I've been searching for a spare tire solution for the longest time now. After lots of trial and error, I think I cracked the case and found a solution. My biggest thing is that it must fit in the small space below the floor of the trunk. At first, I attempted to try a similar branded wheel/tire in a 17" wheel, but I was about 2 inches too big to get it to fit without cutting up the trunk area surrounding the hole I wanted to put this in. The next option was to go with a smaller diameter wheel to take off the difference, which meant going down to a 15" wheel. I was attempting to find a BMW 15" wheel with the correct center bore and bolt pattern, but it's not going to be an easy feat to make that happen, though I did find a few solutions that could work.

I'll stop typing for a second and show you proof in the pudding:




Calculators say that the size should work. It might not be exactly the OD of the stock wheel/tire, but it's close enough. I am using 205/55/17 and 225/40/19 along with the spare's size because I am running the OEM 17" wheels/tires for the winter, and the 19" for the rest of the year:



This is how the tire would dffer when it's deflated versus inflated - I would also have to carry a compressor to inflate the tire should the time come:




The bolt pattern isn't correct with this wheel on the tire, it's made for a MB, which is 5x112. I'll have to buy an adapter to convert the lug pattern from 5x120 to 5x112, something like this:


The only concerns I have left at this point is to make sure that the wheel will clear the brakes, and to make sure it will clear any moving suspension components. I don't think offset is an issue with it being so compact, but you never know. The adapter I would use I can also specify the thickness, so if I do need to push the spare out a bit, it's definitely possible. I know that you're supposed to put a spare on the rear wheel if driving, but getting both front and rear wheels up in the air using a stock jack will probably be very difficult to achieve without carrying another jack and/or a jack stand to raise up one side, then the other. I will check to make sure it will clear the front and rear brakes though.

Lastly, the bad news....Unless you're able to find this in a junk yard (or online somewhere, like I did), the only other place you can get this is from a MB dealer direct, as told to me by the NE distributor for this tire brand.

So? What do you think?!?

 

OK, fully loaded with the kids halfway to Yellowstone, out it comes, blow it up and bolt in on, then...what do you do with the one you just took off? It won't go where the spare came from.

Take a look at this: http://www.minifini.com/ShopDetail.aspx?id=16

 

Uhhh-no. I would never put that hideous thing on the back of my car!

I don't think I would ever use this car for a long road trip and "loading it up with the kids", which I don't have any. I do have my wife's mid-size SUV for those longer trips. BUT, if you do plan on going to Yellowstone with the kids (but not the wife? ) while fully loaded, that's why you have a roof rail, to put the roof rack and roof cargo box so your boot won't be as "fully loaded".

Just sayin'.

 

Very interesting! I remember seeing a post about those collapsable spares, and thought it would be a good match for the CM boot. Too bad that the bolt pattern isn't the same. Questions:

1. How much? (You knew it was coming)
2. How easy is it to collapse the tire back down?

 

I just learned a good lesson on staying out of countryman forums. A whole different MINI motoring mind set.

 

nice! I suggested that same style collapsible tire in another thread somewhere. I had seen a Lotus Elise using one and thought it'd be perfect.

looks like it is...

those have been around forever. the late 70's porsche 944 used one.

 

I agree, why can someone not start selling this. a light weight basic rim with a tire and pump for the complete deal. come on distributors, read the need.

 

i have spoken to the vredestein district sales manager about a fitment for the countryman

still waiting for a reply

scott

 

If you're looking for the wheel and tire like I did, the pricing will vary, most likely between $250-$400 for a used one online.
The valve cover also doubles as a tool to remove the pin in the valve stem, so when loosening and pulling out the pin, the tire fully deflates in about 20 seconds.

I have seen that too. I just carry a Slime Kit (Slime and a compressor) for my Lotus.

While looking into this myself, I also considered offering it to others as well, putting together a kit like you mention. Problem is, the local Vredestein distributor (in NJ) says that this particular size wheel and tire is ONLY available through a MB dealer, and it comes together with the wheel and tire. The lug pattern will not fit without an adapter. I'm an auto dealer and have accounts with many distributors and dealer parts counters, but even with my dealer discount and trying to piece together a kit to market to consumers, I wouldn't expect it to cost less than $500, and that's just sourcing the parts alone.

Keep waiting. They won't be making anything anytime soon for anything other than what they already make for the VW/Audi/Porsche/MB brands. The manufacturer isn't interested in any other business, nor do they want to even sell it to the average consumer.

I did attempt to fit the wheel to the front end of my car, and without an adapter to bolt it to the hub, just by lining the wheel up against the hub, the caliper is too big to fit the spare to the front wheel. A friend of mine who helped me figure all this out thinks with the spacer/adapter, it should fit, but he wasn't there to see me size it up, I don't think even with the adapter that it will fit the front end. I didn't try the rear end yet though, will try next week. The offset of the spare wheel I bought is ET12, VERY low. You would think if you put a thick enough spacer/adapter to push it away from the caliper, it would clear it and fit, but because of a low offset, you really only have a little less than 20mm to play with, so that's about as thick an adapter that you can fit without it sticking out of the fender and/or rubbing, and I still think it won't be enough for the front end to clear the caliper. I think it should fit the back with no problems though. I'm trying to source a company to make an adapter with the correct center bore for the MINI hub, and the correct center bore for this wheel. Problem is, you want custom, you pay the premium for custom, which means over $100 for a custom adapter alone (without having to put hub centering rings separately). If it doesn't fit the front even with the adapter, I would probably have to buy another jack so you can raise up one side of the car at the same time to move the rear wheel to the front, so you can fit the spare to the back. I'll have to get this adapter first before knowing anything else. Stay tuned!

 

Great work Shoof! Nice to see that there is some sort of option out there. Even with a little work, this is a better option than none at all. I also am very interested in a spare as I will be going to 19's soon(non RF's). My wife is most concerned as well. This is the new car she takes on trips. It has to be reliable & road worthy, not having a spare in the NY/Tristate area is a gamble. These roads suck.

I think this is a much better solution than the rear mount tire rack that would turn my slick CM into a Jeep. (and not just visually detract from my CM 's appearance, but add more wt. at the worst area).



So, with a full car.. What do you do with the OE wheel when the spare is on?
you move some of those bags to your kids laps, below their feet & into the lower storage area where the compact was. You then stand up the OE wheel behind the seats.
(if you couldnt figure that out, I wouldnt head into Yellowstone, let alone these not very Mini CM threads. )

 

So the tire requires a special type of rim design?

 

Unknown, I have no idea, but will most likely cross that bridge if the time comes. If the lug pattern adapter still won't work, I can find either a 15x3.5 or 15x6.5 hub centric/correct pattern BMW spare wheel that I can try to mount it on. It is possible to dismount and remount the wheel, just don't know how hard it would be, but in my experience (I have a tire mounting machine and know how to use it), I would imagine it might be a tedious experience to dismount and remount a tire that essentially has no sidewall because it's folded over while trying to dismount/remount onto another wheel. FWIW, this wheel width is 4.58", definitely an oddball size. This 165 section width tire should fit a 3.5 or 6.5 with no difficulty, though.

See why this can be a genius idea, but requires a lot of thought, a lot of trial and error, and mixing and matching different components means it 'aint gonna be cheap to do! I'm willing to do this for myself, but will others be willing to pay up for an excellent idea for their CM?

 

 

IIRC Porsche 944 "Space Master" spares were 5x120 as well, BUT 15".... IDK what the inflated diameter was though. Offset could probably be made to work.

Usually on a heavy steel 5.5x15" rim unless from a 944turbo, which got an alloy rim.

Most were never used, and yes I'd trust a 20(?) year old spare for a few miles at low speed vs. walking.

I think it'd be worth looking in to (too bad the 924 4-bolt had different spacing than the R50/53...)

 

s customer adapter for the MB compact spare to CM is in the works. Hub centric with extended studs. This will allow fitment for the spare on the rear of the CM. The front brake caliper & spare rim design would call for a ~45mm adapter. Which is certainly possible, but with the low ET of the spare, that puts the rim out really far. The adapter in the works is smaller & clears the rear fine.
So, if you have a rear flat, its a simple exchange of wheels(spare w/ adapter).
If you have a flat in the front, you simply place the spare on the rear, take the good rear wheel & swap to the front.
*Doesnt require any additional jacks, stands, etc. What may be required is an additional wrench to tighten the M12 nuts on the spare. (an extendable rachet, breaker bar or multi-size lug-tool like a Gorilla wrench will be needed). The adapter may be sourced with M12 open end bolts that use a 17mm wrench.

stay Tuned!

 

Getting there!




This is with a custom 22mm adapter that changes the pattern from 5x120 to 5x112 that this wheel is. It will fit the back with no problems at a 22mm width, but for the front, will hit the brake caliper. At this moment if I were to get a flat in front, I can always move a wheel from the back to the front and put the spare on the back with no problems. However we're in the process of sourcing a few additional spacers to see how much more we can push the wheel out the clear the caliper without hitting the fender during normal driving/spring compression.

Very close to the (front wheel) caliper, but it clears with an additional 12-15mm spacer, which is being sourced to see what we can get away with..

 

I wouldn't sweat 1/4 inch clearance or even 1/8" clearance. If your wheel is flexing that much, it's going to break anyway. I ran my miata with that much with no problems:

 

Do you think a 15 inch rim will clear the rear brakes? I found a collapsable spare in the yard from a nissan. It will also require an adapter/spacer to change the bolt pattern, but its a 15 inch rim. Tire on it is a yokahama 155/90-15.

 

Here is a thread that talks about the dismounting/remounting of those space saver tires. If you can find a proper width wheel, it should not be a problem.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsc...tml?perpage=20

 

the Adapter kit for a MB Compact Folding Spare is now readily Available!
It will clear both F & R Calipers on the CM, incl. S/ALL4 models.
Sourcing the MB spare is as easy as going to eBay.
I am also now equipped w/ the solution. It fits under my storage tray quite nicely.

*keep in mind that a suitable rim will not only have to clear offset wise, but will require a matching hub-centric centerbore as well. Then the total inflated diameter will have to be a pretty close match to the original MINI diameter as well. Pretty much, unless its a compact folding design, it wont fit in the hatch storage area(under flat load floor)

 

Hard to say. In my case here, I needed a spacer because of the very low offset of the spare wheel.

 

Please give more info about the "Adapter Kit" & how to get one & $

 

They are available from TDNparts.com

 

Thanks, will check-out the web site you listed! Wish to know if adapter will work on both rear & front when needed?

 

so where the heck can we buy the tire/rim!? can't find it anywhere except one place on ebay that doesnt ship to the US. anyone?