[southpaw92]

Hey everyone, I want to hear about your experience with F30 when going on long road trip (>500 miles). Do you carry spare/space saver tire or just rely on road side assistance to prepare for an unfortunate event of a flat tire.

Any relevant custom tire prep and anecdotes are welcome. Looking forward to hear from experienced bimmer owners!

[frazervalley]

Welcome to the forum. If you do a search for F30 spare tire on the general forum in the blue banner at the top of the screen, plus the tire and wheels section of the forum on the home page, you will find lots of information.

Personally, I have go flat tires with a repair kit and an electric air pump stored in the well in the trunk. I have another vehicle with a spare for longer road trips.

[Billfitz]

I have a tire repair kit, which I've used twice already on punctures in only 17,000 miles. It's in the car, along with jack, pump and so forth, all the time. For trips out of town I have a compact spare that I put in the trunk, since I can't count on having a puncture where it's convenient to stop and fix it.

[chowser51]

If I stay in town all I have is a puncture repair kit with inflator. If something worse happens, I get free tows from a local company (good to know the owner). If I’m going on a trip, I will throw a jack and full size spare in the car. I have an extra wheel and my tires are not directional.

[southpaw92]

Originally Posted by frazervalley

Personally, I have go flat tires with a repair kit and an electric air pump stored in the well in the trunk. I have another vehicle with a spare for longer road trips.

I also have run-flat tires. Does the repair kit work for them as well? You can tell from my question that I am complete newbie to owning a car

[Shred Sled]

I was also weary of longer road trips even though I have the mobility kit. I just purchased a spare for my F31 from a fellow CCA member. He had purchased it from Bimmerzone. It’s an 18” steel wheel w/Maaxis 145/70 tire.

A fellow Bimmerpost member had also used an alloy wheel from an F01/02, F25 as he did not want a steel wheel or have to use the centering ring. Both set-ups fit over the blue M sport calipers.

[frazervalley]

Originally Posted by southpaw92

I also have run-flat tires. Does the repair kit work for them as well? You can tell from my question that I am complete newbie to owning a car

Sorry for the confusion, I do not have run flats. I called them go flats because if they lose air, they go flat. You cannot drive on them if they are flat.

I have no experience with repairing run flats.

[SantaEugence]

Originally Posted by Shred Sled

I was also weary of longer road trips even though I have the mobility kit. I just purchased a spare for my F31 from a fellow CCA member. He had purchased it from Bimmerzone. It’s an 18” steel wheel w/Maaxis 145/70 tire.

A fellow Bimmerpost member had also used an alloy wheel from an F01/02, F25 as he did not want a steel wheel or have to use the centering ring. Both set-ups fit over the blue M sport calipers.

Got a link to the alloy option? Think I'm switching to non runflats and will be considering this too

[johnung]

Originally Posted by southpaw92

Hey everyone, I want to hear about your experience with F30 when going on long road trip (>500 miles). Do you carry spare/space saver tire or just rely on road side assistance to prepare for an unfortunate event of a flat tire.

Any relevant custom tire prep and anecdotes are welcome. Looking forward to hear from experienced bimmer owners!

I carry a full sized spare, especially on trips. If we are traveling we are on a schedule so we don't have the time to hunt down a tire repair or the correct new tire. So a temporary spare wouldn't work for us.

Also carry in trunk under floor compartment Slime 8-minute Kit, $45 at Walmart. From Harbor Freight: $25 scissor jack with top that fits BMW jack point, breaker bar and 17mm socket. Cheap work gloves. I'll try to attach photo but Bimmerpost has been buggy!

[Shred Sled]

Here’s the link to the alloy spare tire build:

https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...ht=145%2F70R18

[southpaw92]

Originally Posted by johnung

I carry a full sized spare, especially on trips. If we are traveling we are on a schedule so we don't have the time to hunt down a tire repair or the correct new tire. So a temporary spare wouldn't work for us.

Also carry in trunk under floor compartment Slime 8-minute Kit, $45 at Walmart. From Harbor Freight: $25 scissor jack with top that fits BMW jack point, breaker bar and 17mm socket. Cheap work gloves. I'll try to attach photo but Bimmerpost has been buggy!

johnung do you have run-flat tires? Or know if the Slime kit works for run-flat tires as well?

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by frazervalley

I have no experience with repairing run flats.

You repair them just like go flats. Tire manufacturers advise against it, only because if you drive on a RFT too far with too little pressure there can be sidewall damage that's invisible, so even after being patched that damage may lead to eventual failure. IMO, so what? The only difference with a go flat is if you drive on them too far at too low a pressure the tire will shred and/or come off the rim.

I have Slime in my car too, but I'd only use it as a measure of last resort. It's not permanent, so you'll end up having to plug the leak eventually anyway.

[johnung]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

You repair them just like go flats. Tire manufacturers advise against it, only because if you drive on a RFT too far with too little pressure there can be sidewall damage that's invisible, so even after being patched that damage may lead to eventual failure. IMO, so what? The only difference with a go flat is if you drive on them too far at too low a pressure the tire will shred and/or come off the rim.

I have Slime in my car too, but I'd only use it as a measure of last resort. It's not permanent, so you'll end up having to plug the leak eventually anyway.

A BMW mechanic buddy cautioned me when I had a bubble in my runflat sidewall from a pothole. (Although a BMW mechanic at my local dealer said it wasn't bad and to wait until it got worse before replacing tire.)

My buddy advised me to replace tire right away. He said that the runflat sidewall materials are so sharp that he has seen a damaged tire unravel while being driven and destroy everything in the wheel well. Suspension, brakes, dampers, springs, fender every component had to be replaced. He said he couldn't believe how bad it was.

[dan of montana]

I'll probably get a flat for saying this.... but, non-run flat tires and:


Routinely - maintain correct tire pressure checked with an actual gauge.

Long trips - visual inspection of sidewalls and tread, double check tire pressure.

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by johnung

My buddy advised me to replace tire right away. He said that the runflat sidewall materials are so sharp that he has seen a damaged tire unravel while being driven and destroy everything in the wheel well.

The runflat sidewall material is mainly hard rubber, but at sufficient speed even that can cause a lot of damage. I would replace an RFT with sidewall bubbling, because it will fail eventually, and invariably not while parked in your driveway.