octee

What dealer in Miami are you taking the car to? I have heard a lot of complaints about South Motors so if that's the place, I'd take it somewhere else.

izen2

Something to remember: If you have valve stem sensors and you have to remove the tire, you have to remove the nut on the valve stem and push the stem into the tire before breaking the bead. Otherwise when the bead is broken the sensor is damaged. Corvettes have had sensors in the wheel since about 1989.

kchan

Actually the part number is the sensor itself, the steel valve part number is 36111095375 ($9 each)
This is what Garry from Newport told me. I would think the metal valve somehow has the sensor attached to the other end (inside the tire)? I wonder if the sensor is just attached to the metal valve or does it also sits on the wheels and bolts onto the wheel...
Maybe you can just get 1 sensor/valve stem, bring it to a tire shop, unmount the tires, try to install it (I would think it's a simple install), mount the tire back on, and see if one of the tires doesn't light up in gray? Better yet, depends on how the sensor will be mounted, I wonder if it's possible to just attach the sensor to the outside of the valve, so that you can try it out without unmounting the wheel, just to see if it works. I would think the sensor get its reading from the metal valve?

Just a thought. If you do try that, can you take a picture of how the sensor looks like and let us know if it fit on your replicas? I am thinking about getting some aftermarket wheels so really wonder if the sensors can be fitted on aftermarket wheels...

izen2

URL for photos and info on TPM Sensors:
http://www.bartecautoid.com/tpm_sensors.html

monacobmw

I just got off the phone with the dealer (the "other" Miami dealer which is just 1 mile from where I work--not "South" where I bought the car). They called the field. Finally, they have stated that I do need sensors.

I guess the question is whether I only need the $9 stems. If I already have the OEM sensor setup, and I only replaced the wheel, doesn't that mean that I only need the part that goes in the wheel (rather than the whole sensor setup)? The previous post suggests that the whole sensor/stem setup is combined, and when I removed my wheel, I lost the whole setup. $35 each is not a biggie. I bet that the weight will cause a balance issue, so I probably need to get a new balance with a Hunter machine.

Thanks to everyone here for the best assistance that one can find for a BMW. Withtout this help, I would be paying $500 to have my computer reprogramed by a dealer that could not figure out how their own cars work. The guy at the Newport BMW dealership seems really tops for BMW. I wish I had such great service like that down here in Miami.

Rudy

Lesson number one -- we know more about the car than the dealer...

About your sensor question, it should be easy to figure out. First, the car came from the factory with sensors mounted in the factory wheels. If those sensors are available to you, then you can have them installed in the new wheels. If those sensors are still in the factory set and you want to preserve that setup, then you'll have to purchase new sensors to mount in the new wheels. I don't know much about the stems but I assume you'll need stems and sensors for the new wheels. (The sensor mounts to the stem and the stem mounts to the wheel, right?)

Does that answer your question?

monacobmw

SO TRUE!!!!!!!

Landa220

I have an '07 550i and I got the sensors when I purchased my OEM Style 166 wheels. "Gary" from the BMW dealership is correct, in stating you do need these sensors. Simply go and get them they are real easy for the tire dealer to install.

The original OEM part is made from BERU. Here (http://www.beru.com/download/produkt...tung_tss_e.pdf) is the exact part and installation instructions for your car. I found it useful in understanding how this part(s) went together. I hope it helps you.

It's well worth the $40 or so per wheel.

Landa

monacobmw

Wow, quite awesome link--with instructions as well for installation for the BMW-challenged dealership.
THANK YOU KINDY,

bmw4life

Yes, i can get some rims now