Bartec’s revolutionary solution to TPMS problem

The aftermarket tire and wheel business is growing rapidly and installing a levelling kit on a truck to fit taller tires is a must-have service option for today’s tire shops.

Once the suspension kit is installed on the truck, all you have to do is bolt on a set of wheels and 35x12.50R20LT tires in any number of popular styles and send the customer on their way, right? Not so fast. The most critical element in this formula is the most commonly overlooked and misunderstood.

Before you install another tire, read on to learn what successful tire dealers are doing to increase their sales and profits, while lowering their exposure to risk.

To understand the issue here, you must be able to read and understand a Load and Inflation table. This chart, available online or through various other sources, is required to determine the original tires’ load capacity at the factory required air pressure and then find the adjusted air pressure needed for the new tire to meet or exceed original equipment (OE) requirements.

If your team doesn’t understand how to accomplish this task, contact the Tire Industry Association and ask for a referral to a certified instructor who can provide training at your location.

Here’s the common tire pressure problem

Using a late model 3/4-ton truck with LT245/75R17 Load Range E tires that require 60 psi and 80 psi for the front and rear tires, we see that this equates to 2360 pounds and 2910 pounds of load capacity for front and rear tires, respectively.

Referencing the table above for our replacement tire size, notice that the 35x12.50R20LT High-floatation tire with a Load Range E actually has a maximum air pressure of 65 psi, not 80 like an LT-metric tire. Therein lies the dilemma. The truck has a factory set Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) that is set to 80 psi, but we need to adjust it for the new tire. Until now, the customer had to just ride around with the telltale light illuminated on the dash. Federal law prohibits the vehicle owner or tire dealer from disabling this system. The solution? Bartec USA, one of the leading TPMS technology companies in the world, has cracked the barrier of the vehicle’s factory settings. Now, by using a 500 or 400PRO series scan tool, we can adjust the recommended inflation pressure value, which is the number that drives the TPMS and the low pressure warning indicator.

The Bartec 400 PRO (courtesy Bartec USA)

Bartec’s revolutionary solution

Michael Rose, product manager for Bartec USA, says, “We launched this new upgrade at the SEMA Show with overwhelming success.

“Independent tire dealers as well as tire manufacturers expressed the difficulty in selling products that consumers want, because there was no solution to the issue of the TPMS warning light being illuminated when a change in air pressure is required.”

This new technology is going to revolutionize the tire industry by allowing tire dealers who train and employ quality personnel to understand this calculation and reset the recommended inflation value. By plugging into the onboard diagnostics (OBD) port and accessing the vehicle identification number (VIN), you can adjust the air pressure using one of these scan tools and charge the customer for the service. Why give this away? Be the “go-to” professional in your market.

More to come from Bartec

Bartec’s Rose continues, “We have accessed most late model trucks and Jeeps, such as the 2012 Wrangler that we featured in our SEMA booth.

“It comes stock with P-metric tires, but anyone using the vehicle for what it is intended for will install heavy ply off-road tires, which requires an air pressure adjustment to properly maintain load capacity and keep the tire from wearing out prematurely.

“We do not, however, provide a means in which to change the overall tire diameter setting, as we believe in maintaining overall diameter within accepted best practices.
“The next evolution in this process will be to access the settings for passenger vehicles where the air pressure must be increased substantially for the tire to meet the OE load capacity,” Rose said.

If you are like me, you are excited about the level of service that we can now offer our customers along with the additional profit that is on the table. If your understanding of load capacity and air pressure causes you concern, then perform a Google search for “Tire and Custom Wheel Training” to find out who can provide you with a Risk Management Solution to fit your needs or contact the Tire Industry Association. www.tireindustry.org

About Scott Blair

Scott Blair is a 24-year veteran of the tire and wheel industry. He is a Tire Industry Association ATS Certified Instructor, author of “Secrets to a Successful Tire and Wheel Business” and Inventor of the Wheel Fit. He can be reached at 251-377-6724 or through his website.

Tagged: TPMS

Bartec’s revolutionary solution to TPMS problem