[jad03060]

FWIW, on one new car (not a BMW), there was a space saver spare, but they offered a full-sized one as an option...at the time, I decided to go for it, but also found that it significantly decreased the trunk space since they added a spacer around the entire tire well to let the floor covering sit flat...you don't get anything free. I never needed that spare, lost the trunk volume, and carried around that extra weight for years before I sold the vehicle.

The PHEV's tire well space is instead filled with the gas tank, with some of the batteries beneath that keeping that added weight down low. Those that opt for the third row, when available, are in the same boat.

[Photographer918]

Originally Posted by alanzyy

Have anyone considered a full size spare? Would that be excessive?

AFAIK, most tire shop no longer stock a large variety of tires on site; they order thru the supply system which in most case take between half to one day to arrive for common tire size. For tire size that is more rare, it would take at least two to three days to get one delivered thru the supply chain.

Anyone know if bmw dealership tends to stock common X5 20” tire size? Common by BMW standards (as x5 is one of most sold bmw) but definitely not that common for tire shop (not at Tesla / Toyota level) to keep stock of such tires.

I’m on my third road trip to National Parks in the Rockies - there’s often no cell service. I’ve got a full-size spare in my trunk, and tools in the under trunk. If you clean the rim, and drop it in with the hole facing up, it becomes a 20 inch diameter tub to pack with stuff you’re carrying. I’ve got an air compressor in mine. That leaves you with a roughly foot wide L-shaped space along one side and in front of the tailgate for luggage. We managed to fiit Two 57 liter duffels, a couple of camera bags, and a couple of other smaller bags under the cargo cover - and it was enough for a 34 night road trip…..

[eelnoraa]

Originally Posted by Photographer918

I’m on my third road trip to National Parks in the Rockies - there’s often no cell service. I’ve got a full-size spare in my trunk, and tools in the under trunk. If you clean the rim, and drop it in with the hole facing up, it becomes a 20 inch diameter tub to pack with stuff you’re carrying. I’ve got an air compressor in mine. That leaves you with a roughly foot wide L-shaped space along one side and in front of the tailgate for luggage. We managed to fiit Two 57 liter duffels, a couple of camera bags, and a couple of other smaller bags under the cargo cover - and it was enough for a 34 night road trip…..

May I ask what jack do you use? If you also bring a long a floor jack, it will eat that L shape 1ft wide space as well.

[aaaaaaaaaz]

My most typical roadtrip use case is in the winter to Tahoe and even further ski resorts; where in normal condition it is civilized but whenever there is snow things become a bit ugly.

Learnt from experience that a donuts spare won’t help when condition is slippery. Also, road hazard are quite common where sidewall damage is more concerning than slow leak.

Sounds like only full size would be a useful backup; but that is take quite a lot of space ; otherwise just hope the best and rely on tow service which may take forever.

[Photographer918]

Originally Posted by eelnoraa

May I ask what jack do you use? If you also bring a long a floor jack, it will eat that L shape 1ft wide space as well.

It's a scissor jack. The plan is to drive the runlet out, if a flat happens, and to call for roadside assistance if that's an option. Actually changing the wheel is a last resort - well me doing it is a last resort.... :-)

[Gadgetluva]

Whether or not you want to carry a spare tire is entirely a personal choice. I carried one on my recent cross country road trip where I was driving through parts of the country where it was fairly far from a service center, and the total miles driven in this trip was around 5000. I have a 2023 45e, so no room for a spare under the cargo area. So here’s what I did:

• Got a spare tire from a seller on these forums that came with the full factory kit
• Got a spare tire cover
• Loaded the spare tire in the cargo area and strapped it down using the anchor points and some small ratchet straps
• I also installed a Travall cargo guard to keep luggage/cargo from spilling into the cabin under hard braking scenarios. You never know what can happen on the road. I especially didn’t want a 30lb spare tire finding its way into the cabin.

I took every precaution to be safe while on the road, and luckily my road trips have gone well. I don’t always carry a spare - it depends on what parts of the country I’m driving through - but always have an air compressor on me so that I can pump up the tires if there’s a slow leak periodically to get me to a service center.

Be warned that the spare tire will eat up a good amount of storage space in your car, but it’s also great for peace of mind.

[cptcolo]

Originally Posted by alanzyy

For people with cars without spare tire option, especially PHEV that cannot option with spare, what would you do on roadtrip?

- Do you carry an after-market spare tire solution like modernspare? Where do you store it?

- Do you carry a tire repair kit?

- Do you keep RFT or get rid of the RFT?

- Do you rely on roadside emergency service to tow the car? What plan/service do you use? AAA? BMW? thru insurance?

- When things go wrong and tire need to be replaced, how hard it is to find a suitable tire? Would a RFT make it much harder to find / take longer time to order than non-RFT counterpart?

I have a 2023 X5 45e and have non run-flat max performance summer tires on my car (the excellent Michelin Pilot Sport 5). I do not carry a spare, just 2 bottles of "FlatOut Tire Sealant Sportsman Formula", a manual bike bump, tire pressure gage, some Gorilla Tape, and pair of my favorite work gloves in the back under trunk storage area in case anything goes wrong.

The FlatOut Tire Sealant Sportsman Formula claims to seal punctures up to 1/2" in diameter (ProjectFarm tested this and confirmed), but I have not tested this myself. For most people, anelectric pump would be better easier, but I use the bike bump for bikes too, it does take many pumps to inflate car tires ( 100+ depending on the pressure). I also bring the Gorilla Tape as more of a last resort to fix or mend anything that might have gotten damaged.

Even if I had runflats, I would keep these things in my car.

[JMD]

Originally Posted by drich

If the tread depth is over 3/32 difference all tires need to be replaced on a AWD car.

Sir, may I inquire about the source of the above? For the most part, BMW says the difference in Rotation between the axles should not be greater than 1%! Will a 3/32 difference in tread depth present greater than a 1% between the rotational difference of the 4 tires (axles)?

[Gene Horr]

Originally Posted by JMD

Sir, may I inquire about the source of the above? For the most part, BMW says the difference in Rotation between the axles should not be greater than 1%! Will a 3/32 difference in tread depth present great than a 1% between the rotational difference of the 4 tires (axles)?

Looks like 1% circumference difference works out to about 5/32 for a tire with a 31" overall diameter. 3/32 would only apply to very tiny wheels. Like 12" rim size.

[chrisado]

I have come around to appreciating the run flats. I do road trips to my cabin which has 60km of rough gravel road and no cell service. I had a blow out from a large rock that created a gash in the side wall of the runflat. I could actually insert my hand inside the tire. It was pitch black outside, bears in the area etc. I decided to keep driving another 50km to the cabin. The next morning, I checked the wheel out - no rim damge and the tire was still intact on the rim. The downside of these runflats is ypu can only go max100km on them safely but that is the same for any compact spare. So.. my recommendation is to bring a full size spare for roadtrips involving rough roads and remote locations. I still stick with run flats because I have seen vehicles on this particular road with two flats! Despite the cost of replacements, the performance with such damage was really impressive. It all depends on the type of use though. If I only drove in cities or well maintained roads, I would probably swap out the tires for non run flats.

[nZtiZia]

that’s the thing about RFT versus non-RFT. people’s recommendations are highly biased whether they’re influenced by cost, availability, a feeling of insurance (or not), positive and negative experiences with either type of tire, etc

frankly, it’s annoying when folks adamantly tell folks which way they should go based only on their own experiences. it shouldn’t be that way.

list the pros and cons and present your present experiences as matter of fact then allow the driver decide what they want to do. their ultimate experience will guide their future decisions regarding which tire type is best for their situation