What size spare fits in the trunk / boot

Barry.b

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Hi guys
I am just wondering if anyone has any advice on what spare wheel is normally used if using BBS RC090 alloys on the car.
I am assuming that a 5th BBS RC090 would not fit in the spare wheel well , is that correct ??
 
Okay thanks, a guy near me is selling either 5 or 4 wheels , depending on how many I want .
I already have 4 older alloys from a bmw f10 and 4 alloys from a triumph stag in my yard ,
So if I buy the bbs alloys , I will then have my original e9 alloys in my yard also.
So if I don’t need 5 Bbs alloys , I might just buy 4.
I already own too many wheels :)
Thanks.
 
Oh dear ,
I understand what you mean.
The reason I have 4 f10 alloys laying around is that 3 of them have cracked rims because of run flat tyres and potholes.
 
I went on a 6500 mile road trip a few years ago with RC090's on my Bav so I just put an extra RC090 wheel and tire in the trunk. Sure enough, somewhere in Texas I had a valve stem fail, got a flat and ruined the tire. Put on the spare RC090 and kept on trucking. Bought another tire somewhere along the border and never had any other tire problems in spite of some of the road conditions in Mexico.
 
I have never been to Mexico .
But I can imagine that the roads could be tough alright.
Good call, bringing your spare wheel !!
 
in the coupe, its not the diameter of the wheel that creates the problem ... its the width of the tire. 195 width fits ... 205 width is close. 215 and wider doesn't fit within the wheel well and allow the floor boards to fit flush in their standard position. it does strike me that you might be able to shim the fixed panels a bit higher to allow them to fit with a wider wheel / tire. i have NOT experimented with this idea to see if it works or not.

with the rc090, i would buy a 15" style 5 wheel (one piece) that came on some of the mid 80's to mid 90's 5 series. it looks close enough. or if money isn't too much of an object buy a bbs rs 16" and put a narrower barrel so the wheel is only 6" wide ... and put a narrower tire that is a 195 width but a slightly higher profile so it has the correct diameter.
 
This is my 2002 with a 13 x 5 spare wheel (original) but with a 185/70 tire (orig was 165). Rolling diameter is original but width is about an inch more. I wound up cutting a circle out of the floorboard so it would lie flat. Not ideal but one workaround.

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in the coupe, its not the diameter of the wheel that creates the problem ... its the width of the tire. 195 width fits ... 205 width is close. 215 and wider doesn't fit within the wheel well and allow the floor boards to fit flush in their standard position. it does strike me that you might be able to shim the fixed panels a bit higher to allow them to fit with a wider wheel / tire. i have NOT experimented with this idea to see if it works or not.

with the rc090, i would buy a 15" style 5 wheel (one piece) that came on some of the mid 80's to mid 90's 5 series. it looks close enough. or if money isn't too much of an object buy a bbs rs 16" and put a narrower barrel so the wheel is only 6" wide ... and put a narrower tire that is a 195 width but a slightly higher profile so it has the correct diameter.
wondering outloud if the standard rs 7" wheel with a 195 / 60 - 16 would fit ... or even a 6.5" wide rs. the diameter of the tire is 25.2" which is slightly bigger than the 195/70-14 (24.7") ... but the width is the same (7.9")
 
This is my 2002 with a 13 x 5 spare wheel (original) but with a 185/70 tire (orig was 165). Rolling diameter is original but width is about an inch more. I wound up cutting a circle out of the floorboard so it would lie flat. Not ideal but one workaround.

View attachment 135806
That actually looks really nice
and very neatly done !
I’m not sure I’m brave enough to try it myself though :)
 
I have 205 60 15s on my car, I bought a fifth Wed just in case I damaged one of the four on the car. The spare is indeed too fat, so I have the spare partially deflated and I carry a portable air compressor.
 
i am going to run the 15" oz alpina style wheels, but i will just use the '74 - 14" FPS alpina style wheel as my spare. sooner or later i will either go with bbs rs 16's or bbs rc090 17's with a RS 16 as a spare
 
wondering outloud if the standard rs 7" wheel with a 195 / 60 - 16 would fit ... or even a 6.5" wide rs. the diameter of the tire is 25.2" which is slightly bigger than the 195/70-14 (24.7") ... but the width is the same (7.9")
here is an 8x16 alpina that I had cut down to 6x16. You could use a 6.5” wheel with a narrow tire. You’ll just have to raise the floor boards a 1/2” and adjust the size to fill in the gaps at the fenders.
 

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here is an 8x16 alpina that I had cut down to 6x16. You could use a 6.5” wheel with a narrow tire. You’ll just have to raise the floor boards a 1/2” and adjust the size to fill in the gaps at the fenders.
Okay
I am just curious , how do you make a 8” wheel, 2 inches narrower ? is your alpina a split rim now ?
 
The wheel was already damaged so it needed to be repaired. The shop cut it in half and then cut it down 2 inches to make it fit. The tire/wheel are true and balance out.
That’s good engineering.
Did they weld the 2 “half’s “ back together then ?
I wonder as it is a spare and welded , do they recommend when using it that you proceed at a lower speed until you can get your punctured wheel fixed.
 
That’s good engineering.
Did they weld the 2 “half’s “ back together then ?
I wonder as it is a spare and welded , do they recommend when using it that you proceed at a lower speed until you can get your punctured wheel fixed.
It was welded beautifully and could be driven without issue.
 
Widening and narrowing wheels is a fairly popular trick among the hot rod and other car cultures here in the states. There are several companies who can provide this service for reasonable fees. Typically around $350/wheel when I had two 17” style 32 wheels widened from 9” to 10” for one of my e24 cars. My prices might be a bit out of date .....

I love OCC Coupe’s solution to having a visually matching spare that will also fit the spare wheel well.
 
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