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Winter Wheels For A 4.4


philip42h
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Tyres arrived this morning just waiting for Mr. T to get the TPMS valves.

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cool!!!

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David......do you want me to guard them until valves arrive.......?

Wife's are also them Ultragrips.....no number nomenclature though........brill things. Going on soon, unfortunefully........dark as night here.

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Lol. I'm going to sleep with them.

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Can't wait to see his Anne Summer's tyres noo.......

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  • 2 weeks later...

An update on my quest ...

I was hoping to be able to get winter wheels from mytyres as I did for the wife's Fiat 500. However:

  • None of the alloys they can offer are an exact match for the RAV's OEM wheels - either same offset but different rim size (8.0J rather than 7.5J) or same rim size but different offset (38 rather than 45) - which means they be 6/7mm wider than the originals.
  • When I enquired, it transpired that they don't supply wheels with TPMS valves at all. They do sell wheel that can take the Toyota TPMS valve but I'd have the get the wheels and tyres and have Toyota fit the TPMS valves.

So, bother, that isn't the one stop shop I was hoping for.

More 'interestingly' still, other 4.4 owners have reported their dealers saying that the ECU would remember 8 TPMS valve settings - a summer set and a winter set and automatically swap between them ... neat. I asked my dealer what they / Toyota recommended by way of winter tyres and wheels and he came back with a suggestion to swap the tyres taking care to keep the wheels in the same position on the car. I sent him back to think again - I want wheels I can swap myself - so he undertook to check with Toyota and get back to me. He did so just now ... on the Lexus the ECU etc. is configured to work exactly that way so the car will remember both a summer set and a winter set. That feature is NOT available on the RAV - the dealer needs to configure the ECU to recognise a specific TPMS id at each corner (four only) and would have to reset the ECU if any of the TMPS valves were changed or even if the wheels were rotated ... bother.

So I know don't know quite who to believe - my dealer certainly didn't know the answer before being sent away to find out but the answer comes from Toyota so should be authoritative. Having any of the 4.4 owners actually done the winter wheels thing and had the extra four TPMS ids programmed?

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No less than 4 different folk at Toyota confused the buttox off me when I wanted a fifth wheel programmed on to the ECU of my Runflatted SR180.......3 said couldnae be done.....1 said it could...........he was right.

Full set of Icon alloys recently on eBay if of interest, Philip min.

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My tyres are on order for delivery later this week, sounds like things might not be as straight forward as I had planned. Time will tell......

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Looks we all have got contradictory information about the TMPS (problem).

I'm going in Wednesday morning so we shall all see then.

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Not sure i agree with some if this. The owners manual asks you to rotate the wheels every 3000 miles and press the TPMS reset switch. If you need to go to Toyota every time it should say it in the manual. Seems like none of the dealers know what to do.

On winter wheel packages wheelbase alloys had some good offers with decent tyres and could supply TPMS valves but not sure what type or if compatible.

I'm just going to get tyres and get ether local place to swap them over and avoid TPMS issues. Like others I'd prefer another complete set of wheels to swap them over myself but it seems far too problematic or expensive....all those visits to the dealers...

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Need to go and read my manual to find out where this TPMS reset switch is.

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I also felt compelled to go and find the switch. It took a bit of finding. You have to get your nose right down by the brake pedal and then look up (if you can avoid dislocating something). They couldn't have hid it better if they had tried!

Yes, on reading the manual there is a detailed procedure on how to reset the settings as well as information implying that new TPMS valves mean reprogramming by Mr.T.

I had my new winter tyres fitted today to the OEM rims so took the opportunity to look at the actual TPMS valve unit. It's quite neat. I seriously thought about getting a second set of wheels but was put off by the TPMS issue. I asked the TPMS question of several internet specialists to see if any were prepared to supply wheel and tyre packages complete with TPMS valves but was met with a stony silence. One even suggested I buy one of their "packages" and then take the new wheels with their fitted tyres to my Toyota dealer for them to fit TPMS valves!

I did suggest that their business model needed a refresh if they planned to stay in business because it is my understanding that TPMS valves are an EU requirement on cars homologated after 2012.

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Located the reset button. No do hard to reach. You can just remain seated and put your right hand under the steering column. It's on the centre line just after where the bottom trim starts and it's quit large and easy to feel. So you can push it and still see the alam light in the instrument cluster.

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Got the new alloys and winters fitted this morning. Makes it look like a different car.

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Only driven 20 miles on them but they feel very nice and they are certainly quiet enough.

The ECU will only remember 5 wheels and so it is necessary to recode the system each time there is a change from summer to winter and back. My local Mr. T has taken a note of all eight codes in their computer system and when I change again in the spring will just hook up and reset. No big deal. While I was there we were on the phone to Toyota UK as this was the first car the garage had done. Toyota have now said that they will not be changing ECU to read and store more codes. Apparently if two RAVs are parked together each would try and interrogate the other within the wireless range if there was spare unused code slots.

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I personally think this should be moved to the Gratuitous Photography Section (GPS), and must stress I am in no way jealous of this, my now becoming favourite colour of Highland Green. ( Stupid name for a colour anyway, when normally we cannae see the Highlands for the bloody rain.......)

LOL.......Nice job David, and must say although I have always preferred these silvery alloys, your Darth Vader wans had actually grown on me. Safe drive thereon.....

Just noticed road sign behind car, but will Hoovie......?

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All ready for the cold weather now David !, my tyres arrive Friday, might be tempted to use the silver alloys for winter, the Pitlanes look too nice to spoil.

Highland green looks stunning with the silver wheels.

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You will be astonished where you can get with those winter tyres. Only snow deep enough to beach the RAV will stop it now. For those with hill descent control, it is a mighty fine thing but don't forget it works at any speed in first gear. Guy tried it recently in his 4.4 and it nearly threw him through the windscreen from about 10mph. Better to stop first!

I got a bit too big for my boots last year and tried going up the steepest hill in the area which is 1:4. No problem at all to the winter tyres but when I got up there the road was proper blocked with drifts of several feet and several abandoned cars. After a 53 point turn I had to come down the same steep hill which excites the bowel somewhat. The HDC saved my bacon there - unblievable. If you have an auto just have a little practice. Stop at the top of a steep hill. Put it in HDC and then take your foot off and see what it does - amazing.

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  • 3 weeks later...

My winter tyres Michelin Alpin LA4 will be fitted this week, just in time! :canadian:

Take a peek in the 4 sale section my winter wheels and tyres ex my Avensis are for sale. :thumbsup:

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aside #1: I'm curious to see how my mundane FWD Hatch works with the Winter Tyres (apparently the forecast is for 100 days of snow!).

aside #2: Steve McQueens Mustang in Bullitt was finished in 'Highland Green'

aside #3: might need to get Grey Racers number in case aside #1 doesn't pan out! (officially I do live in Coldstr.... )

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aside #1: I'm curious to see how my mundane FWD Hatch works with the Winter Tyres (apparently the forecast is for 100 days of snow!).

aside #2: Steve McQueens Mustang in Bullitt was finished in 'Highland Green'

aside #3: might need to get Grey Racers number in case aside #1 doesn't pan out! (officially I do live in Coldstr.... )

My Dad had a B series Citroen (not sure if that is the right description), it had adjustable ride height and never had a problem with "the wrong type of snow" and also helped to change it's own wheels by self jacking! :)

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aside #1: I'm curious to see how my mundane FWD Hatch works with the Winter Tyres (apparently the forecast is for 100 days of snow!).

aside #2: Steve McQueens Mustang in Bullitt was finished in 'Highland Green'

aside #3: might need to get Grey Racers number in case aside #1 doesn't pan out! (officially I do live in Coldstr.... )

My Dad had a B series Citroen (not sure if that is the right description), it had adjustable ride height and never had a problem with "the wrong type of snow" and also helped to change it's own wheels by self jacking! :)

Zatnot also the one whose headlights were motorised back in the 60's, Andy, and they moved with the steering wheel........?

Here we are getting that on some new vehicles as if it's new technology fgs.......but when that suspension went wrong, it was sell the wife and kids time.

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Wonder if the "B series" was the BX? (think the SM was the one in the 60's with the motorised headlamps and Maserati engine?). The BX 19TZS was my very first BRAND NEW car (and I think, in fact, my very last BRAND NEW car as well!). Played around with the suspension raising it and lowering it while in a M25 traffic jam. Sods law that as soon as i put it on the fully dropped setting, the traffic started to move.

Rather bumpy that was as it wouldn't go up while car in motion :oops:

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aside #1: I'm curious to see how my mundane FWD Hatch works with the Winter Tyres (apparently the forecast is for 100 days of snow!).

aside #2: Steve McQueens Mustang in Bullitt was finished in 'Highland Green'

aside #3: might need to get Grey Racers number in case aside #1 doesn't pan out! (officially I do live in Coldstr.... )

My Dad had a B series Citroen (not sure if that is the right description), it had adjustable ride height and never had a problem with "the wrong type of snow" and also helped to change it's own wheels by self jacking! :)

Zatnot also the one whose headlights were motorised back in the 60's, Andy, and they moved with the steering wheel........?

Here we are getting that on some new vehicles as if it's new technology fgs.......but when that suspension went wrong, it was sell the wife and kids time.

Fortunately for my Da he found the suspenders to be faultless on the two cars he had over about 5-6 years

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Wonder if the "B series" was the BX? (think the SM was the one in the 60's with the motorised headlamps and Maserati engine?). The BX 19TZS was my very first BRAND NEW car (and I think, in fact, my very last BRAND NEW car as well!). Played around with the suspension raising it and lowering it while in a M25 traffic jam. Sods law that as soon as i put it on the fully dropped setting, the traffic started to move.

Rather bumpy that was as it wouldn't go up while car in motion :oops:

Yes that's it! The BX19 with a diesel engine. I knew I hadn't got its model name quite right. :)

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