Full size spare?

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05-02-2018, 07:11 AM
Mannydog

Full size spare?

Just got an 05 ZHP sedan and it has a space saver spare.
I’d like to carry a full size spare, as I routinely drive 350 mile round trips in the wilds of Eastern Washington where services are few and far between.

The 330xi I’ve had for the last 7 years came with a full size, 17” spare, and it’s actually a very tight fit to get in and out and clear the plastic trim.

I don’t know if it would be even worse with 18 inch wheels with wider tires.

I’m running stock 135s.

What do you all do for spare tires? (That will fit in the spare tire well, LOL)
05-02-2018, 09:31 AM
BMWCurves

I just rock the donut space saver. I think you can get away with a front style 135 wheel in there.

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05-02-2018, 11:13 AM
ZHPizza

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMWCurves

I just rock the donut space saver. I think you can get away with a front style 135 wheel in there.

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Right on. Donut spare and a little DC outlet compressor can get you home from anywhere.
05-02-2018, 11:38 AM
danewilson77

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMWCurves

I just rock the donut space saver. I think you can get away with a front style 135 wheel in there.

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Affirm

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05-02-2018, 11:59 AM
Mannydog

LOL, yeah, but you guys live in civilization.
It’s different out here. I want something I can go 170 miles on at 70mph.
:)
05-02-2018, 12:29 PM
JPMo

I wonder if having a full size spare is negated by having a staggered setup. Lets say a rear tire goes out and you have a front full size spare. How would drivability be affected if you now have a 225 tire on the left rear and 255 tire on the right rear simultaneously? Is that why spare donuts are speed restricted?
05-02-2018, 01:00 PM
Newjack

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPMo

I wonder if having a full size spare is negated by having a staggered setup. Lets say a rear tire goes out and you have a front full size spare. How would drivability be affected if you now have a 225 tire on the left rear and 255 tire on the right rear simultaneously? Is that why spare donuts are speed restricted?

It wouldn't be that much different. Assuming the rim is the same height and the tire has the same sidewall, you shouldn't notice much of a difference with casual driving or highway driving.

Spare donuts are speed restricted because they aren't performance tires. They aren't rated for high speeds, because they are just meant to get you to the nearest shop to have a new tire replaced.

Tires have a letter rating on them which tells you the max speed you can safely operate the tire at. Exceeding the speed can cause a number of problems that aren't safe. This is why winter tires (especially studs) have a much lower speed rating than summer performance tires. Different applications.
05-02-2018, 01:37 PM
ZHPizza

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPMo

I wonder if having a full size spare is negated by having a staggered setup. Lets say a rear tire goes out and you have a front full size spare. How would drivability be affected if you now have a 225 tire on the left rear and 255 tire on the right rear simultaneously? Is that why spare donuts are speed restricted?

Shouldn't be a big deal for limping it home as long as you don't have an LSD
05-02-2018, 02:33 PM
BMWCurves

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZHPizza

Shouldn't be a big deal for limping it home as long as you don't have an LSD

Even then, shouldn’t it basically be fine as long as you’re not hooning it? AFAIK the overall diameter front and rear are the same if you’re using factory sizes which should negate most concern of damage to the diff.

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05-02-2018, 02:36 PM
ZHPizza

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMWCurves

Even then, shouldn’t it basically be fine as long as you’re not hooning it? AFAIK the overall diameter front and rear are the same if you’re using factory sizes which should negate most concern of damage to the diff.

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They're definitely close, but not the same diameter. I don't know much about how sensitive LSDs are with different diameters, but I know you can really jack up the transfer case on an AWD just by mixing new tires with worn.
05-02-2018, 03:30 PM
BMWCurves

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZHPizza

They're definitely close, but not the same diameter. I don't know much about how sensitive LSDs are with different diameters, but I know you can really jack up the transfer case on an AWD just by mixing new tires with worn.

Yeah, I know diffs can be sensitive to different tire sizes. I could have sworn diameters were exactly the same front to back when I was considering replacing my rock hard awful tires on my 135s

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05-02-2018, 06:59 PM
ZHPizza

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMWCurves

Yeah, I know diffs can be sensitive to different tire sizes. I could have sworn diameters were exactly the same front to back when I was considering replacing my rock hard awful tires on my 135s

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637mm for the fronts and 635mm for the rears so yeah pretty daggum close don't cha know
05-02-2018, 07:36 PM
Mannydog

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZHPizza

637mm for the fronts and 635mm for the rears so yeah pretty daggum close don't cha know

Which brings ups the question of what the diameter of the space saver is.

Regardless, I want to have a full size spare for the reasons I mentioned earlier. I took out the donut this morning and put in a style 73 17" wheel, which has the same diameter as the stock ZHP fronts.

So, the real question at this point is whether a stock 225 front tire will fit into the spare tire well, and is not too much of a pain to get in and (especially) out...

Anyone running that?
05-03-2018, 02:19 AM
Reasoned1

Go to a square set-up with 17" wheels... simple. :)
05-03-2018, 03:50 AM
joeybananaz18

This is my new full size spare. 18 x 8.5 and 235 tires. Fits fine. Any wider and and the trunk floor won't close properly. Before doing anything i tested my 135 which had 255s and it still worked fine. ZHP will be my daily when we move into our house in a month and i wanted to make it as practical as possible. Hope this helps.

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeybananaz18

The wheels are 18 x 8.5 all around. Tires are PSS 235/40/18. I mentioned in an earlier post that I had picked up 5 wheels. There was a good reason I did that.....
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...0a2e01437f.jpg

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05-03-2018, 05:29 AM
Mannydog

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeybananaz18

This is my new full size spare. 18 x 8.5 and 235 tires. Fits fine. Any wider and and the trunk floor won't close properly. Before doing anything i tested my 135 which had 255s and it still worked fine. ZHP will be my daily when we move into our house in a month and i wanted to make it as practical as possible. Hope this helps.

Perfect. That tells me what I’m looking for.
03-26-2019, 03:46 AM
racer2086

Sorry for bumping this older thread, but had a question.

So we're fairly confident a stock style 135 front wheel with tire would fit in there. I read on E46fanatics that you have to flip the trunk floor to get it to fit? Is this the case?

Does anyone know if the wheel will go in there inverted so you can store stuff inside the rim?

Asking because I have a well-curbed FR wheel that I would replace with a better one if I could find one and throw this beat up one in as the spare.
03-26-2019, 06:51 AM
DeathTrap

Pretty sure it fits... might also depend on your tire choice.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...5a26b408b6.jpg

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03-27-2019, 05:11 PM
racer2086

Can you invert it to store emergency supplies inside the rim?