Tahoe Suburban Tires and Sensors

jeffncjeffnc Member Posts: 2
I am trying to find out what were the correct tires to have been originally installed on a 2004 Suburban LS 1500 4x4 with 17" wheels (assembled in Mexico and delivered to North Carolina, if that matters).

I purchased this vehicle new in June 2004, and it currently has 22,000 miles. Twice I have taken it to the dealership because of uneven tire wear and cupping, and have paid for alignments both times and had the tires rotated. With three tires now severely worn, I finally noticed that the vehicle was delivered with mismatched tires. Three tires are Dueler H/Ts (highway tread) and two tires (including the spare) are Dueler A/Ts (on/off road tread). The one A/T on the ground is the only tire not showing uneven wear. All the tires on the ground are 265/70 R17.

From what I have been able to find out, the different tread pattern, with its different rolling resistance and slightly different diameter could have been the cause of the uneven tread wear. I never hit anything or did any off-roading to knock out the alignment, and I always monitored the tire pressure. I have driven probably less than 500 miles in 4-wheel drive.

Any info about what should have been the correct tires that I can bring in to talk to the dealership would be appreciated, along with any other advice or suggestions. I have seen one source site H/Ts as OEM, and another sources sites the Bridgestone catelogue as specifing A/Ts as OEM. Would there be an intentional difference in OEM tires between 2-wheel drives and 4-wheel drives, or between Suburbans and Tahoes?

I know it is odd that I have gone nearly 3 years without noticing the mismatched tires (especially since they are raised white outline tires). The A/T came on the passenger side rear and I approach from the other side at both home and work, and they really don't look that different from the side (although the tread does look very different). I am still a little surprised I did not catch it earlier, but neither did the dealer or assembly plant evidently. Thanks.

Comments

  • ealexand46ealexand46 Member Posts: 4
    I have a 2002 Tahoe 2wd with original
    LT 265 R70 16 tires and am ready to buy new ones. I am thinking about 265 75's instead of 70's. I know it will throw the speedometer off 2 or 3 mph but will they ride a little smoother than the 70's. Any info would be appreciated.
  • 5571madrid5571madrid Member Posts: 1
    2004 Suburban has factory installed "automatic" tire pressure sensors. I had them all removed with a tire replacement due to a defective one and its high replacement cost (~$70 each).

    Idiot light is now constantly illuminated and odometer display reads "check tire pressure". Dealer claims there is no way to remove the annoying reminders. Has anyone had success in eliminating these and suppressing the dashboard reminders?
  • johnny4016johnny4016 Member Posts: 112
    I just replaced my spark plugs & spark plug wires on my 04 Tahoe Z71. The owner’s manual and dealer tell you that the stock plugs are good for 100,000 miles. BS, on all 8 of my plugs the tips where a dark brown in color. I had 51,300 miles on stock plugs. They use AC Delco spark plugs, which were obviously bad. I replaced them with the E3 spark plugs. I bought the new E3 spark plugs at Kragons for $5.99 each; this is less than half the price most places are charging for the Denso Iridium plugs. The E3 plugs are a 3-prong plug in which all the prongs are attached together at the top. They look very cool and are suppose to give a lot better and hotter ignition burn of the fuel. By the way, my Tahoe was running great prior to me changing out the plugs and wires. You can not tell by the way it runs or the mpg it gets if the spark plugs need to be changed. On my last tank of gas I got 18.2 mpg with the bad plugs & plug wires. I suggest that the plugs be inspected at a very least at 50,000 miles if not sooner. 100,000 miles is way too many miles. They were all easy to get to except the one in the back on the passenger side. There wasn't much room to get a socket in there. Also there is a heat shield around each spark plug. The spark plug wires go through the end of the heat shields and attach to the spark plug. There is a spring on the inside of each heat shield. You can not see the spring until you pull the spark plug wire off the spark plug. This is very hard to do because of the tension between the spring and spark plug. You will need at a very minimum a pair of Channel lock pliers or pliers to pull the spark plug wires off of the spark plugs. It is amazingly hard to get the spark plug wires off of the spark plug.
    I also replaced my spark plug wires with MSD 8.5MM Super Conductor Spark Plug Wires. They are a lot better than the stock plug wires and only cost $64.95 for the set @ performanceproduct.com. I recommend these plug wires or if you could afford to put out $283.00 plus S&H & Taxes then buy the Nology Hotwire spark plug wire set. Don't wait until 100,000 miles to change out your plugs and 150,000 to change your plug wires. You will be happy you did it. In addition, you will not need to put the heat shields with the springs inside them back on when you use either of these spark plug wires. I’ve read from a previous post that someone said the springs where caring some of the spark from the coil through them, and grounding out on the heads causing a little loss of power and mpg. He said you could see this at nighttime. I didn’t check it out prior to changing my spark plug wires but it does make since that they would by the way they are installed. So this is good information about taking these springs off. They are not visual do to they are inside the heatshield. I recommend that if you buy a better spark plug wire set then just don’t put the heat shields with then springs in them back on. I guess you could try and remove the springs from the shield also. But by the time you get the shields off using a pair of pliers you won’t want to put them back on, believe me.
    To the person who has his tires air sensor light that comes on and stays on, this means that one of your tires has below the recommended tire pressure. I have 45psi in mine. I run 305 70R16. I just changed my tire pressure to 45psi. At 45psi compared to 35psi I get approximately 2 more mpg and my Tahoe rides a lot smoother. If your tire pressure drops below I believe it’s 28-psi the indicator light and your DIC will let you know. My sensors work great and have let me know in the past when one of my tires had a slow leak and the tire pressure dropped. I have an air pump I plug into the lighter, which works great for pumping up the tires. I bought it at Wal-Mart for around $10.00. It’s small and also has a light on it so you can see at night if you need to. I keep it in the back of my Tahoe and recommend this to everyone.
  • qrutherfordqrutherford Member Posts: 2
    I recently took my factory wheels off of my 07 Tahoe and replaced them with some 20" wheels. Now, I am receiving a "CHECK TIRE PRESSURE" message. I have tried to relearn the tire positions, but that did not work.. Does anyone know what to to do about the tire sensors? Are they attached to the factory wheels???
  • arriearrie Member Posts: 312
    Yes, the sensors are inside the factory wheels.

    Who replaced your wheels? Did they not know that the sensors are installed inside the original wheels and that they should take those and install inside the new wheels?

    Arrie
  • johnny4016johnny4016 Member Posts: 112
    The tire sensors are located on the valve stems on the inside of your tires.

    So if you replaced your rims you should have unscrewed the tire sensors and screwed them onto the vlave stems of your new rims. They are very obvious on my 2004 Tahoe and can not be missed. They can be broken by the mechanic if he/she is not careful when removing your tire from the rim.

    Wal-Mart broke one of mine and had to purchase a new one from the dealer. It is a dealer item only. They cost about $64.00 each for the 2004 Tahoe. The 2007 might cost even more since the system on the 2007 is a little more advanced. :)
  • qrutherfordqrutherford Member Posts: 2
    No, he thought they were like the 06 sensors, but he said they were different and didn't find them.. then we were told that we would have to buy some.
  • jeffncjeffnc Member Posts: 2
    Trying to find out what were the original tires for a 2004 Suburban. Please reply with size and exact make of tire originally equipped (i.e. 17" Bridgestone Dueler A/T). Also please state 4x4 or 2x4. Thank you very much for your time.
  • wbernhardtwbernhardt Member Posts: 16
    Here is a link to a site that will tell you how much your speed will be affected by a different tire size other then your stock tire.

    http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp?submit=yes&vehicle=yes

    Touchlinc
  • toe1toe1 Member Posts: 3
    recently purchased 07 tahoe ltz,so far i have installed air intake kit,superchip programmer,installed flowmaster,but wasnt loud enough for me , so i went straight pipe and i absolutely love it, she sounds like a beast from hell now,also installed front tow hook covers, now lookin to hook up some 24's,maybe 26 inch rims and possibly lowering 2 inches, nothing too low, but to make it nice clean look, anyone have advise? or can recommend sites to do some more research? i heard that you cant lower ltz's because of the type of suspension these suv's have,is this true?i know some people may not like to lower suv's,but living in southern cali, its what we do, sorry if i have offended anyone, thank you
  • tidestertidester Member Posts: 10,059
    Check this out: 2007 Tahoe 20" Wheels

    tidester, host
    SUVs and Smart Shopper
  • toe1toe1 Member Posts: 3
    right on, thanks for the info tide!
  • djanthodjantho Member Posts: 1
    you need a OTC pressure monitor reset tool to have the light turned off. with the tool first the vehicle need to have all tires set to 35psi. Then with the OTC tool you need to put the vehicle in learn mode. All GMC and Chevy trucks are the same first turn the key to on but donot start the vehicle next depress the e-break and turn the headlights on and off 4 times ending with the headlights on if this is done correctly the vehilce will honk. at this point you need the OTC tool to retrain each sensor o there new locations on the vehicle.
  • crazycd1crazycd1 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 95 Tahoe 1500 4 door 4wd that I just picked up. It needs tires badly and has several types on it now...
    I need to know what the info for the tires is on the placard in the drivers door, mine is missing.
    If someone could post or send me that info that would be awesome, I wanna get tires asap, but want to make sure I don't get too small a load rating, the tire places around here are just guessing...
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    I don't have a 95 Tahoe, but you can go to www.tirerack.com and look up your vehicle. It will tell you the original shipped size......as well as give you options. If you want, you can ship them to your or a local shop (select one of their local installers in your area).
  • cjonascjonas Member Posts: 1
    My 99' Tahoe w/ an 8" lift and 35" Mickey Thompson baja claws is incredibly wigley on icy roads. Is it just the baja claws being 13.5 inches wide, or something elese? Also my rear end housing has a couple of cracks on the drive side, However it seems to be fine on everything, but the ice.
  • rockman59rockman59 Member Posts: 250
    cjonas said: Is it just the baja claws being 13.5 inches wide, or something elese?
    ___________________________________________________________________
    The wider the tire on ice and snow....the more "wiggle" you are gonna have.
  • k25002haulk25002haul Member Posts: 6
    i believe 17" was option w/bridgestone tires/ firestone was standerd w/ 16".my 03 burb had bw a/s firestones when new.you should try to match your tires on 4wd moreso than 2wd. tires have to roll w/ same circumferance for transfer case to not have a shudder in 4wd hi range- part time .part time is locked ft to rear.(HD) if you will ;) AUTO 4WD-full time is rear wheel drive w/power sent to ft, if rear wheels change speeds from ft (slipping,loss of traction.)not a solid connection,there is some shifting in transfercase for this. part time is locked no forgiveness! ONLY USE 4HI IF EXTREMELY SLIPPERY,mud,snow,ice - not rain / tahoe is short burb,nothing else. you should buy matched a/s tires.keep tires 3-5 psi above door jamb press.rotate them 2x year-every other lof.ask for proof before alignment.you want oem specs,your cars measurements before and after! a lot of shananigins/vodoo about "alignments " these vehicles have no problems w/ ft end parts or align issues.all problems i see are induced by wrong tires,low press.curb hits,poor alignments,lack of rotates.i am a chevy dealer tech/ " tire guru ' - tom m - email if any more help needed.
  • suburban4suburban4 Member Posts: 1
    My stock 4x4 Suburban has 235/75/R15 tire size and I I don't want to lift the truck up at all. What is the largest tire size I can use without rubbing whenever I hit a bump?
  • vickileevickilee Member Posts: 2
    The message "service tire monitor" is always on and so is the battery light. I have had this checked and they say all is fine and they don't know why it is always on. Has anyone else had this problem? Thank you.
  • kiawahkiawah Member Posts: 3,666
    Hopefully this is still under warranty.......if so, insist on the dealership fixing this, as it will be hard to ever sell without.

    You either have two problems as the lights are telling you, or you potentially have a bad instrument panel cluster.
  • vickileevickilee Member Posts: 2
    Well thank you. It's back at the dealership right now but it is not still under warranty. My bad luck I guess. I'll ask them about the "bad instrument panel cluster". Thanks so much.
  • danno7danno7 Member Posts: 1
    I've looked for an appropriate discussion but found none so....

    50K on the BS Duelers that came with my 05 Tahoe.
    Happy with wear and traction but thought I'd check with others in a forum to see if there is any kind of consensus.
    I occasionally do minor off-roading, no beach activities. Sometimes need to handle heavy snow conditions.

    Any input will be appreciated.
  • shastasharkshastashark Member Posts: 1
    hello!

    I have a 2007 tahoe z-71 4x4. I currently have the stock 20" rim and tires (p265/65 r18) that it came with.

    I'm looking to upgrade and want to give it a more aggressive look. I'm not looking to raise or lower it, just keep the z-71 suspension.

    the two wheels that I'm looking at are:
    liquid metal rhino / 20 x 9
    mb wheels v-drive / 20 x 9

    the two tires I'm looking at are:
    road hugger xrt / 275 / 55r-20
    cooper zeon ltz / 275 / 55r-20

    my question is are these wheels and tires going to fit and look good on my tahoe? I want more of an all terrain look of the tires... not a "street" look

    if these aren't the tires... what tires would you recommend? thanks!
  • z71billz71bill Member Posts: 1,986
    My Z71 4x4 Tahoe has the stock 265 65 18 Bridgestone Dueler A/T tires

    I got a GIANT nail in one today - Discount tire was able to patch it - tires only have 13,500 miles on them.

    While I was at the tire store I priced out a a set of Michelin LTX M&S2 tires - had these on my last Tahoe - they were very good.

    Drive out price (they are allowing a trade in credit on my Bridgestone tires) is $800.

    Anyone replaced their Bridgestone A/T tires with Michelin (or anything else) ?

    Did you notice any improvement in the ride / handling?

    I have always thought these Brigestone A/T tires were crap - this looks like a chance to get a new set of tires for a decent price.

    But if I will not see much improvement then it would be a dumb waste of money.
  • zboaterzboater Member Posts: 17
    I am having a lot of vibration after changing the tires on my ’09 Suburban 2500 and looking for ideas. I have the factory 2500 wheels, and the original OEM tires were Bridgestone Duravis M700 265/70R17 (E). I was talked into replacing them with the Michelin LTX M/S2 265/70R17 (E). I have had a full alignment done and all is in spec. They have re-balanced the wheels 3 times now - 1 time on the road balance machine to balance under load. They are inflated to factory spec. They have verified that they are using the right weights for the wheel. I still have a ton of shaking in the seat (the passenger seat, seatbelt, etc. you can see vibrating extensively). I noticed the new tires are only 48lbs each (vs 54 lbs for the old ones), and the width of the new ones are 10.7" (vs 11.1" for the old ones). The car never shook for 65K miles before this and only started the day after I changed tires. What else could be causing this? Thanks in advance for the ideas.
  • capriracercapriracer Member Posts: 907
    Can you tell if the vibration is coming from the front (steering wheel) or the rear (seat back)?

    If the rear, then I suspect u joints or some other drivetrain issue.

    If the front, it may well be tires (or wheels) - and a simple front to rear rotation ought to change (and confirm) this.
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