Tire issue is frustrating. Need help with spare options...

So it happened on the freeway driving home. Went over probably a sharp blade like object and it resulted in a nice 2 inch gash. Tire repair was out of question. No one here in Los Angeles had this tire in stock. Rear passenger side. It held enough air to drive me back home but ow it's completely flat. Ordered one from Walmart so as of now, without the i3 for almost a 3 days.

I don't care if I lose trunk space or range but am looking for a suitable wheel tire spare.
Anyone has done this? Can you provide me with a link to a spare wheel and tire combo?

nickp said:

So it happened on the freeway driving home. Went over probably a sharp blade like object and it resulted in a nice 2 inch gash. Tire repair was out of question. No one here in Los Angeles had this tire in stock. Rear passenger side. It held enough air to drive me back home but ow it's completely flat. Ordered one from Walmart so as of now, without the i3 for almost a 3 days.

I don't care if I lose trunk space or range but am looking for a suitable wheel tire spare.
Anyone has done this? Can you provide me with a link to a spare wheel and tire combo?

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First of all, when you got the i3 and knowing that our tires are special and most stores does not carry them in stock, it never crossed your mind the type of situation that you're in right now and planned on it? You could have planned and bought extra ones. That's what I did/most i3 owners AFAIK.

Second, when you said spare wheel/tire, are you looking for any available ones in your area that you can get right away? I doubt that this may be available. Most spare tires matches the specs of our stock wheels and tires you just have to look for the right lug pattern for the wheel.

My solutions for you:
1.) TireRack delivers next day and they're in stock with our tire specs. However, it is Friday so it seems like it will be delivered to you on Monday.

2.) If you don't mind spending money for a full set and not looking for spare, check out this ad:

https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/wto/d/bmw-i3-wheels-tires-6k-miles/6714979392.html

That's what I have as extra set and these will make your i3 look better Make an arrangement with the seller if he is too far from you to see if he delivers and you just for pay for his gas or buy him a case of beer or something. This will solve your issue TODAY and no waiting for 3 days.

nickp said:

I don't care if I lose trunk space or range but am looking for a suitable wheel tire spare.

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You'd also need a BMW jack that fits into an i3's plastic jack points.

You have my sympathy, especially if the i3 is your only car! If that's the case, a spare set of tires may be a good investment. I had a similar situation, but fortunately still had my ICE I could drive.

Thanks for all the replies, suggestions, etc. I do have an ICE but I could have been stranded in the middle of nowhere. Also, the car has different tires in the front and back so I guess keeping one of each is the answer? :shock: Or one can only hope from now on the the most I get are nails and not blades.

I bought a 20" front (more narrow) wheel off ebay and cut some foam to hold a jack, and 17mm socket+handle in the cavity of the rim and used VHB to mount a plastic puck that adapts to the BMW jack point. I wouldn't trust that connection if it had a lot of lateral force on it, but I suspect it would work in most situations. I got a front wheel because, though not ideal, it should function in the back, whereas a back wheel would rub if used in the front.

This isn't something I keep in my car because it would take up a lot of room. I made it thinking if I got a flat that couldn't be plugged, I could have someone bring the kit to me, or use a ride-share and get it myself. Also, I may bring it on a trip from Austin to Colorado, if I ever attempt that.

It is not pretty. I have some pictures, but it seems like a lot of work to post them on here.

A front tire/wheel from a stock i3 can be used in any position (not sure about the i3s), but you wouldn't want to drive it forever with a mismatch in rear sizes, but more than enough to handle a few days as long as you didn't press it. FWIW, if you order winter tires for the car (not something you'd likely do in LA), they are all the narrower, 19" versions.

If you were able to drive it home before it went flat, the OEM compressor and fix a flat may have solved your temporary problem.

Personally, I have a winter set and an all-season set, so I've got some spares around, should I need one. Obviously, that wouldn't help if the tire was severely damaged while away from home, but still possible to resolve. I've only had one flat in a little over 4-years, and luckily, I was near a tire store, and just drove it there. It was dropping fast, so that was lucky otherwise, I'd have had to try the OEM solution, or called a friend to bring me a wheel to swap out.

As mentioned TireRack has the tires in stock, with next day shipping. Most BMW dealers should also have the tires in stock (I checked locally and all three of our BMW Dealers said they had them). If you are the first owner of the car and still under the service plan, BMW Road-Side Assistance (one-button push on the overhead console) will come pick up the car on a flat-bed tow-truck and drop it at the nearest BMW Dealership at no charge. As a second owner, we have towing as part of our car insurance pkg, and keep the emergency-call card in the glove-box. Worst-case, we can have the car towed and dropped in our driveway until we can get a new tire for it, floor-jack it, and take the wheel to the nearest tire shop.

Good to carry is a tire repair plug kit small and repairs most common damage like nails

I hated the idea of fouling my wheel and sensor with tire sealant. I purchased this tire ($164):
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Continental&tireModel=CST+17&partnum=57MR9CST17
and this wheel ($239):
https://www.tirerack.com/wheels/WheelCloseUpServlet?target=runWheelSearch&initialPartNumber=X1050943W645B&wheelMake=Rial&wheelModel=X10-I&wheelFinish=Black+Painted&showRear=yes&selectedRear=X1050943W645B&autoMake=BMW&autoModel=i3&autoYear=2014&autoModClar=Giga+World
I purchased a new BMW E83 X3 jack (which fits into the rectangular under body jack receptacles) with tools on eBay, such as this example:
https://www.ebay.com/p/BMW-E83-X3-Spare-Tire-Car-Lift-Jack-3403642/1523308428?iid=132854543969
It is available from other sellers at a cheaper price. Just make sure the lug wrench and jack crank are included.
The tire fits flat in the back with the rear seat in the normal reclined position, but it is a very tight fit to close the rear door. Instead of risking damage to the door lock, I now keep the rear seat in the 90 degree position and the door closes with no issues. The tire is non-directional and can be mounted on the front or rear on the original i3. Tire Rack recommends a max speed of 50mph. No flats yet, knock on wood.

nickp said:

Thanks for all the replies, suggestions, etc. I do have an ICE but I could have been stranded in the middle of nowhere. Also, the car has different tires in the front and back so I guess keeping one of each is the answer? :shock: Or one can only hope from now on the the most I get are nails and not blades.

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Yes, i kept one each. Costco put them in nice giant plastic bag so it was easier to bring it back home and now they are eating my attic space. Hope to never have to use them.

Good to carry is a tire repair plug kit small and repairs most common damage like nails

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Not a bad idea at all, think I will be adding one to the "frunk".

In the 10 years I had my previous vehicle (Honda Element), all but one of five flat-tires were from screws or nails that a tire plug kit would have taken care of easily (one in the side-wall that required replacement).

"Yes, i kept one each. Costco put them in nice giant plastic bag so it was easier to bring it back home and now they are eating my attic space. Hope to never have to use them."

I hope you have a climate controlled attic. Even in Ohio, my attic becomes extremely hot in the summer. Exposure to excessive heat will greatly reduce the life of your new tires (or possibly cause them to fail when placed into service).

I kept the older ones, they are worthless anyways.. . It's just for situations that OP is unfortunately is in.

One of the drawbacks of owning i3 Rex

FWIW, in my old ICE I had to drive around with the doughnut on because the tire shop didn't have the tires I wanted in stock. That being said I probably could've gotten a new tire that day had I really wanted too. I thought it was fine to wait a day or two to get the tires I really wanted. The analogue of this in the i3 is probably a tire patch kit (maybe tire sealant if you're really desperate), until the tire can either be properly repaired, or replaced. Since I have two sets of wheels (20 inch summer, 19 inch snow) if I really got stuck somewhere I could phone a friend or my parents to come bring me a wheel to stick on my car. Not everyone has this luxury, I understand. Sometimes, if the leak is slow enough you can simply use the air compressor to top it off, limping to either a tire shop, or home.

Absolutely! I keep both Tire patch and inflator pump in the frunk once learned here that i3 tires are rarely available the same day.

i3Houston said:

Absolutely! I keep both Tire patch and inflator pump in the frunk once learned here that i3 tires are rarely available the same day.

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Believe me, I have the BMW provided fix flat solution, I have the "fix a flat" can handy and the inflator. But none of them could have been useful because god knows what I went over, it left a 2 inch cut which could not have been repaired with the above mentioned kits.

155/70R19 (the size of the i3's tires) was a mercedes benz spare tire size at one point in time. I do not know if the bolt pattern is the same on the two cars, but you might go look for a W221 S-class (2007-2013) or C216 SL-class spare tire. There might be a good one in the back of a wrecked car in a salvage yard near you. For that matter, if salvage i3s are common in your area, you could see if you could get a front wheel to keep on hand as a spare.

Here's an example of one:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/07-13-Mercedes-W221-CL550-S550-Donut-Spare-Tire-Wheel-Rim-155-70-19-OEM-/112462853675

nickp said:

i3Houston said:

Absolutely! I keep both Tire patch and inflator pump in the frunk once learned here that i3 tires are rarely available the same day.

Click to expand...

Believe me, I have the BMW provided fix flat solution, I have the "fix a flat" can handy and the inflator. But none of them could have been useful because god knows what I went over, it left a 2 inch cut which could not have been repaired with the above mentioned kits.

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I completely understand! Now if you were in Houston I would have been happy to lend you the spare tire I have in my attic!

jfran2 said:

You have my sympathy, especially if the i3 is your only car! If that's the case, a spare set of tires may be a good investment. I had a similar situation, but fortunately still had my ICE I could drive.

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I second this! I have a single spare front 155/60-20 and a single 175/55-20 spare mew set of tires I rotate through every year or two. I got “bit” a couple years ago with a sidewall puncture and had to buy a new front tire after using the green “goop” to temporarily fill the tire to get back to a tire shop and paid “through the nose” for a single “gotta have it now” new tire.

One could save an old set of 1 front tire and 1 rear tire for a set of spares to bring along if one were going a long distance (just in case) so a local service shop could replace the damaged tire (If one wanted to really have backup) or just “wing-it” and drive with the “goop” in a bottle, a tire patch kit and the 12v electric pump supplied.