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      11-20-2011, 08:12 PM   #1
goomooky
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X3 run flat tyres spare wheel

Have just bought 2011 X3 with the run flat tyre system, and NO SPARE tyre.

Am planning a trip outback, and will certainly need a "normal" spare.

can I use say a older X3 Rim and standard tyre as a spare to fit on the new X3's wheel if necessary . I presume the bolt 5 / 120 is the same. Are the bolts the same?
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      11-20-2011, 08:54 PM   #2
Nayook
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I understand

goomooky I can understand your concern.
I have been in between Uluru and Warburton Mission in WA with a flat (in a Land Rover) and had spare wheels, and inner tubes. Easy enough to fix.

But I can't see BMW roadside assist coming out to help out there or even into say Wollemi National park where you are unlikely to have mobile phone contact.

I know a dealer who may have a spare 17" wheel for a F25 from a trade in, if interested I can give you his contact details.

I know there are patching kits etc but if a tyre is ripped open you're in trouble. A proper spare or spare inner tube (if suitable) are options.
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      11-21-2011, 03:08 AM   #3
brissim
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For my full size spare, I ended up getting a matching BMW wheel - it was the simplest solution.

Be aware you could run into problems in finding a matching conventional (ie non runflat) tyre. Because of the limited range of tyre sizes available in Australia, as far as I'm aware the only commonly available tyre size is the 225/60/17 tyre of the 304 & 305 style wheel. The 245mm tread width is very uncommon in Australia. If you want a matching tyre for your spare you may have to settle for a matching runflat spare - if you can locate one. 8 months after the F25 X3 was released in Australia, neither the Dunlop or Goodyear Australia websites are showing the availability of the F25's OEM tyres. You may need to go through your BMW dealer.

Because of these issues, I ended up ditching the runflats all together and have 5 conventional tyres of a different tyre size (235/60/17 rather than the OEM 245/55/17) which is a more commonly available tyre size here in Oz.

And if you do end up with a spare, don't forget you also will need a jack and suitable lug wrench. And read the very informative threads on this forum about changing wheels and consider getting (if you don't already have) a suitable jack mounting tool and tyre hangers.

Tony

Last edited by brissim; 11-21-2011 at 03:09 AM.. Reason: spelling
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      11-22-2011, 09:29 PM   #4
goomooky
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That's good advice - It may be best to get one or two rims with normal tyres fitted as spares. Hopefully there is a BMW "normal" rim and tyre that can bolt onto the F25 in liew of the rim with run flats. Needs a bit more investigation.

Regards,
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      11-22-2011, 09:31 PM   #5
goomooky
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Dear Colojim,

Will keep that in mind. May need to do a bit more research on this first.

REGARDS,
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      01-24-2012, 05:19 PM   #6
goomooky
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fj toyota for outback

Seem like a lot of trouble getting spare wheels/tyres for the F25 X3.
I'm looking at buying a new FJ toyota for my out of the way travels, and leave the BMW for city/ local driving.

It seems the FJ is more rugged and better suited to outback conditions, has a proper spare tyre etc..., and seems relatively comfortable inside.

Pity though it hasnt got a Diesel Option (as yet anyway).

Any thoughts of this option as I'm looking at 50K

Goomooky
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      01-24-2012, 11:35 PM   #7
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Hi All

X3 is still on the water but also looking into fifth wheel. Dunlop / Goodyear have only the Dunlop MAXX RFT in stock in the 245/50R18 size. Bobjane can do Pirelli in both FFT and ordinary $100 difference in price!! and both Kuhmo and Yokohama in conventional. The Kuhmo look attractive.

At this stage we have decided to buy one BMW 308 wheel and two tyres so we have five identical wheels and a backup tyre so we dot have to wait somewhere for a week for a replacement tyre. But havn't decided on on RFT or ordinaries.

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      01-25-2012, 05:11 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by goomooky View Post
Seem like a lot of trouble getting spare wheels/tyres for the F25 X3.
I'm looking at buying a new FJ toyota for my out of the way travels, and leave the BMW for city/ local driving.

It seems the FJ is more rugged and better suited to outback conditions, has a proper spare tyre etc..., and seems relatively comfortable inside.

Pity though it hasnt got a Diesel Option (as yet anyway).

Any thoughts of this option as I'm looking at 50K

Goomooky
One thing about the automatic FJ is it's only part time 4wd, I don't know if that's important to you or not, but only the manual trans is full time and I'm not sure if that's available in Australia.

If you really want a diesel, the Prado uses the exact same chassis, although it'll be a bit more.

I've had my FJ for going on 5 years and it hasn't given me any issues, tons of parts for it if you need to beef it up starting with ARB. Still, it's a bunch of money just to have a couple of spare tires. But you gain a low range with it and much better offroad ability.
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      01-26-2012, 04:39 PM   #9
brissim
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KF View Post
Hi All

X3 is still on the water but also looking into fifth wheel. Dunlop / Goodyear have only the Dunlop MAXX RFT in stock in the 245/50R18 size. Bobjane can do Pirelli in both FFT and ordinary $100 difference in price!! and both Kuhmo and Yokohama in conventional. The Kuhmo look attractive.

At this stage we have decided to buy one BMW 308 wheel and two tyres so we have five identical wheels and a backup tyre so we dot have to wait somewhere for a week for a replacement tyre. But havn't decided on on RFT or ordinaries.

KF
KF - first of all - well done for doing some basic "due diligence" on the replacement tyre situation for the F25 here in Australia. Absolutely loving our X3 and for those who spend a far bit of their time outside a State capital, you really need to understand the situation regarding replacement tyres for the F25. It is good to see some suitable tyres beginning to be available in retail stores (as opposed to just BMW dealers) although it would be a little worrying to some that this only extends to a single tyre size.

Just put my 2cents worth in on the runflats vs conventional tyres. Besides the obvious pluses for conventional over runflats of greater availability and ride comfort, one other you may consider is the wear life. The OEM runflats on the F25 are - from what I've read in reviews - very good tyres. But they are road-orientated performance tyres. While that translates into phenominal road holding and traction, the downside is reduced mileage. One of the secondary reasons why I switched to conventional tyres was that I wanted more of a "cross-over" type tyre - not a full blown all terrain or off-road tyre, but just something more at home on gravel roads with increased mileage. As an indication, the OEM runflats I had taken off (Goodyear Excellance) only had a wear rating of 220 - ie fairly low. The conventional tyres I now have on (Pirelli Scorptions) have a 420 wear rating - ie much more "middle of the road".

So while there is only a $100 difference per tyre between the runflats and the conventional, you could end up replaceing the OEM runflats more often. Just a thought.

Hope you enjoy or X3 as much as we have.

Tony
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      02-03-2012, 02:08 PM   #10
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five wheels

Hi Tony

What tyre did you use? Are you on 18 inch rims?

We are still undecided wether to put another run flat on the fifth rim, do the RFT's have any advantages or would we be better off going to not RFT and getting the better ride?

With both RFT and not RFT there is little choice in styles, most are high performance soft compound tyres so will wear quickly.

Any other comments opinions are welcome.

KF
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      02-03-2012, 10:52 PM   #11
brissim
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KF View Post
Hi Tony

What tyre did you use? Are you on 18 inch rims?

We are still undecided wether to put another run flat on the fifth rim, do the RFT's have any advantages or would we be better off going to not RFT and getting the better ride?

With both RFT and not RFT there is little choice in styles, most are high performance soft compound tyres so will wear quickly.

Any other comments opinions are welcome.

KF
KF - the non-runflats I have on are Pirelli Scorpion Zero 235/60/17 on (obviously) 17" wheels. At the time of placing my order I made the delibrate decision to down spec my wheels to 17" (18" are standard on the 30d) because I wanted to maximise ride comfort with the higher profile tyres. As it has turned out I probably made the right descision because there happens to be somewhat better range of tyre options for the 17" wheels than the 18". Even in the OEM 225/60/17 size there were suitable tyres from Bridgestone and Yokohama. However, because I had a personal preference for Pirellis, I made the decison to actually move to a non-standard tyre size with the 235/60/17s because the Scorpion Zeros were available. I would have preferred Scorption STRs but at the time they were not available in Australia (they are now). Other options in this tyre size are from Bridgestone, Yokohama and Kumho. So there is a much greater variety available - and they are all proper SUV tyres - not road-biased performance tyres. Its my understanding things are much more difficult for 18" tyres.

Note that this tyre size I'm using is actually oversize - 714mm OD vs 702mm OD for the reference tyre. Because its still within the +/-15mm allowed for in State laws (its +15/-26mm in QLD), its still legal. The only thing I have to watch out for is that my speedo reads about 2% low.

On the issue of runflats vs conventional - it really is a situation of you looking at your own situation and working out what is best for yourself and your family. My major objection to runflats is that with the amount of country driving we do, there is just no support for either the repair or replacment of runflats outside of the State capitals. Admittedly, the option of having a runflat as a spare overcomes that issue. It would also have the advantage of you only needing to load it into your car when you go on a trip. In my situation with conventional tyres and a full size spare, I have to carry the spare around with me the whole time. For me, that not an issue - but it may be for others.

Likewise, ride comfort on runflats is a very subjective issue. No doubt there are many people on this forum to whom the ride comfort is not a problem. However in our case we found during the test drives that ride comfort was simply not acceptable for what is a luxury vehicle. But we loved the car so much - especially the 30d engine - that we were not going to let the issue of the runflats deter us from getting the X3. The end result - on 17" conventional tyres - is a car with better ride comfort than our previous ride (a MY05 Volvo XC70) and still miles ahead on handling and performance.

I hope some of this helps you with what you want to do. Again I think the key issue here is what solution is best for your own situation.

Tony
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