Spare Tire Type.....

[lip277]

Some of you may recall I recently purchased a 1995 740i. The PO had some fun with putting some 'go fast' goodies on the car. These included 18" M-Parallel wheels with Mich Pilot Sport A/S tires. Great combo IMO FWIW. The thing is that the PO did not believe in carrying a spare tire. He believed in AAA and a cell phone....... I'm a little bit of a different mindset.

So.... I picked up a new 18" MP wheel and was going to get another one of the Michelin tires and ..... then had a thought..... (yeah - I know . It doesn't happen too often so relish the moment....)

The tires are directional. The spare should be able to go on both sides (I'd presume).

So - What does BMW do out of the factory in that case? I could pick a non-directional tire (and am prepared to do so) but I just thought I'd bounce my quandry off you all-

Thanks

[bren]

When I was in this situation in the past I just bought another matching wheel/tire figuring that it would always be used as a spare and with what little time it will spend on the car it wouldn't matter.

[clyde]

For the most part, running a directional tire in the wrong direction will only make a difference on very wet surfaces since the drainage is designed to work in the other direction. Some tires may wear a little faster in the dry, but for the limited time that you would run a tire in the wrong direction, it shouldn't matter.

[SteveM]

My 330i has a right front spare tire.

[Rob]

As long as you fix the flat promptly and address wet handling concerns that Clyde mentioned if they arise, the only real draw back is noise. They will be noisy and the steering might feel a little weird if it's on the front.

You might have wear issues long term, but I doubt you are worried about using it long term.

[TD]

Originally Posted by SteveM

My 330i has a right front spare tire.

So did mine.

To clarify for Kevin, the E46s with sport package (as well as the E36 M3s) have different sized wheels/tires in the front versus in the rear. When I had my 330i, it came shod with Pilot Sports. As a result, the spare only was the right size and direction for one corner of the car, the right front.

The spare in my M3 is the same size as the fronts, but I do not recall what kind of tire is on it or if it's directional.

[Roadstergal]

I don't do spares.

Y'all can bookmark this thread for shit-giving purposes if I'm ever stranded with a flat.

[lip277]

Originally Posted by TD

So did mine.

To clarify for Kevin, the E46s with sport package (as well as the E36 M3s) have different sized wheels/tires in the front versus in the rear. When I had my 330i, it came shod with Pilot Sports. As a result, the spare only was the right size and direction for one corner of the car, the right front.

The spare in my M3 is the same size as the fronts, but I do not recall what kind of tire is on it or if it's directional.

Right. I discovered this the 'hard way' (almost) when I was visiting my folks a couple of years back. My Dad curbed his rear right wheel on his 2001 740iL Sport. He asked me if there was a 'real' spare or some space-saver bull one installed. I took a look and saw that there was a real spare and had visions of installing it on the rear and putting the damaged wheel in the trunk as the spare.

I was actually pulling out his jack and then it hit me.....

Different size wheels front to back.
I hadn't thought of that way.

So... I go in side and tell him the bad news. No free lunch. The salesman never explained that aspect of the sport package to him. He knew the wheels were bigger and had more aggressive tires but not that they were different front/back. Yeah - I know...... It's in the brochures, owners manual, advertisements and such..... That's not the real isue though.

He bought that version the car with out ever driving it (he'd driven the standard version)

I get a call the day after he got the car asking me why the ride is so 'tight".
I never did talk to him about the sport package as I figured he'd just get the standard set-up. In the iL, the only difference is the wheel/tire fitment. No suspension changes. I told him if he REALLY didn't want what he had, I could help out with either getting him a OE 16" Set or maybe trade with someone that wanted 18" MP wheels.

Man - I miss him. He'd take 18 months to pick the options and all on a new Ford P/U but take about 90 minutes to select what he wants in a more expensive car..... That drove my Mom nuts.....

To this day the wheel is on that car. My Dad left it there to remind him to pay attention better.... My Mom now leaves it there as she doesn't care. The car has gas. The radio works. The car scoots..... and she does utilize that aspect of that car. (That's where my lead foot comes from)



Oh -
I have three wheels now (8" wide) and am thinking of getting another to complete the set as a winter/snow/whatever set. The ones on the car are chromed. The new ones I have are polished. I really don't know which ones I like better. Gotta love e-bay sometimes.

Thanks for your help. I'll get a generic (but decent) tire that will work. Michelin is pretty proud of the A/S's so I think I can do something else.

Adios