# TPM or not TPM, that is the winter-time question

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/tpm-or-not-tpm-that-is-the-winter-time-question/56086>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** bmw, 135\
**Created:** [October 7, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tpm-or-not-tpm-that-is-the-winter-time-question/56086 "2010-10-07T20:22:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Driven\_in\_Millwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Driven\_in\_Millwood](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Driven_in_Millwood)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tpm-or-not-tpm-that-is-the-winter-time-question/56086/1 "2010-10-07T20:22:20Z")

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My car has the tire pressure monitoring feature. For the winter I want to put steel wheels and aggressive snows (rear-drive vehicle) on the car. But steel wheels do not accomodate the monitors. Must I use the TPM? Trying to avoid the added expense of alloys plus the TPM.

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**Author:** ![Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/joseph_e_meehan/32/21_2.png) [@Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Joseph_E_Meehan)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tpm-or-not-tpm-that-is-the-winter-time-question/56086/2 "2010-10-07T20:33:25Z")

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I want to put steel wheels and aggressive snows

No you don’t. You want steel wheels and WINTER tyres. They are a different technology than snow tyres and work much bette.

You could ignore the error light and make sure you check the tyres often. (Note: sorry if I have missed something like a buzzer that might come on rather than just the light.

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**Author:** ![Xebadaih](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/d07c76/32.png) [@Xebadaih](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Xebadaih)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 9:14pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tpm-or-not-tpm-that-is-the-winter-time-question/56086/3 "2010-10-07T21:14:01Z")

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How about you just have some winter tires mounted on your normal wheels and just switch them out with the seasons?

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**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\
**Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 9:29pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/tpm-or-not-tpm-that-is-the-winter-time-question/56086/4 "2010-10-07T21:29:23Z")

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You do not have to use the TPMS. You can ignore the light. Just check your pressure regularly. It will not affect any ther system or render useless and warnings.