No more spare tires in BMWs

[Kirby]

Spare wheels could become a thing of the past, if BMW's example is anything to go by. A spokesman for GoodYear tyres, speaking at the recent launch of its HydraGrip mid-priced tyre, said that the German manufacturer will not fit spare tyres, or even spare-wheel wells, on future models, relying instead on run-flat tyres or cans of tyre-repair foam. Already, BMW's Z4 roadster is unavailable with a spare wheel. The move will save weight, should increase luggage capacity, and is likely to cut costs - to the manufacturer, at least. On average, a car suffers a puncture approximately once every 100,000 miles of normal driving, or around once every 10 years.

 

[theBMWenthusiast]

in the last 3 months my tire has been flat twice, it has made me so pissed, but i guess that what I get for driving on new roads they open on the first day when there is construction all along both sides, i've learned my lesson, but run flats on my family's 740iL would be cool

 

[Big Daddy]

I do not know about models from the 70's, but actually the first BMW I know of that did not include a spare was the M roadsters. I have not had a flat in mine, but then again I do not want to either!

 

[Kirby]

From your picture, it looks like a full size spare "gummy" for your car probably wouldn't fit in the trunk even if you tried and putting a mini spare on that car would be so wrong.

 

[Big Daddy]

There is some post somewhere where an M roadster owner found an acceptable spare tire size and put it in the trunk. Some how I doubt he got anything else in there with it though! I guess I will just keep praying that flats are a thing of the past.....haha.

 

[codex57]

I used to get tons of flats. Haven't in a while, but I'd want a spare. If they're gonna take it away, I would prefer the fix a flat cans. I don't like runflats unless tire monitors come with all cars. On my Jeep, when I had a flat, I could tell. The whole car just sank on one corner like it had hydraulics or something. The Civic, if I was in a rush, was hard to notice cuz the sidewalls were much shorter. The Bimmer has even shorter sidewalls so I'd prolly drive for a couple hundred miles or so before I noticed.

 

[Spidey]

<-- no spare either.

 

[Kirby]

I've heard that the fix-a-flat stuff really aggravates tire changers because it supposedly leaves a mess on the rim and bead that they have to clean up before mounting the new tire. Never actually saw the results though.

 

[Bmw 325i 7803]

needed to use one.. but wasn't able to.

Really? BMW of Manhattan already seems to be following suit with their loaner cars. The spare tire is no good anyway, so they might as well leave it out to begin with. Guess they are the beta tester for spare-less BMWs. Only problem is their tires go flat in under 40 miles...

 

[coyotefreek]

All of those fix a flat cans and plugs and stuff are crap. The only way to repair a tire and have it last is to have it patched.

 

[MyHarley]

I've been driving 25+ years and have never had a flat...........now let me go knock on wood after posting that..............

 

[Big Daddy]

Haha, you'd better buy some canned air to!

 

[Kirby]

I've been driving 25+ years and have never had a flat...........now let me go knock on wood after posting that..............

I remember your posts about your car problems in the past. From those posts, I think the tires are one of the very few things you haven't had trouble with!

 

[Bmw 325i 7803]

Haha, you'd better buy some canned air to!

thats if you can safely compress it enough...

 

[MyHarley]

funny funny guys..............if you remember my posts about the castotrophic tire failure, they were getting bald spots at 4000 miles, but not a flat......amazing huh.......one day I hit a piece of machinery in the road with my Mazda MX6, when I got home the front tire had these eggs poofing all around the tire.......but no flat........I immediately got back in the car and drove to the Mazda dealership and traded for a Protege...........

 

[Ghost]

one day I hit a piece of machinery in the road with my Mazda MX6, when I got home the front tire had these eggs poofing all around the tire.......but no flat........I immediately got back in the car and drove to the Mazda dealership and traded for a Protege...........

And to think most people just change the tire....