Relocated from Chicago to Florida and sold my OEM wheels/tires.

I am currently running my Summer Only set consisting of Nitto NT555 245/40R-18 on XXR Aluminum rims. These tires are absolutely horrible on the wet roads down here and are almost undrivable when it's raining or after a heavy downpour. ALso, this was my "SUMMER" set so they don't have TPMS installed.

I called Tire Kingdom down here and was looking at getting NITTO MOTIVO 245/40R-18 installed as they are an AS tire with 60K warranty and should have much betteer "WET" traction. They are $147/tire and come with $100 instant rebate on set of four.

Tire Kingdom quoted me $65 per TMPS and said that I had to buy theirs. This sounds really high? Can't I just purchase TPMS and have a shop like Tire Kingdom or DTD install them for me? Or is this the way they make more $$?

Also any advice on the tires or know of a better choice for my needs? Don't need ultra high dry performance, just something that's really good in on wet rainy roads.

 

I've never tried Nitto tires. I'm currently running TOYO Extenza A/S. The set was $200 w/ free shipping. That's probably not retail. Despite large treads, they're surprisingly quiet. They're warranted for 50 or 55 thousand miles, I can't remember which.

$65 per TMPS sounds reasonable to me, particularly if they work with your stock system. Yeah, you can always buy your own and have a third-party install them. The only tricky part is compatibility. Not all sensors will work with your system.

The only cheaper option I can think of plugs into your cigarette lighter. It completely bypasses your stock system. The graphic display shows the pressure of each tire and beats having to guess which ones are low. The down side is the wheel transmitters are in the valve stem caps (which could be easily stolen.) Lock nuts are included to deter theft and the wrench is small enough for a key chain. That said, they're a bit more aggravating to remove and reinstall than regular plastic valve caps.

Good luck with your search.

 

I've been running Hankook V12's and they're the best tires I've ever ran in the rain (you seriously can't tell it's raining the traction is that good). I'm on my third set - ran them on my last car as well. But I feel like they're too much tire for the tC and they're almost dead after about 25k miles (normal wear for a summer tire). In the next few months when these hit the wear bars I'll be swapping to the Hankook S1 Noble 2's. Should be more comfortable and a bit quieter, nearly as good in the rain and last much longer.

You shouldn't need to replace the TPMS unless you're having issues. I go to an independent local shop now, but I know Discount Tire only rebuilds the valve stems and keeps the existing TPMS sensors. But if you don't have them already then that isn't a bad price for them, sounds pretty cheap to me actually. At the dealer they can run upwards of $100+ each.