The Quest to find a compact spare tire for the 2014 BMW M235i |
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05-30-2014, 11:58 AM | #1 |
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The Quest to find a compact spare tire for the 2014 BMW M235i
This car is the ideal vehicle for “road trips” with 2 people and gear. It is wonderful to drive it cross-country on lonely secondary roads through the mountains.
However, with high performance summer tires (Michelin PSS) in staggered format, the risk of being stranded with a ruined tire is a worry. What to do? Take chance? Carry a full size spare (too much room taken up) or find a compact spare that will fit front and rear without causing any issues with the electronic nannies (ABS and Flat Tire Monitor)?? This car is very new on the scene, so finding the appropriate compact spare is a challenge. We went through this with our 2011 1M and after a lot of research found a BMW 18” steel wheel (for X5/X6) and a Maxxis compact spare that worked. In two years with the 1M we didn’t need it. So here is the very practical challenge for the “experts” on this 2 Addicts board – lets work on finding a compact spare for our M235i cars with non- runflats and a staggered configuration. I have been in touch with BimmerZone and they are working on this as well. Here are a few things to consider: 1) I tried the 1M compact spare, today, on the M235i. On the front it cleared the calipers but on full turn lock the clearance between the front of the tire and the fender liner was marginal and on the rear of the tire there was contact with the liner (while we didn’t try it on the rear, it looked like this spare would work?). The specs for this spare tire combination are – Wheel – steel emergency wheel for X5/X6 – part #36-11-6-768-861 with E34 tire valve – part # 36-12-1-116-326 Tire – Maxxis – T155/70/R18 112M with M511 marked on the tire’s tread. 2) Another important measurement would be the rolling diameter (RD) of the spare compared to the OEM wheel/tire RD. Ideally this RD would be the same but here is the challenge – our non-runflat set-ups are staggered with different wheel/tire dimensions on front versus rear. The RD (or tire height via the calculators found on tire seller sites) of OEM Front (25.1 inches) is different from OEM Rear (24.8 inches). So, what should the compact spare’s RD need to be, to be useable on both front and back without causing issues. How much of a difference in RD, compared to OEM, would be acceptable so that there would not be problems with the ABS and Flat Tire Monitor systems (NOTE; Canadian BMWs do not have TPMS sensors in the wheels but rely on the ABS system to detect rotational differences to indicate a tire problem). So, if you are concerned about being stranded because of a ruined tire then weighing in on this topic will be important, Let’s see what we can come up with as a compact spare for our M235i’s?! Pete PS – It irks me that BMW will sell plenty of these cars without runflats and with staggered summer performance tires but without providing a reasonable alternative as a spare. They have the engineers to provide the information on what will work and what won’t. |
05-30-2014, 12:30 PM | #2 |
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I'm interested in this as well. In fact, there was a thread on this a few weeks ago.
http://www.2addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=980068 There are some of the existing options (part #s, etc.) in there. |
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05-30-2014, 01:31 PM | #3 |
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Compact Spare M235i
Thanks for the reply! There are some ideas in the link to the previous discussion.
However, I think some key points here are: 1) If one is living in a reasonably populated area (especially urban) there is probably no need to carry the spare since there is plenty of help via BMW Assist, AAA etc. 2) For road trips with 2 people and luggage (say 3000km/10 days) space is at a premium so the compact spare makes sense versus a full size wheel/tire. The fun of these road trips, in this type of car, is to take the paved secondary roads. These can be pretty lonely and a ruined tire near dusk could be problematic!! 3) Finding a compact spare for this car is currently a challenge. The compact spare has to fit (front and rear) and not cause problems with the various "nannies". So far, no one offers a compact spare that will, for sure, fit. The sellers of these things need to say they have thoroughly test fitted the potential compact and that it works on the 2 Series models. So, lets keep working on this. pete |
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05-30-2014, 08:54 PM | #6 |
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Compact Spare for M235i
Thanks - it will be interesting to see what you learn. Will your M235i have the Michelin PSS with a staggered set-up?
Having the staggered set-up makes finding the right compact spare configuration a bit more of a challenge since the diameter (tire height) of the OEM fronts is slightly different from that of the OEM rears. pete |
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05-31-2014, 04:20 AM | #7 |
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BMW help us!
BMW help us!
my car is about to get here and this issue has been weighing on me. I deeply wanted the Michelin which is staggered set up but just know I will be regretting it in a situation such as this. We need those on this board Who work for BMW, work for a dealer, or have the deepest of connections with BMW to take a leadership role in helping us solve the issue. I am asking that someone in this position invest the time and discussions with BMW to help us with this. Without BMW solving this problem, with precision, everything else is just guesswork. |
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05-31-2014, 05:03 AM | #8 | |
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However: if we can find a BMW compact spare that works on a 2-series without clearance issues (staggered- tpms) then we can purchase at our own risk. Finally - as a driver - it's vital not to run these tires up against curbs or over pot- holes. And the biggest measure a driver can take is not to follow leading cars too closely so you get the furthest view of any obstructions in the roadway. Catastrophic air loss due to sidewall rupture or a tread portion of the tire that a plug or sealant cannot temporary fix should be extremely rare. Vandalism or a bad can of sealant do occur, and I want a spare tire that I can toss in the trunk - I'm not expecting much help from official BMW channels. |
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05-31-2014, 07:48 AM | #9 |
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[QUOTE=notime;16047242]If I had to guess BMW USA and most if not all dealers will refrain frm offering spare tire/jack/wrench combos - because the trunk is not conformed to hold a spare in a safe manner that would prevent a spares intrusion into the passenger compartment during a severe enough rear-end collision.
Then that's a poor freaking design. That goes for anything in the trunk… I don't buy that… |
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05-31-2014, 06:31 PM | #10 | |
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05-31-2014, 08:20 PM | #11 |
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Well a tire and wheel combo are significantly different then luggage or even a case of wine - on top of that an item placed in your trunk by your own accord is different then an item sold by the car manufacturer to be placed in a trunk.
I'll double down on the premise that crash performance is the reason a spare tire is not sold by dealers - and that dealers that in the past had sold spare tire/jack/wrench combos in a container/holder were warned by BMW to cease such sales. Without reading the 2-series owners manual I say it is highly likely a text about trunk storage safety is stated. |
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05-31-2014, 09:00 PM | #12 | |
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06-03-2014, 10:02 AM | #14 |
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Sorry but had the name wrong. It's Beemerzone.com. They have spare tire kits for Beemers and are working on a set for the M235. Go to their site and post as numbers may make them come up with a solution faster.
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06-03-2014, 08:02 PM | #15 |
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As listed in the other thread, I ordered their spare for the 1 series and will test fit it to my 228 early next week--will report results.
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06-04-2014, 09:23 PM | #16 |
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06-05-2014, 06:07 PM | #17 |
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got the tire today and test fitted it. No problems on the back wheel, as expected. Front wheel fits and mounts fine but only has about 2 mm clearance between the brake caliper outer diameter and the inner diameter of the wheel. The regular wheel(18”) has about 3/4” in comparison. Wheel spins freely etc and no other interferences including at full lock both directions. I'm checking with Bimmerzone as to what they expect and is it OK? I wonder if the 3 series spare wheel might have less offset and more clearance? Since I have a 228 with standard(non-M) brakes, I would say that this will not work on M235’s. I'll let everyone know what BZ says.
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06-13-2014, 04:01 PM | #22 |
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OK, got the 3 series spare tire assy earlier today and tested it with good results. For the 228 with non-M brakes, there is plenty of clearance everywhere. The wheel has about 9-10mm less offset and the inside has a shape that allows more radial space around the brake caliper. Looks like there is a little more than .5" all around the caliper now vs only about 2mm before. No problem on the outside either since the tire is so much narrower and still sits well inside where the real tire edge sits. Diameter is the same too. I don't know whether this means it will work for M Brakes or for the M235. Contact Bimmerzone -I think they may have checked this already and found it did not fit. I'll let everyone know if they tell me anything.
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