I plan on installing a custom set of rims in place of the original wheels.First off the rims i am looking at are made for the MINI so no problem there. MY question is what is the deal with the factory pressure sensor, is it located in the wheel, if so do i just swap it over to the new rims, are there any adjustments or resets that have to be done, do i need to go to the dealer to do this. Thanks for your help..

 

I'm in getting into the same situation. I would like a second set of wheels/tires for dedicated snow tires. My dealer (Mini of Allentown) said I could come back and them winter tires swapped onto my factory wheels. I'm sure the BMW service department would also like to get me with a fee for doing so.

Anyone have suggestions? Do we need "Mini" brand tire sensor? And can they be placed into any properly sized wheel?

 

If you guys are planning on having two sets of wheels for summer/winter you should probably just get a second set of TPMS otherwise you'll have lights on your dash or you'll be paying a ton of money to get them swapped over every season. It you stick with a website like TireRack.com, they can sell you wheels, tires, and TPMS, and have everything mounted & balanced before they ship to your house. That way you can just swap wheels without any hassle.

 

The pressure sensor is an integral part of the tire valve. I'm not sure if they'll fit "any" wheel, but I can tell you that the frequency changed in 2010. So, if you're buying new ones (the brand does NOT matter), make sure it's for the year Mini that you have.

Alex at TireRack should be able to tell you fitment on particular wheels, and their price for the sensors is about as good as any.

 

So if we get two sets, do you just need to go into the SET/INFO and reset the TPMS when you swap the tires? Or does it just look for 4 tire signals (aka swap wheels and go)?

 

You have to reset the TMPS after changing wheels. It seems to be looking for your 4 wheels in particular.

 

I did the change to new wheels and tires. I bought the wheels and bought the tpms seperate then put the two together. Went to get tires put on them and never had an issue with resetting. I got the tpms from http://www.fastmini.net/tiprmoha.html
Thats the cheapest I could find them.