Z3 Spare Tyre
- Thread starter Zephyr
- Start date
I agree the wheel is bound to get filthy where it is and it's like a challenge on the krypton factor to get it out. Surely they could have just made the boot deeper to accommodate it.
Many new cars don't even have a spare (wheel) nowadays. No point. Most drivers don't know where to put the jack and, if they did, they couldn't shift the overtight bolts with that tiny wrench anyway. And all that jumping on the wrench is likely to rock the car off the badly setup jack dropping the car on somebody's foot.
Many manufacturers nowadays save the space and the money and just give you a bottle of that tyre fix/inflate stuff. If you're lucky.
Many manufacturers nowadays save the space and the money and just give you a bottle of that tyre fix/inflate stuff. If you're lucky.
Have you considered putting that carpet on the floor?
That was our first thought, then there was a spate of forum members who had alloy wheels failing miles from home (I think Andyglym was one) and needed the spare to get them out of trouble, so we ended up with both a pump & repair kit & a spare wheel! Belt & Braces.
Of course the roads around Athens may be smooth & well maintained in which case that's unlikely to be a problem. The roads around us have potholes so big people drive into them & are never seen again!
When I first came to the UK to study, back in the 80s, I thought that I would live in a country where people live in castles and drive in their Rolls to the supermarket every Saturday, in streets paved with white marble.That was our first thought, then there was a spate of forum members who had alloy wheels failing miles from home (I think Andyglym was one) and needed the spare to get them out of trouble, so we ended up with both a pump & repair kit & a spare wheel! Belt & Braces.
Of course the roads around Athens may be smooth & well maintained in which case that's unlikely to be a problem. The roads around us have potholes so big people drive into them & are never seen again!
Being quite a “nerd” and dedicated to my studies, I never had the opportunity to travel, not even around the town, so it took me some time to realise the condition of the roads.
so, time passed, I managed to find a part time job, and after my final exams, I finally bought me a car and decided to do the Lands End - John O Groats journey.
So… Here I am, with my overpaid non inspected and probably never serviced during the last five years Ford Capri 1600 GT XL (Because XL is the one to get) starting my journey from Oxford to Lands End and next to me is my future ex-wife Linda who from the beginning thought that this was a very bad idea.
But having paid almost a years salaries for insurance I was quite determined to do this so the journey began.
I could describe with many details a route that was full of quarrel, lots of Cure and Stranglers songs, some snacks and few stops to pee and stretch, the pathetic headlights of the Capri and the darkness in the British B Roads, but this would be a fun part, so let me just say four words:
Pothole-front axle-tree.
And this was the end of my trip and the beginning of a failed marriage.
So, trust me, I know about potholes… learnt about them in a very very hard way.
cheers!
Not surprised you had to come to Britain to learn about potholes, safe to say things haven't improved since. They appear in the most unexpected places 
oops 
oops
Wrapped in an oil stained carpet.
Not surprised you had to come to Britain to learn about potholes, safe to say things haven't improved since. They appear in the most unexpected places
Unexpected placeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaahhh.............
Well, years of junk removed. Thought of removing it completely but not sure yet.
if you know a size that fits, please let me know.
the original size is unobtainable.
I love the fact the Z3 has a spare when none of the later Z4 models do - when I had the Boston Green 2.8 I had need of the spare and was very glad it hadn't been removed. On every Z3 I have owned since then I have always removed the spare cleaned it up and replaced it if necessary but never considered removing it.
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But the wheel you take off won't fit in the boot.
No, to say the puncture/spare wheel arrangement on the Z3 was poorly resolved is an understatement.
No, to say the puncture/spare wheel arrangement on the Z3 was poorly resolved is an understatement.
Shirls old Eos does have a spare, as did my 2002 A4 Avant, but although they’re not space savers in the true sense of the word neither are they full sized alloy wheels that match the other 4.
Tony.
Tony.
Looks to be in fantastic condition. Wouldn’t trust the tyre for anything other than an emergency though. Even if you remove the wheel, don’t get rid of the cage, because otherwise you have a few large holes in the boot floor to deal with. Mine was butchered by a previous owner and the holes closed with duct tape. I need to find some proper grommets to seal it properly. The hole on the right had side let in a little bit of water after I drove it in heavy rain recently.
I keep meaning to inspect mine. I have looked around for new tyres the same size but no luck. Mine must be at least 23 years old.
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2016
- Points
- 208
- Location
- Maybole , South Ayrshire
- Model of Z
- Z3 Individual Dakar / Orinoco Individual
Whether or not you keep your spare really depends on what you use your zed for.
In the Uk a few of us regularly travel to quite remote locations where very few people and generally no phone signal so for myself and a few others its a no brainer to keep the spare wheel set up.
Stephen.
In the Uk a few of us regularly travel to quite remote locations where very few people and generally no phone signal so for myself and a few others its a no brainer to keep the spare wheel set up.
Stephen.