ones in the past.