Tire Selection/LTPWS Sensor

[Jman]

A previous owner installed Pirelli Vizzola Z-Rated P8000 treads all the way around - seem like great tires. But he put 275/40s on all 4 corners. The door calls for 255/45 on the front and 285/40 on the back. Would this cause the Service LTPWS sensor to light and stay on? If so, can it be easily cleared or will it just light right back up?

 

[Rabbit]

Don't think the tire size has anything to do with it. My ZO7 has the same tires on all 4 corners & no problem. Just a guess, but you may have a bad sensor?????

 

[compyelc4]

The LTPWS will light if one of the sensors is bad or missing. The dude who patched one of my back tires before I bought the car ripped the sensor right off when he popped the bead on the tire. The jerk just patched the tire and remounted it, allowing the sensor to flop around inside the tire. Never did get a LTPW light until I replaced the severely cupped tire with a new one. I omitted the sensor altogether until I could get the strap welded back together. I'm going to stare at that light until I get the sensor back on!

Ted

 

[Jman]

Another Question

I've had the tires rotated and rebalanced - nothing floating around inside. My guess is there is no way to tell if the sensor is actually there without separating the tires from the rim. The error code will probably only tell you you have a bad sensor. Is there a way to disable the light until I have to get into the rims to check the sensors?

 

[Rabbit]

Guess all you can do is pull the bulb for now.

 

[compyelc4]

<<Is there a way to disable the light until I have to get into the rims to check the sensors?>>

Here's what I've done, temporarily. I've got a neat little plastic ID card from the NRA. It has a little eagle on it and the letters, "NRA Member". I trimmed the card a bit so as not to cover any lights except the LWPS and the LWPS System lights. I just slipped the card in the upper right hand corner, beneath the bezel. Gee, makes the light disappear except at night; then only a faint glow so you know the lights is still there. I'm sure you can find another neat little emblem or something that will work to your satisfaction. Maybe a thick plastic card with something like "LT1", "Corvette", etc. Go nuts with your computer and printer. Come up with something cool.

Ted

 

[brewshill2003]

Have a coverplate from mid america over driver information center, removed put a small piece of black electrical tape over ltpws service light replaced coverplate. Presto annoying light hidden from view till can get fixed. and nobody but me knows of fix.

 

[Tuna]

Jman,
while you're having your wheels checked out for tire pressure sensors, you might want to look and see if all of the wheels are 9.5" wide or if 2 are 8.5 - they are marked on the back.

If you have 2-8.5" wheels and 2-9.5" wheels, you might want to check out with Pirelli or with tirerack.com to see if your tires and the 8.5" wheels are compatible. Most tire companies say the minimum width for 275 tires is 9.0".

And you might want to make sure that the same size wheels are on the same axle. I've seen a few Vettes with the wheels crisscrossed - one 8.5 on the front and one 8.5 on the rear. I'm not sure how this would effect handling but it can't be the best combination.

Later.