# Spare Tire for the 335D



## pedser (Jul 19, 2006)

As a proud owner of a 2011 D w/sport pkg. one of my issues have always been the spare tire absence, and I know we have runflats but if any of you do the winter set up or decided to use non-runflats the lack of a spare tire kind of bothers me. (Especially in long out of town trips)

I wanted to get a spare but remember reading that our front brakes are much bigger and that you could not just put any tire or compact spate. So I contacted the folks at Bavarian auto and asked specifically for the 335d w/sport suspension how can I get a compact spare that would fit.

They replied back and told me that their spare tire kit was designed using the compact spare from the X3 (a 17 inch – "donut"). That would work for me, as in the back of my mind I wanted the lowest dimensions and weight. After all is a temporary spare to "get me home".

Decided to order the kit ($340.00) that includes the jack, lug wrench and chock and tested the setup….. It works!!! and the tire is very small (26" diameter by 5" thick)
Yes the compact (donuts) spares are ugly but ….. Will get you out of a tight spot!

Enjoy

Pedro


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## cssnms (Jan 24, 2011)

Yes Tischer (getbmwparts.com) sells a spare tire kit also for the e9x. It's designed for the 5 series but works on the e9x. 

I run non RFT's and don't have a spare, just Conti Comfort Kit, BMW Road Side Assistance and AAA as a back ups.


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## stoked335d (Jan 4, 2010)

I got that kit from Tischer 2 years back. It is a regular tire so can be driven for long distances slowly if needed. I run RFTs but once you drive on them with zero psi they are done. Each costing $300-$400 is not a small change. In case of a flat RFTs can be patched same as regular tire on the contact point not the sidewall. But if you get the TPMS warning you have to pull over right away when there is still air in the tire and put on the spare. 

I also read stories where people on vacation getting a flat and waiting 2-3 days for the local dealer to order an RFT because they didn't have one in stock. Not a pleasant way to spend your time off waiting for a tire to arrive. I just wish that BMW provided a hole in the trunk for the donut. There is a lonngg thread on regular e90 forum about this topic.


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## Axel61 (Mar 10, 2011)

Pedro llamame o PM me, Chris I did a search at the website and could not find it. help me on this ok. Im now running 19"VMR710 with Avus tires and running scared even though I bought the SLIME thing and air pressure pump


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## d geek (Nov 26, 2008)

Can you show pics of how you will store it in the trunk? thanks.


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## pedser (Jul 19, 2006)

Axel, will call you at work tomorrow and send you a link for the kit. - will post a pic for the trunk ( ugly, actually .... Temporarily In a plastic bag, but it's very thin 5" thick so it does not take a lot of space.

Pedro


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

d geek said:


> Can you show pics of how you will store it in the trunk? thanks.


ditto


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## Axel61 (Mar 10, 2011)

Pedro call me at my cell I'll be working at VA Hospital today 787-459-4518. Hurry up I need the link Im scared ****less LOL, you know how bad our roads are down here!!


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## cssnms (Jan 24, 2011)

Axel you can find it here... http://www.trademotion.com/partloca...fo&PartID=766537&siteid=214672&catalogid=4462


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## Axel61 (Mar 10, 2011)

Gracias!! Chris. Whoa $315 plus shipping, damn thats high but, knowing how CHEAPO I am I guess I'll go hunting for one at a junk yard LOL!!!


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## bimmerzone (Jul 12, 2005)

Hi Everyone,
just came across this thread and wanted to let you guys know that we have the space saver spare tire in stock 
Do take a look at:
http://www.bimmerzone.com/BMW_Performance_Spare_Tire/BIM-SST-E90-KIT.html 
Please feel free to let me know if you have any questions or comments


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## bimmerdiesel (Jul 9, 2010)

I am currently debating whether to get new rims and ditch RFT and Stock 18" 195 rims. If anyone wants to use full size as spare PM me. I will soon put up feeler thread too.


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## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

bimmerdiesel said:


> I am currently debating whether to get new rims and ditch RFT and Stock 18" 195 rims. If anyone wants to use full size as spare PM me. I will soon put up feeler thread too.


Bimmer, I just changed over to non-RFTs. A good choice for me. The RFTs are a real compromise all so you don't have to get out of your car to use a repair kit or change a tire. Certainly can make sense for many folks. I prefer to have a better ride everyday and maybe, one chance in a few thousand, I might have to deal with a flat tire.

I kept my original 18" rims. They are 8.5" in front and 9.0" rears.

I'll invest in a slime kit for piece of mind.


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## bimmerzone (Jul 12, 2005)

Yup, runflats got to go :rofl:


Flyingman said:


> Bimmer, I just changed over to non-RFTs. A good choice for me. The RFTs are a real compromise all so you don't have to get out of your car to use a repair kit or change a tire. Certainly can make sense for many folks. I prefer to have a better ride everyday and maybe, one chance in a few thousand, I might have to deal with a flat tire.
> 
> I kept my original 18" rims. They are 8.5" in front and 9.0" rears.
> 
> I'll invest in a slime kit for piece of mind.


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## BB_cuda (Nov 8, 2011)

I'm taking a slightly different angle on getting the compact spare for my M-sport 335D. I ordered the 17X4 wheel from getbmwparts.com. My car has 225/40 R18 on front and 255/35 R18 on rear. This works out to 25.087" and 25.028" diameters for front and rear respectively. The kit shown up earlier in the thread uses a 135/80 R17 tire on the 17x4 rim. This works out to 25.504" for the kitted spare. This is a little too tall in my book compared to the M-sport tires. The rear tire is .476" shorter than the 135/80 R17 compact spare. I have ordered a 145/70R17 from Maxxis which works out to 24.992" tall. This is quite a bit closer with the spare being 0.094" shorter than the front and 0.035" shorter than the rear. I was wanting to do the kit for cheaper anyway than $365 shipped ($315 in parts +$50 shipping). I plan to get a scissor jack from the junkyard and an inexpensive 17 mm tire iron. I will even put some heat shrink on the tire iron to not scratch the nice M sport wheels. I have been using the scissor jack fom my old Honda to do tire rotations (left to right since my wheels are staggered in size). I just use a piece of wood under the "jack spot" and the wood doesn't harm them. I will stow the scissor jack under the spare. My solution is working out to cost $82 for the wheel (shipped) and $139 for the tire (shipped). I did get nailed for state tax on the Tire as it apparently is stocked in Texas. Discount tire will mount and balance for $16. Grand total will be ~ $248 and the spare will be near perfect height too. I had read on m3post.com where those guys were using the 18x5 spare rim from an X5 and a maxxis tire in the 135/70 R18. they got them for $86 +$10 shipping. This was in 2008 though. the maxxis people say rubber costs more as oil is higher now so I can't get the spare for anything less than what i stated. The kit described above uses a continental 135/80R17 which goes for around the same ~$130-$135 range. I did check the BMW jack cost on the getbmwparts.com website and they wanted ~$77. I might try to find the right one at a junkyard or get it off of ebay. I will let you guys know how it comes out and perhaps post a side by side picture up next to my front M-sport tire/wheel assy. Out


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## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

BB Cuda,

Sounds like your tire sizes are same as the sport. I just increased my front to 235mm when I changed out to the non-RFTs.

I understood that you really shouldn't switch tires left/right, especially if they are steel belted radials. Something to do with how the belts seat down in the rubber in a single direction and then if you reverse that they could work loose. (worth researching).

In fact the RFTs are directional so you certainly couldn't switch them left to right or you would be going in opposite direction.

I understand the M's don't have RFTs. Is that true?

The trunk really doesn't have a good place to put a spare, or for that matter my bottle of slime and emergency compressor.:tsk: I need to come up with some sort of storage or netting to keep this stuff in place back there. Anybody have any thoughts or designs on that?:dunno: Where are you planning to keep the spare tied down at?


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## BB_cuda (Nov 8, 2011)

Flyingman,
I have heard the old addage of keeping a radial on the same sid of the car to not mess with the "break direction" of the steel belt too. I spoke with the sales guy who owns a 335i with sport. He first told me the official BMW speel of keeping a tire where it was installed for the whole life. After my purchase, he privately told me he has the left to right done to keep the saw tooth wear in check. I purchased my M sport with 6200 miles as a used service loaner and saw tooth was going on at that point. I switched sides and about 1000 miles later the saw tooth was gone. I'm okay with this to attempt to get 20k miles out of the the really soft OEM tires (140 treadwear rating!!). 

I worked in an auto center as a young man while in college and it seemed like it was the flavor of the month as sals advisors would flip flop as to wether switching sides was okay or not. I have had no issues with flipping radials as long as they are not directional. Tires are directional for water shedding reasons. The run flats i have have no markings saying they are directional. they are the bridgestones ... wish they were the Michelin pilot PS2s. I will milk them until 20k maybe 22k.

I'm hunting for a scissor jack (see my thread please about X5 jacks) as i don't like the weird one for sedans. I've been using the Honda scissor with a little piece of wood with no issue. I just want a jack that nessles up inside the rectangular jack points we have. I'm hoping the E53 X5 has the same size cavity. I have posted over in the X5/E53 area to try to get a straight story.

To answer your question, my M sport D does have runflats. Also, our trunks are small but having a spare is critical so I'm adapting and will have to stow some luggage in the rear area when on a long trip. Won't be perfect but better than being stranded waiting 2 days for a tire to be ordered and shipped.


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## ljgmdad (Feb 2, 2012)

Hi guys. How are you securing the spare in the trunk? I will ditch run flats as soon as new tires are needed, but don't like the idea of a loose 30-40 pound object in my trunk at all times...


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## bimmerzone (Jul 12, 2005)

most people strap it down (you can get the straps at your local home depot or your favorite hardware store)



ljgmdad said:


> Hi guys. How are you securing the spare in the trunk? I will ditch run flats as soon as new tires are needed, but don't like the idea of a loose 30-40 pound object in my trunk at all times...


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## BB_cuda (Nov 8, 2011)

*D hooks location*

I have seen where some people use tie downs originating form D hooks on the driver and passenger side "flanks" of the trunk. The trunks are forward within the trunk. My D only has "D" hooks (no pun intended promise) on the aft wall of the trunk. I have used a rubber stretchy strap to go from the 1st D ring, through the wheel center and back to the other D ring. So, the tire won't fly forward if i nail the brakes. It is a pain in the arse doing it this way though as I have to put grocery bags on the front side of the spare.

Can someone show me a pic of their trunk with these other D hook locations please? I will go post a pic of my less optimal setup. I know neither one is great for our smallish 3 series trunks.

Update on the jack: I bought a scissor on Ebay from a salvage company in Georgia. 5 days later a jack shows up that is for a Pontiac Vibe. I contacted the place and he says sorry they sent the wrong jack and they don't have an X5 jack afterall. They gave immediate $50 refund and told me to keep the Vibe jack. So, here I go again. I bought another one in the Los Angeles area and it will arrive on next Monday. Glad I don't have a road trip planned for this weekend. I weighed the spare tire/wheel combo. 31.5 lbs using 17x4 steel wheel and T145/70R17 Maxxis tire.

I will have an extra X5 jack handle if anyone wants to buy it. $15 +shipping. Let's wait until Monday's shipment comes before i sell. I will have to go over to classifieds to do it (their is a classifieds section right?).


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## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

BB_cuda said:


> Flyingman,
> I have heard the old addage of keeping a radial on the same sid of the car to not mess with the "break direction" of the steel belt too. I spoke with the sales guy who owns a 335i with sport. He first told me the official BMW speel of keeping a tire where it was installed for the whole life. After my purchase, he privately told me he has the left to right done to keep the saw tooth wear in check. I purchased my M sport with 6200 miles as a used service loaner and saw tooth was going on at that point. I switched sides and about 1000 miles later the saw tooth was gone. I'm okay with this to attempt to get 20k miles out of the the really soft OEM tires (140 treadwear rating!!).
> 
> I worked in an auto center as a young man while in college and it seemed like it was the flavor of the month as sals advisors would flip flop as to wether switching sides was okay or not. I have had no issues with flipping radials as long as they are not directional. Tires are directional for water shedding reasons. The run flats i have have no markings saying they are directional. they are the bridgestones ... wish they were the Michelin pilot PS2s. I will milk them until 20k maybe 22k.
> ...


Cuda, my B/S OEM RFTs had a directional arrow on them, why are yours different? It is rather suttle as I recall.


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## BB_cuda (Nov 8, 2011)

they are the bridgestone REO50s. I'll go look real close again. thanks FM


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## A8540TDI (Jan 2, 2011)

Here is a picture of my trunk with D rings added to the trunk floor. The arrangement is very secure and has not shifted.


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

That appears to take up a lot more room than I would have thought. How much space is in between the back of the backseat and the tire? Strange that they did away with the hooks at some point. My car has the two aft hooks and then two forward ones as well, not that I ever have had a need for them and did not even notice them until today actually.


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## BB_cuda (Nov 8, 2011)

*no directional marking on my bridgestones*

F/M,
Not calling you a liar, i just don't see them. If this were the case, wouldn't the tires be sold as right side and left side only? I just see a marking that says "outside" as the tire is asymmetric in design. The 3000 mile switch wore the saw tooth wear back down flat and now i have rotated back to the way the car was delivered to me for 300 miles.

@snipe, can you please take a photo of where your forward D rings are installed? I'm hoping i can just immitate the 2009 way (your yr model) of doing it. Apparently, 2011 models only get rings on the aft wall (be it a short wall). . I have secured to these aft rings but that causes me to have to load groceries forward of the spare which is a little bit of a pain (or else take the truck to the grocery store).
thanks, BB


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

I will try to use my iPhone to take a picture tomorrow when I hav some daylight to work with. I halve no spare but still use the truck for groceries, trunk is just too small


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

Here you go ...


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## BB_cuda (Nov 8, 2011)

*D ring mounting to real structure?*

thanks Snipe,
I will have to investigate to see what the D ring assy is mounted to underneath. I seriously doubt that one can just screw it into the gray cartpeted panel. Using a tie down would rip that out upon first application. It has to be mounted to real structure. I will try Real OEM or similar for an exploded view of some sort. This is a great start.


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

It looks to me that either a hole is cut in the gray carpet for it or an indention exists for it. Also looks like a decent size "bolt" holding it in. Maybe this picture shows that better. Sorry for the lighting, I have no flash on this thing.


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## BB_cuda (Nov 8, 2011)

A guy here at work has an 2006 325i. He says his vehicle has the same hardware. So, I'll go get a first hand look. I was thinking some sort of "widow" should be cut in or use a longer fastener to compensate. Thanks for your help again.


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## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

BB_cuda said:


> F/M,
> Not calling you a liar, i just don't see them. If this were the case, wouldn't the tires be sold as right side and left side only? I just see a marking that says "outside" as the tire is asymmetric in design. The 3000 mile switch wore the saw tooth wear back down flat and now i have rotated back to the way the car was delivered to me for 300 miles.
> 
> @snipe, can you please take a photo of where your forward D rings are installed? I'm hoping i can just immitate the 2009 way (your yr model) of doing it. Apparently, 2011 models only get rings on the aft wall (be it a short wall). . I have secured to these aft rings but that causes me to have to load groceries forward of the spare which is a little bit of a pain (or else take the truck to the grocery store).
> thanks, BB


Cuda,

Apparently I am a liar!  I could have sworn I saw some arrow indicating direction, but as you say they only say "outside". So you could swap them left to right. Wish i had known this or I would have done so before replacing them.


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## Axel61 (Mar 10, 2011)

Today I called the local BMW junkyard and its a least 1 1/2 hrs away on the other side of the island, I spoke to the guy and he will locate the kit for me and call me back i need advice before I buy I did tell him almost all 2006 till 2011 3 series donut will fit , send me txts at my cell 787-459-4518, before I go tomorrow to the junkyard Im leaving as of NOW Home for the weekend ok amigos!!


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## BB_cuda (Nov 8, 2011)

The X5 jack worked great. Not sure what the junk yard people are tellingyou about a 3 series donut. No such thing here from a certain year on (i think 2008 or so). A safe bet is the 5 series part that I got from tischer. Perhaps the yard has the 5 series spare but you will have to perhaps change out the rubber if you want to match the height of your tires. See my explanation earlier in this thread. best of luck hunting at the yard. No bmw yard that i know of here in houston. Just the Los Angeles internet site i found where i got the X5 jack, handle. I had to get the lug wrench in yet another deal


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## AZ335D (Aug 19, 2010)

I went and bought a ratcheting tie-down. Ikea used to have plastic bags for tires - I bought a bunch of them. I loaded the Tischer spare in the Ikea bag, threw in a compressor and slime.  I have the spare tilted up in the trunk, held in place by the tie-down. Every once in awhile, I have to give the tie-down a tighten. 

It leaves me enough room for a computer bag, suitcase, etc.


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## Axel61 (Mar 10, 2011)

The junk yard did not have any 3 series replacement but forgot to ask for the x3 duh!!


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## BB_cuda (Nov 8, 2011)

AZ335D said:


> I went and bought a ratcheting tie-down. Ikea used to have plastic bags for tires - I bought a bunch of them. I loaded the Tischer spare in the Ikea bag, threw in a compressor and slime. I have the spare tilted up in the trunk, held in place by the tie-down. Every once in awhile, I have to give the tie-down a tighten.
> 
> It leaves me enough room for a computer bag, suitcase, etc.


It sounds like you have the spare tilted up in the forward part of the trunk. What did you tie the ratcheting tie down to so as to do this. It sounds like something up in the roof of the trunk. Either that or you have the D hooks in the forward flanks of the trunk. My 2011 did not come with the forward D hooks. Snipe took a couple pictures of his that came in his 2009 model. I still need to investigate retrofit options of these hooks.


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## AZ335D (Aug 19, 2010)

I found some holes on the roof of the trunk to attach the hooks to. Be careful though'on thr rightside (facing the trunk), there is a wire loom and you don't want to put the hook on top of that. I'll post a pic,but am out of town and won't be back until the weekend.


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