Hey, something came up that has me puzzled. I was doing some work on my car and had the wheels off while working.

My SL is on regular tires not run flats.I also don’t have the tires staggered. I always like the non staggers look better. I always have with any car.

Anyway, I was thinking about buying a spare custom wheel and tire for a backup, so I never have a donut rim on my car and always have the same wheels. Then it hit me, if a tire is supposed to go in one direction ( little arrow shows tire rotation direction when mounted) then how do you use the spare if the flat is on the other side of the car? The tire direction would be spinning the wrong way.

Gotta be an answer I am missing.

Thanks

 

Well, I guess, you're not supposed to use the spare for too many miles, so, it probably doesn't matter if your spare is spinning the wrong way....just my.02

 

The short answer is you don't. Directional tires can only be mounted one way and they must rotate in the indicated direction. To mount them on the other side of the vehicle, the tire has to be swapped around on the wheel so that it rotates in the correct direction. You'd have to take your spare to a tire shop and remount the tire the correct way around.

 

I haven’t seen directional tires in years. Outdated design…
In regards to a square setup, to my eyes this doesn’t look good as the offsets of aftermarket wheels rarely match the MB requirements. That can be fixed with spacers though.
If using factory wheels, that’s the best way to damage the rear rims and shouldn’t look good either as there is a 1” difference on the wheel and 30mm on the tire.

 

Interesting.

So in the scenario I mentioned I would have to purchased two additional wheels with tires mounted for spares. One for each side of the car? That sucks!

Lastly, what would happen if I used the one spare on the side of the car that caused the tires direction to go the opposite way? Premature tread wear? Car pulling in that direction? Tire explode? Terrible tire noise? Could I limp it home, or to repair shop?

I just don’t see buying two more wheels and tires, but I gotta figure out a way around a flat. Yes, I already have an air pump and fix a flat in the trunk, but that won’t help with tire cuts from glass, or giant holes. I also have AAA. I am in the process of buying a lowpro jack for my trunk, as well as a lug wrench and one of the tire plug kits, but I gotta tell you I do not feel good about not being able to change a tire on the side of the road in these cars. After already having the car on non run flats I hate the idea of going to run flats now because I will notice the ride quality difference as many have complained about, however I also can’t image MBA selling 100k cars that ride terribly on run flats. I just can’t see them doing that.

I am also not the type like I have heard some say on this site that doesn’t drive far from home because of the not having a spare thing, or the I don’t live far from most tire shops thing and I have AAA thing, so I aint worried about flats. You can get a flat at any hour when a shop is not open, and who’s to say they can squeeze you in, or have the tire you need? Plenty of times I called a shop with my suv on a flat just to be told we are all booked up today. I am not spending this kinda of money on this level of car and not enjoy it by driving it. I just gotta figure out a solution to this. I had a nail in my tire last week, but it wasn’t even loosing air. I noticed the nail when I had the wheels off and had it plugged. Now the nail has me thinking about what to do.

 

Sorry, I forgot to mention I have aftermarket wheels made specifically for Mercedes’ so my specs are optimal and not an issue. No spacers on my car. Funny that you say you haven’t seen directional tires in years. Ever tire shop I have been in ever has directional tires. I didn’t look at your profile so you could be in another country other than the USA.

 

I assume that you don't mean outside vs inside. We use only Michelin performance tires and some Pirellis. Last directional tires I remember were some old Bridgestone's or snow tires

 

You are correct, I don’t mean outside vs inside.

 

Basically, if you run the tire the wrong direction they will not perform as advertised and are not save. I don't think there'll be much harm driving carefully for a short distance until you can get the tire replaced or repaired. Just like you can't go drive triple digit speeds on a donut or a flat run flat. As far as the general concern goes about not having a spare, I haven't had a spare for the last 10 years. High performance cars such as AMGs haven't come with a spare for a long time and run flats are not a thing on high performance cars, either, except for the new Corvette. I'm not shy about going on long road trips. I buy my cars for grand touring among other things. I've had my share of punctures, but a full blowout is very very rare. In my 25+ years of driving I needed a spare tire about twice. I have the TIREFIT kit in case of a puncture with rapid pressure loss, but most of the time whatever is in the tire actually seals the puncture. I just don't think spares are such a great idea. They get old in the trunk and after six years they are essentially not safe anymore, and unless you make sure they stay inflated or have a compressor with you they are likely underinflated when you need it, or if you have a flat in the winter, then the spare is likely not a winter tire and you may get stuck.