Spare Tyre
 

Guys, it is time to get the new tyres and since my '04 E60 is about 11 years old, I thought maybe I should replaced the spare tyre as well. Upon inquiry from two tyre places, they just simply refuse that they have the spare tyre replacement and one said that I should check with wrecking yards to see if I can get a spare tyre and another place said the spare tyre does not needs replacement, it is a special type of tyre. Is that true? Does the space saving spare tyre does not need to be replaced even after 11 years?

All I know, that rubber has 6 years of life spam, after that time it is not good. Any thoughts are welcome.

Just a few thoughts on this:

• The sun's UV rays are generally the worst enemy of tire longevity (behind wear and tear of course). Since the tyre is in the trunk away from sunlight, this is not an issue.
• When was the last time you got a flat tire? Tires today are much better than they were just a few years ago. The probability of ever needing the spare is very low.
• How much longer are you planning to keep an 11-year-old-car? If only a couple of years, I wouldn't sweat the tyre replacement.
• If you're really worried about it, check with a salvage yard. They may have a replacement that's newer than yours.

Any other thoughts guys?

Where are you located? It shouldn't be too difficult to find a tire shop that sells spares. I know Discount Tire and Tirerack.com carry them, but they're not cheap...

I'd replace the spare tire. I like the extra piece of mind. Don't care how "good' the tires are, if you meet the right piece of road debris, or aren't paying attention, it's over, even for RFTs.

My thoughts: I've only ever once used a spare tire, and all I needed was about 6 miles worth of travel.

I agree, rubber doesn't go bad in your trunk easily because it isn't exposed to the sun.. hell even if it does break I'd be willing to drive it on that rim than my own.. for a few miles. I also have AAA and I'd probably rather have my car towed to the nearest tire shop anyways than bother changing a spare.. of course unless I'm in some remote area. Chances are more likely your spare tire is underinflated than bad because of how long it's been in there. I'd worry more about damage to my AWD (since I always drive AWD cars) from slightly different sized tires.

I also do usually have a can of fix a flat.. sometimes even a tire patch kit.. and always a tiny little pump in the trunk, so I would just as soon fix it than use the spare.

I think you're more worried about it than you need to. Besides.. you're lucky your E60 has a spare tire, since so many manufacturers are ditching the spare completely for runflat tires.