BMWs have no spare wheel, so what's this about?
Discussion
I recently bought a 2013 320d F30. This is the "Efficient Dynamics" version which is tweaked to improve fuel consumption. One of those tweaks is a set of conventional tyres (60% profile) and a can of goo instead of a spare wheel. There is no place to put a spare if you wanted one.
Today I was checking the tyre pressures so I had a look at the information sticker in the passenger door frame, then I noticed that there are pressures given for a space-saver spare wheel, have a look:
So it seems that BMW must be giving a spare wheel in some markets. I wonder where they put it unless they change the entire floor of the boot, but more than that I wonder why we can't get it here.
Today I was checking the tyre pressures so I had a look at the information sticker in the passenger door frame, then I noticed that there are pressures given for a space-saver spare wheel, have a look:
So it seems that BMW must be giving a spare wheel in some markets. I wonder where they put it unless they change the entire floor of the boot, but more than that I wonder why we can't get it here.
Lots of cars don't fit them because they're dead weight and take up space. Lots on bmws also have different sized front and rear so it could only be a space saver not a fully sized wheel. And 82% of people aren't strong enough to undo the wheel nuts anyway and end up calling out the Breakdown companies.. (I made the percentage up but having tried once to swap over to winter wheels in my garage it was damn difficult to do)
Jon1967x said:
.....Lots on bmws also have different sized front and rear so it could only be a space saver not a fully sized wheel......
Wrong! You can use a full size front wheel as a spare and fit it to the front or rear axle as required with no issues whatsoever! - The tyres are sized to ensure that the rolling radius remains equal front and rear.
The only real downside is the space that the spare takes up as the cars no longer come with a spare wheel well anymore, so the spare has to sit in the boot. Obviously, a full size spare will take up a lot room than space-saver.
Jon1967x said:
Lots of cars don't fit them because they're dead weight and take up space. Lots on bmws also have different sized front and rear so it could only be a space saver not a fully sized wheel. And 82% of people aren't strong enough to undo the wheel nuts anyway and end up calling out the Breakdown companies.. (I made the percentage up but having tried once to swap over to winter wheels in my garage it was damn difficult to do)
I had the same problem. Try either an extending wheel wrench or a breaker bar. Both get your nuts off with at least 150nm Jon1967x said:
Lots of cars don't fit them because they're dead weight and take up space. Lots on bmws also have different sized front and rear so it could only be a space saver not a fully sized wheel. And 82% of people aren't strong enough to undo the wheel nuts anyway and end up calling out the Breakdown companies.. (I made the percentage up but having tried once to swap over to winter wheels in my garage it was damn difficult to do)
Bloody big girl! If you scroll up you will see that E30M3SE kindly posted a pic of the space saver system which clearly shows the storage bag which is secured to the boot lashing points.
The space saver pressure listed on the door sticker is for the convenience of those who choose to buy the space saver system. If you haven't bought one, just ignore it, much as you would the pressures listed for the other tyre sizes not fitted to your particular car.
The space saver pressure listed on the door sticker is for the convenience of those who choose to buy the space saver system. If you haven't bought one, just ignore it, much as you would the pressures listed for the other tyre sizes not fitted to your particular car.
4rephill said:
Jon1967x said:
.....Lots on bmws also have different sized front and rear so it could only be a space saver not a fully sized wheel......
Wrong! You can use a full size front wheel as a spare and fit it to the front or rear axle as required with no issues whatsoever! - The tyres are sized to ensure that the rolling radius remains equal front and rear.
The only real downside is the space that the spare takes up as the cars no longer come with a spare wheel well anymore, so the spare has to sit in the boot. Obviously, a full size spare will take up a lot room than space-saver.
So it's you who's wrong. You can't carry a full sized spare when the wheels are different sizes front and rear without carrying 2 spares.
And as they just fit in a bag in the boot and not hidden away, a space saver takes up less space
Edited by Jon1967x on Friday 29th August 05:42
tjlees said:
Jon1967x said:
Lots of cars don't fit them because they're dead weight and take up space. Lots on bmws also have different sized front and rear so it could only be a space saver not a fully sized wheel. And 82% of people aren't strong enough to undo the wheel nuts anyway and end up calling out the Breakdown companies.. (I made the percentage up but having tried once to swap over to winter wheels in my garage it was damn difficult to do)
I had the same problem. Try either an extending wheel wrench or a breaker bar. Both get your nuts off with at least 150nm Jon1967x said:
4rephill said:
Jon1967x said:
.....Lots on bmws also have different sized front and rear so it could only be a space saver not a fully sized wheel......
Wrong! You can use a full size front wheel as a spare and fit it to the front or rear axle as required with no issues whatsoever! - The tyres are sized to ensure that the rolling radius remains equal front and rear.
The only real downside is the space that the spare takes up as the cars no longer come with a spare wheel well anymore, so the spare has to sit in the boot. Obviously, a full size spare will take up a lot room than space-saver.
So it's you who's wrong. You can't carry a full sized spare when the wheels are different sizes front and rear without carrying 2 spares.
And as they just fit in a bag in the boot and not hidden away, a space saver takes up less space
Edited by Jon1967x on Friday 29th August 05:42
redtwin said:
If you scroll up you will see that E30M3SE kindly posted a pic of the space saver system which clearly shows the storage bag which is secured to the boot lashing points.
The space saver pressure listed on the door sticker is for the convenience of those who choose to buy the space saver system. If you haven't bought one, just ignore it, much as you would the pressures listed for the other tyre sizes not fitted to your particular car.
Yes, I had seen that but it struck me as an after-market accessory rather than a factory fitting. I wondered if there might be a better way of storing a spare even if it meant (for example) modifying the boot floor. However it now seems clear from this thread that the BMW way is to put the spare on the boot floor and let it use up luggage space. While I understand your point about ignoring information that does not apply, the fact that a space-saver is included on the door sticker lead me to hope there might be a proper spare wheel installation somewhere in the option list.The space saver pressure listed on the door sticker is for the convenience of those who choose to buy the space saver system. If you haven't bought one, just ignore it, much as you would the pressures listed for the other tyre sizes not fitted to your particular car.
As for the other discussion that has arisen about full-size spare wheels: I have struggled to fit a full-size wheel in my own shed in daylight. I would hate to be fitting one on the side of the road on a dark, wet night. For that reason I think a space-saver is a better option for a car with big wheels. (However there is still the problem of where to put the full-size road wheel after you have fitted your space-saver on the roadside.)
I have just changed my 2010 F11 530d touring. When launched, my understanding is that there was no option available for customers to purchase a space saver wheel. The logic which floated about at the time was that BMW had tremendous confidence in the run flat tyre robustness and, perhaps more pertinently, not having a spare wheel specified meant that the dead weight of the space saver did not have to be factored into such matters as economy and emission calculations. Perhaps when reported incidents of run flats being destroyed on the highway prompted BMW to reconsider.
I eventually bought and fitted the space saver (as illustrated above). Couple of points - it weighs a tonne and the wheel combined with the industrial quality securing straps completely destroy the practicality of the boot design. Even though I have not experienced a puncture in 15,000 miles, I think that BMW have been too clever by half in not designing the space capacity in the boot floor shells to accommodate a space saver. Crazy!
Peter
I eventually bought and fitted the space saver (as illustrated above). Couple of points - it weighs a tonne and the wheel combined with the industrial quality securing straps completely destroy the practicality of the boot design. Even though I have not experienced a puncture in 15,000 miles, I think that BMW have been too clever by half in not designing the space capacity in the boot floor shells to accommodate a space saver. Crazy!
Peter
The whole run flat thing is purely about economics....and fk all to do with customer conveniance/safety. BMW make circa 1mil cars a year....putting FRT's on means no spare wheel or jack in 1 million cars....think about that...£30 to £50mil saved probably. Might not sound much but that's enough to count.
Also I would bet that the trye manufacturers cut BMW a VERY good deal to fit them....RFT's are hugely profitable because a) they are replaced much more often "honest guv they can't be repaired" and b) they cost a lot more.
People wont buy them unless they are OEM so imagine how much Michelin etc "pay" BMW to fit them.........
Also I would bet that the trye manufacturers cut BMW a VERY good deal to fit them....RFT's are hugely profitable because a) they are replaced much more often "honest guv they can't be repaired" and b) they cost a lot more.
People wont buy them unless they are OEM so imagine how much Michelin etc "pay" BMW to fit them.........
Cheib said:
The whole run flat thing is purely about economics....and fk all to do with customer conveniance/safety. BMW make circa 1mil cars a year....putting FRT's on means no spare wheel or jack in 1 million cars....think about that...£30 to £50mil saved probably. Might not sound much but that's enough to count.
Nice theory but RFT tyres are 50-100 each more than normal tyres - even if they were only £10 more each then that would be as mcu as the cost of the spare.(Pirelli P zero 255/35/18 as on my wifes car at kwikfit - regular are £137 each, RFT £229.)
Jon1967x said:
Cheib said:
The whole run flat thing is purely about economics....and fk all to do with customer conveniance/safety. BMW make circa 1mil cars a year....putting FRT's on means no spare wheel or jack in 1 million cars....think about that...£30 to £50mil saved probably. Might not sound much but that's enough to count.
Nice theory but RFT tyres are 50-100 each more than normal tyres - even if they were only £10 more each then that would be as mcu as the cost of the spare.(Pirelli P zero 255/35/18 as on my wifes car at kwikfit - regular are £137 each, RFT £229.)
Put it this way do you think BMW would spec them if they cost them £100 extra each per tyre ? That would be £368mil a year in additonal costs..... 4 x £92 X 1mil. Not a chance.........
RFT are to tyre manufacturers what printer ink is to HP.....sell the printer at a loss and lock in massive cashflows on the ink.
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