Spare wheel check

My in-laws used to as well mate. The tyre game is a very cut-throat business these days and profit margins are very competitive.

Tony.
 
That is why my mate has a good client base as he does not rip people off.
He will look at things first and then tell you what you need to have done, at no charge, and if you don't like it, go some where else.
 
That's what I call good, old fashioned service. A rare thing these days.:(

Tony.
 
the Nefyn cat said:
Evening all, just tried to zoom in on the tyre pictures up above but I can't quite make it out, if you look at your tyres you'll find a date code on them. This particular tyre seems to be 4301, this means the tyre was made in the 43rd week of 2001, like I said I can't quite make it out but if this is correct the tyre is way past it's use-by date (generally reckoned to be about 5 or 6 years). You'll have to have a close look yourself, but this will tell you how old the tyre is.
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Hi Cat, its too cold and dark to go and check, but that date would tie in with the build date of my car. I'm not planning on using the wheel again. I note that there are loads of used examples of these spacesavers for sale on the bay with no mention of their age by the sellers....:shifty:
 
Just to add, I used the gunk on a Merc I had and forgot all about it and drove around for about six months with no problems before I remembered to go and get the tyre fixed.........
 
My spare looked much like this (see first post in thread) when I checked last year. Searched for a replacement tyre and could not find one on the net. Seems I was not alone and best advice was to change to a later 16" rim and reduce the profile. Don't remember the details now but will have to address the issue soon. Crossed fingers don't work so well when you have a flat. I keep a small compressor in the boot for minor emergency use but it would be a rescue call out if anything major happened to my tyres
 
There are pros and cons to both solutions. If nothing else, hopefully this thread will prompt a lot of our newer members to check and come to a decision before it happens rather than be stuck at the side of the road.:)
 
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I would say it's about 50/50 in the real world. By that I mean we do get a lot of people who come in on the space saver, but equally we get many who either drive in on the flat ( if they're local- I know, idiots) or call us out to them or in the main use their AA, Green Flag or whatever cover they get included with their insurance to piggy back them into the tyre centre. There can't be many easier spare wheels to remove in the pi$$ing rain than the Z3=))

Tony.
 
To answer the question about below, it looks like a bump stop to protect the rear upper arm slamming against the chassis/body during extreme driving over crests/hills n stuff....
IMG_1338.jpg
 
Cheers Baz, i'm relieved it has a car related purpose!

I've been following your thread on the restoration of the ///M, top work, hope to see it out on the road or at some of the shows. :thumbsup:
 
Daz999 said:
Cheers Baz, i'm relieved it has a car related purpose!

I've been following your thread on the restoration of the ///M, top work, hope to see it out on the road or at some of the shows. :thumbsup:
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No worries, bit of a guess but that's what it looks like, similar function to a bump stop in a shock absorber. Regarding the shoes about Eire and NI, you must keep me updated as I'm garbage at remembering these dates. Cheers.
 
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One of the early jobs I did on my Z3 was to check the spare. (mine's early 1998 M44) It looked as if the spare had never been taken out but it was badly rusted and attempts to tidy it up failed miserably. I gave up and bought another BMW skinny wheel off eBay. I did give it a couple of coats of Hermetite and it looks grim but hopefully it won't rust too quickly.
Just for interest I thought I'd have a go at removing the tyre on the original spare. I managed this by carefully squeezing along the bead where the tyre fits the rim using my 6" vice. (care needed here) I managed to break the seal and got the tyre off using tyre levers.
I've tried to remove normal wheel tyres off rims and failed each time. Has anybody had any success at removing tyres? (I know the sensible approach is to take the wheel to the tyre shop but I can't resist having a go.....)
 
Sailorbaz said:
To answer the question about below, it looks like a bump stop to protect the rear upper arm slamming against the chassis/body during extreme driving over crests/hills n stuff....
IMG_1338.jpg
Click to expand...

Good but not quite, there are two of these that hold the spare wheel in situ under the car, when you push your spare wheel carrier back in and upwards the wheel sits against these stops.
 
Brian H said:
Good but not quite, there are two of these that hold the spare wheel in situ under the car, when you push your spare wheel carrier back in and upwards the wheel sits against these stops.
Click to expand...

Good man Brian, thanks you. Very polite way of correcting me, I appreciate that. On some other forums I use I'd have been called several different names and told I was useless and should be burned in hell for such an error. Cheers.
 
Mint you are right...... I got my Hermetite and Hammerite mixed up....
Another senior moment.
I claim the Plonker of the Week title!!
 
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