Hello! Just joined this forum - glad it exists!
We took delivery of our U25 in June out of dealer stock as the color and option combo we specified happened to be in the dealers ample inventory of these cars. Our car has the trailer hitch, but did not have the compact spare tire kit. We asked the sales manager at the time of purchase to get us one of the compact spare kits and that was a "no problem, we don't have them yet, but we'll get you one" response.
I visited the dealer parts desk today to inquire about acquiring a spare kit and was told something that left me incredulous:

The parts rep said that if you did not order a spare kit from the factory, there is no option to purchase one after the car is built - it cannot be added later or retrofit. The "mobility kit" (compressor with can of goo) is the only solution they could offer. The rep could not explain why this would be the case, other than to eluding to the underfloor space in the cargo area is different somehow. He also said that the actual spare wheel will only fit a mini which has the factory spare kit upon build. I can place a full size mounted wheel in the space under the rear floor, so that doesn't hold up as a reason

I could not help but say "You realize how absurd this sounds to a customer, right?" Which he did at least acknowledge.

So now I am reaching out to this group of fellow owners to gain insight on this magical spare kit. Does anyone have one? What does it look like? Anyone else as annoyed as I am about this?

I am combing the aftermarket to seek out a solution to this silly situation.

Any insights appreciated!

Chris


Here's our beast...

 

I would be interested to know those who have the kit - what size tire was provided.

 

I have the full size spare which I ordered are you saying you have NO solution whatsoever if you get a flat? Did yours come with run flats? That is very odd. I will admit my GT3 and M3 have the stupid can etc and I would NEVER use them and jeopardize the expensive rims, I call AAA.

 

As delivered, the dealer solution to flat is "Call AAA". Their only aftermarket solution is the compressor/goo kit - not going with that.

I would be VERY interested in some photos of the spare kit your car has. Ideally with it is its storage location.

Is it in a bag under the rear load floor?

Chris

 

Our car does not have run-flat tires

 

what tire size is on the spare you received?

 

Not in a bag, it's under the load floor like an old school spare back in the day. All the tools like jack etc. Not sure of the size but I have a JCW with 20" rims and big brakes so it has to clear those.

 

It most likely will clear the rears but not the fronts.

 

No, it clears the fronts as well. I just checked that would have been stupid, even for BMW to have a back axel only spare.

 

Tell this "parts guy" to order these parts for you... 51 47 5 A16 032 ( trunk trim for spare tire), 36 11 5 A06 2D8 (spare wheel), T125/80R17 (tire).

 

Thanks for the parts ID info!

I will pursue these part numbers. I have been unable to locate any photos or drawings of the first P/N (Trunk trim for spare tire), so will speak with the dealer on that.

I did confirm today that while my 17" BMW Compact spare wheel has the correct bolt circle, the center bore is over sized and the wheel contacts the big break caliper of the U25.

The search continues...

 

My _guess_ is that there is some sort of bracket that holds the spare in place is only added to the spare-optioned cars.

 

Interesting. Historically the spare has only cleared the rear brakes on the JCW models.

 

We have it here but with a shared BMW tire 135/90r17. So its a little taller, hair wider on the MINI oem wheel. I dont know how much extra room is in their for the larger tire if you store it. I have not seen any pictures of the storage point.

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-assemble...36116851507kt/

 

depth is about 25 inches for my U25.

 

Yep and that tire is only about 5.31" wide on bead to bead.

 

A 135/90r17 is 26.6" ... so I am not seeing how it would fit in the lower storage area.

 

I am talking about height when laid on its side. Did not calculate the width of side to side when laid flat.

 

Hi! Did you ever find the spare tire kit? I’m having trouble getting one too…

 

I have purchased the kit nominally designed for the latest BMW X1 (U11?), which is a platform mate for the Countryman - they're made on the same assembly line ( ). The kit came from www.modernspare.com. The issue is that the kit just barely does not fit into the subfloor well of the Countryman when the tire is fully inflated. I have to reduce the air pressure in the spare to get it to sit flush on the floor. That means that I must use the Mini provided compressor to add air to the spare if I should find myself needing to use the spare in a roadside situation.

I am actually working with another supplier to test out a solution to this issue and that comes to anything, I will share.

 

Hello, We linked a spare above in the small tire/steel wheel form. You would have to deflate the tire a little to fit it in there. But its the Genuine MINI/BMW steel wheel.

 

Thank you for letting me know. I’ll wait for your solution! I wish I had known in advance that you have to buy the car designed w the spare well for the kit before purchasing…

QUOTE=cjhinpa;4689523]I have purchased the kit nominally designed for the latest BMW X1 (U11?), which is a platform mate for the Countryman - they're made on the same assembly line ( ). The kit came from www.modernspare.com. The issue is that the kit just barely does not fit into the subfloor well of the Countryman when the tire is fully inflated. I have to reduce the air pressure in the spare to get it to sit flush on the floor. That means that I must use the Mini provided compressor to add air to the spare if I should find myself needing to use the spare in a roadside situation.

I am actually working with another supplier to test out a solution to this issue and that comes to anything, I will share.[/QUOTE]

 

I am not optimistic on the other vendor. Apparently the X1 floor well is bigger than the Countryman's. Best I can tell, the slightly deflate, then reinflate maneuver is what we will have to live with in these cars.

 

To close this out, I was able to reduce air pressure in the compact spare to about 7 psi, which enabled the tire to fit flat in the underfloor well. I confirmed by test that the provided mini compressor CAN re-inflate the compact spare at the roadside incase it is needed. I would call the issue closed for me.

 

Thanks for the update!