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E90/E91/E92/E93 OEM Spare Tire source

956K views 709 replies 262 participants last post by  tcphoto 
#1 ·
I know the leather-Z kit has been out for a while. it just never sat right with me that a) it was almost 400 for the kit that fit the 335i ( tire + tools + spacer & bolts)
b) you needed to use a 15mm spacer to get it to work.

digging through the ETK, it looks like the leather-z spare is the spare from the E46 cab.
3.50BX17 ET:30

a little more digging shows that the E60 550i uses front brake rotors the same size (348mm) and thickness as the 335i. brake calipers look to be of approximate same size.

the compact spare for the 550i is:
4BX17 ET:18

the offset is close to that of the E46 spare plus spacer-- ET 15 for the E46 spare wheel + spacer vs ET 18

now the fun part. BMW sells a retrofit spare kit for the E60. it includes:


the wheel +tire diameter is within 2% of stock tires.

total price from tischer BMW, for the whole retrofit kit listed above, before shipping, is $239.

I've ordered up a set, will keep everyone posted as to if it works. if it doesnt, i have a new flower planter. if it does, a spare that works without having to deal with the spacer, and for a lower price.
 
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#109 ·
exactly, the issue is brake clearance. the 328i should have no problems
 
#111 ·
Many thanks Orient335iNYC!

I've been looking for a compact spare for months. Leatherz has been out of stock and their prices seem too high. I just ordered the kit form Tischer. Once I get it, I'll replace my RFT's with Michelin Pilot Sport PS2's (245/45/17 & 255/40/17).

Just to be clear, this kit will work on most E90's, front or rear, with no spacers or long lug nuts, right?

Thanks again.
 
#112 ·
Many thanks Orient335iNYC!

I've been looking for a compact spare for months. Leatherz has been out of stock and their prices seem too high. I just ordered the kit form Tischer. Once I get it, I'll replace my RFT's with Michelin Pilot Sport PS2's (245/45/17 & 255/40/17).

Just to be clear, this kit will work on most E90's, front or rear, with no spacers or long lug nuts, right?

Thanks again.
correct
 
#117 ·
I placed my order to get this response a few hours later:

"Hello and thank you for your order. Since these wheels have such little mark-up from BMW, we can only discount them to 275.00."

They could not sell at the $239.21 listed on the web site. That, plus $90 shipping costs to CANADA, plus exchange rate of nearly 20%, plus duty....I'm looking at an estimated $450+ CAD.

I figure I'll try BMW directly here in Vancouver to determine the costs.
 
#126 ·
E93 spare

Has anyone tried the Emergency Wheel/Tyre in a convertible. It seems I have at least 9" clearance with the top down and in the trunk. I really want to get non-RFT's and one of those spares. I would appreciate it if someone would measure the height of the Spare Kit.
 
#127 ·
Has anyone tried the Emergency Wheel/Tyre in a convertible. It seems I have at least 9" clearance with the top down and in the trunk. I really want to get non-RFT's and one of those spares. I would appreciate it if someone would measure the height of the Spare Kit.
the rim is 4" wide. the tire itself is a 135mm, which translates into about 5" wide. i would say no more than 5.5"
 
#129 ·
Here is the tire in the trunk of a e90 with a measuring tape.

Also a picture showing width of tire against rear edge of trunk.

Finally a picture with the stryofoam insert removed. This assumes that you would stow the jack somewhere else to gain use of the space inside the rim for a shopping bag, etc.
 

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#132 ·
Hi guys,

We actually run this spare wheel kit on special here (E90/91/92/93 3 series section and Misc Specials section) for 275.00 shipped. It's priced this way as it has very little mark-up from BMW, and is quite expensive to ship. Even though these are listed for the E60's only, and we can not say that these are for the 3 series since BMW doesn't list them for the 3'ers; many customers have had great results using these with their 3 series.

Thanks! :)
 
#135 ·
Will a front tire mount on the rear wheel? I have my RFT tires loose in my garage. I'm doing a 1,000-mile road trip next weekend. I was thinking of throwing one of the front tires in the trunk in case I get a blowout (BMW tows me to town, where I have the RFT mounted on the wheel).

- Mike
 
#136 · (Edited)
yup, will fit without problems. i had to do this when i lost a rear tire 400 miles from home and did not want to drive back on the temp spare.
225/40/18 fits fine on the rear wheel, little stretched but within the specs of a 225
 
#138 ·
if this kit fits the 08 328i w. sport pkg,and it seems it does., I imagine you can place it on the rear fold down seat w/o rear passengers of course..so this tire fits that car model?
i'm not sure what you're asking...
 
#139 ·
Just checking, mini-tire/wheel kit for 335xi

Hello, Listmates.

Has anyone driven on the mini-spare so we know it is both functional as well as apparently functional? I have the 335xi coupe ('08) and have some Tire Rack 17" wheels/traction tires on order, non-runflat. When I reinstall the 18" wheels I will replace these horrible Bridgestone Tires, possibly with the Michelins they use on the Corvette as they are apparently also BMW OEM.

I'd really like to know about how the little spare is working out.

Thanks!

Harv in Seattle
 
#140 ·
Hello, Listmates.

Has anyone driven on the mini-spare so we know it is both functional as well as apparently functional? I have the 335xi coupe ('08) and have some Tire Rack 17" wheels/traction tires on order, non-runflat. When I reinstall the 18" wheels I will replace these horrible Bridgestone Tires, possibly with the Michelins they use on the Corvette as they are apparently also BMW OEM.

I'd really like to know about how the little spare is working out.

Thanks!

Harv in Seattle
see:
well, trial by fire boys. I'm in buffalo NY this weekend and got a sidewall puncture of a rear rft tire 30 miles from my destination. ( i cracked another 19" rim earlier, so i'm having a very bad tire week.)
none of the local tire shops have anything close to even a regular tire in 255/35/18, so i'm going to have to drive home on the spare. 400 miles back to NYC. its going to suck keeping the speed down. the angry yellow warning label has 50mph listed, but checking the sidewall of the tire has it rated M or 81mph. going to see if i can limp back at 65-70mph. i do not recommend anyone else exceed the listed speed limit on the rim however.

BTW, check the tire pressure in your spare when you get it. it should be at 60psi. i found out today that mine was only at 45.
and
well, i drove around on it all weekend, probably put about 300 miles on it.
this morning i was able to find a shop that had a potenza RE760 non-runflat tire in the right size so i had them mount it up. i was going to try to drive back from buffalo with the donut, but was a little wary of driving non stop at highway speeds on it. 147 for the tire, and i got a front sized tire (i had blown a rear) so i can use it as a spare front or rear.

the donut spare worked admirably, as long as you kept in mind that it was a donut and drove more conservatively. ended up visiting all the places i was going to, minimal interruption to my trip, and it held me over untill i could find a suitable tire. most of the trips were short, in town trips, a few 30-50 mile ones though

interestingly, the dealer i got the tire from, even though it was a runflat certified bridgestone shop, didnt have either the 225/40 or the 255/35 runflat in stock.

i dont think the runflat tire would have gotten me through the weekend with all the driving i did.
 
#141 ·
Anyone else still waiting for the national backorder from Germany to come in? I am. :( May just throw a full size spare in the trunk and cancel the order altogether. :(:(
 
#142 ·
Yep. Ordered end of December and don't have any ETA at all.
 
#145 ·
I purchased a CPO E90 325XI a few weeks before. First of all the noise inside of the car is very noticeable, even my aunt's 97 Camry is quieter. With some good music, that's what I can live with. But it is normal? Secondly, the I understand Bridgestone RFT has been major issue for a lot of bimmer drivers, and I am definitely one of them. I really want to get rid of them, what are my options?
 
#146 ·
I understand Bridgestone RFT has been major issue for a lot of bimmer drivers, and I am definitely one of them. I really want to get rid of them, what are my options?
Welcome to the 'fest -

this question has been discussed a lot on these forums. If you search at the main Bimmerfest page for "bridgestone run flat" you'll find 25 pages of posts on similar topics.

Or, you can repost your question in the main E90 section. Folks looking in this thread will expect to see ongoing discussion of the spare tire issue.

good luck
 
#148 ·
Spare for 2009 335i?

Just took delivery of new 2009 335i sedan w/ sport. Even though it's great sport driving the summer tires in the snow here in IA, I really must get some winter wheels and snow tires.

Will the E60 spare kit fit on my 2009? I would really rather not buy run flat snow tires.

Also, along the same lines, I'm getting mixed messages from tirerack and discounttires about 17" wheels for the snows. One says 17s are fine on my car. the other says they will hit the brakes. Any advice?
 
#183 ·
Just took delivery of new 2009 335i sedan w/ sport. Even though it's great sport driving the summer tires in the snow here in IA, I really must get some winter wheels and snow tires.

Will the E60 spare kit fit on my 2009? I would really rather not buy run flat snow tires.

Also, along the same lines, I'm getting mixed messages from tirerack and discounttires about 17" wheels for the snows. One says 17s are fine on my car. the other says they will hit the brakes. Any advice?
**********

I recently purchased a set of O.Z. Allegheritas for my 2008 335 xi coupe and mounted them with Michelin non-RF Alpin PA3 tires, 225 x 45R 17s. They work fine. That was the stock tire size for the car if one ran with 17's and the wheels fit fine.

We ran down to Portland, OR last weekend for a meeting and to see kid/grandkid and on the way back refueled in Washington just north of the OR border. We got a whopping 32.2 mpg with an average speed of 64.4 for the freeway drive home.

I have had significant problems with the original 18" Bridgestone RFs with sidewall bubbles on 4 out of 5 tires (no spare). I replaced a LF and it later developed sidewall bubbles with two or three on the RF and one or two on the LR tire. I had BMW locally look at these tires and they are claiming road hazards, but the biz which installed the O.Z/Michelin package from Tire Rack figured there had to be something wrong that four tires would go bad.

Next summer tire set will likely be a set of high end Michelin 18" with road hazard insurance. (Non-RF likely, the Corvette'/BMW OEM style).

Comments on this phenomena solicited as I frankly think this is a UCC/Warranty issue.

Harv, aka Bikeshark
 
#150 ·
I have a 335XI and just switched to non runflat 17" wheel/tire winter package (style 185 with 225/45/17 tires). My original wheels are 18" Style 189 wheels. My question - will the spare tire kit work with both wheel/tire setups? I also read that using different tire sizes on an XI model can harm the transfer case - is that true??!! TIA
 
#151 ·
yes, running different sizes across axles it can. but the outside diameter of all the wheels you list should be the same.

the spare tire is for TEMP use only.

the E60 XI model that this is normally equipped on can have either 225/50/17 (25.9") or 245/40/18 (25.7") tires. the temp spare runs at 25.5"

although i make no guarentees, you should have no problems running the spare for a short period of time.

a 25.5" tire does 820 revs per mile.
a 225/45/17" tire does 837 revs per mile
2.1% difference, which should not present a problem for short term use.
 
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