cowiepeters

About 6 months ago, one week after buying my 2003 SL55, I fell into a large pothole in the rain at about 40km/h and scored a 25mm slash in the sidewall of one of the front tyres (Continental ContiSportContact™3 ).

No spare tyre, as you are aware.

I was one km from home so drove slowly home, removed the tyre, borrowed my daughter's car the next day and did the replacement thing.

A few weeks ago I had to move off the tarmac at about 30km/h onto the gravel on a narrow road to avoid a truck coming the other way.

You guessed it!

10mm slice out of the inner sidewall.

I was 15km from home so gave the tyrefit kit a go... waste of time and AUD$130.

The result was a tow home on the back of a flatbed truck and four new Pirelli PZero Rosso tyres as the Continentals weren't available in Australia for a few weeks.

I am feeling a bit apprehensive as I'm not keen to get stranded again and wonder if anyone has successfully fitted a spare tyre to these cars?

I don't do much country driving but am reluctant to head out of the city and get stranded for days while the local tyre dealer brings in a fancy tyre.

I realise that one of the issues is "where do you put the flat tyre when the spare is on the car" but I reckon I could find somewhere in an emergency (the passenger is not going to be happy or I post it home!)

Enquiries at the stealer lead to a "Not Available" reply but the CL55 has the same tyres and comes with a spacesaver spare... I would settle for one of those.

Does anyone have a solution?

Thanks

Peter Cowie
Sydney
Australia

AMG055

Hey Mate,

Whereabouts in Sydney are you. I have a 2005 CL55. More than happy if you want to have a look at the spare as to whether it will fit in your boot. Its an 18 inch rim fitted with a 245/45/18 Dunlop SP Sport 9000.

BeltFedBob

My 05 has a "space saver" spare and air pump in the trunk (boot). Did you check under the removable panel back there?

mig1980

I don't have one either. No air pump or tire. I wish I did because with the 20" wheels there is no telling when something would go wrong (Knock on wood that it never does!).

damian155

i have a collapsible spare in my 03 sl55 .too many potholes in new york/new jersey area not to have it.

soulsearcher

So whats under the spare tire floor board? Nothing? Sl55s come with a "mini spare".

mig1980

Correct, there is nothing there. How much are these collapsable spares? Or where can I get a used one for cheap?

soulsearcher

Google used MB parts and you'll have a wealth of resources to get it used or try uneedapart.com and fill out the request.

damian155

part number 211-400-31-95 disc wheel -$690.20 + tx that was the price i paid new from the stealer. may be more or less now.

BeltFedBob

part number 211-400-31-95 disc wheel -$690.20 + tx that was the price i paid new from the stealer. may be more or less now.[/QUOTE]

Try here if you can't find used;

http://www.parts.com/oemcatalog/inde...archCatalogOEM

Collision Catalog
Item Number MSRP Core Price Price
2114003195 $640.00 $0.00 $439.30
Wheels - Wheels - Wheel spare
Wheel spare 2006 - 2008

Add to Cart Contact Us
2114003195 $640.00 $0.00 $439.30
Wheels - Wheels - Spare wheel
Spare wheel 2007 - 2008

Add to Cart Contact Us
OEM Catalog
Item Number MSRP Core Price Price
2114003195 $640.00 $0.00 $439.30

DISC WHEEL

cowiepeters

Thanks for the input so far especially AMG055, your offer to have a look at the spare in your CL55 is much appreciated.

Unfortunately I think I have run up against a fatal flaw in my attempt to solve the problem with a spacesaver.

I have attached a couple of photos of the boot/trunk to show you what's in there.

I should have done this before, of course!.

The dimensions of the recess are 560mm wide (and it can't be bigger because the roof pump is one side and the battery is on the other) and 500mm deep (It might run to 600mm if you took out the polystyrene blob that holds the toolkit, compressor and Tyrefit)

Major problem.

The wheel/ tyre on the vehicle is 670mm outside diameter.

Beltfedbob: I think that there must have been a design change after 03 if you have a spacesaver under the boot floor. There is no way that I can see that a 670mm wheel is going to fit into the 560mm hole in my 03.

Damien155: Is your '55 later than 03? You mention a collapsible spare but your part number is the same as Beltfedbob's disc wheel.

It's sounding suspiciously like there was a major design change from the 03 to the 05 that permitted the use of a spacesaver spare.

I wonder if there was a repositioning of the roof pump?

Thanks again for the assistance!

Peter Cowie

E55MKB

I took a picture of my SL63 trunk/spare tire, and it looks the same as yours (cowiepeters). The space saver tire measured only 550mm (deflated) plus the compressor will go into the inside of the spacesaver

HTH

BeltFedBob

You must have the spare tire delete. This is what mine looks like.

m_berman

I don't believe the spare tire delete is due to the design of the trunk space. On cars with the Limited Slip Differential (LSD) the donut spare is intentionally deleted. This is due to the fact that different diameter tires on the rear axle will severly damage the LSD.

Check your VIN if it is optioned with LSD.

E55MKB

My SL63 with 030 perf pkg has LSD and that is my SL63 pic with the spare. The spare is in deflated condition, when fully inflated it will almost similar diameter as the stock tire. My trusty 911 turbo also comes with collapsible spare (as pretty much all 911) and my 911 has LSD

The difference is mostly in the contact patch

mig1980

This is exactly what my car looks like in the trunk.

cowiepeters

Thank you all the replies so far, the power of these forums is awesome!

Especially thanks to E55MKB and Beltfedbob who took the photos that help me identify the problem.

So the deal is:

Some R230's (Perhaps all Australian spec vehicles???) came with a "Spare Wheel Delete" option!!!!!!!!! (WTH) that replaces a spare tyre with a compressor and a can of goop called "Tyrefit"

This option includes a piece of foam that sits at the front of the spare tyre well that has recesses to hold the compressor, the Tyrefit can and tool roll.

My 2003 SL55 Australian delivery has this.

Some R230's come with a "Collapsible???" Vredestein "Spacemaster" spare that sits in the spare tyre well and a compressor to inflate it whereupon it expands to a full size (correct outside diameter) space-saver spare tyre.

This option has a plastic wheel that sits inside the spare rim that holds the rim in place and a block of polystyrene that has recesses for the tool roll, compressor and something else, I can't make it out in the photo. It seems that there are two versions of the polystyrene block.

I will call the stealer today to see if the spare rim and tyre is available and also check if the plastic wheel and polystyrene block comes as part of the kit.

Thanks again for the support so far, I'll report back.

Peter Cowie
Sydney
Australia

E55MKB

Hi Peter:

When you look at the left of the trunk/spare tire, you got that gray (foam?), what is under that thing? If you look at my SL63, the left of the spare tire is exposed showing somekind of compressor?. I am just curious on why my SL63 have those mechanism exposed while yours and Beltfedbob have them kinda covered with that foam material. BTW, I went to the dealer and their SL63 also is the same as mine (no cover)

Thanks

cowiepeters

I called the stealer this morning about the spare tyre.

They came up with the part number of A211-400-31-95. It's the same part number provided on another forum but with an A in front of it)

It's a complete rim and tyre assembly and they want AUD$1997 for it. (About US$2170)

The same part without the A is available from http://www.parts.com/ for US$485. (Thanks BeltFedBob)

I've made an enquiry if that is the rim only or the rim and tyre complete.

If it's the complete deal I'll order it on the spot. The local price is a bit on the steep side!

E55MKB: On my car the hydraulic roof pump and various gadgets are hidden under the foam cover you can see in the pictures. Yours is just naked.

All the best,

Peter Cowie

E55MKB

Thanks for the info Peter, I guess it might be somekind of cost cutting measure by MB :-)

jvgarnett

I have had the same problem.
I cured it by buying a 17" space saver wheel and tyre for a SL 500.
The only problem is it will not go over the large brake calipers on the front.
It will however fit on the rear. So if I have a front flat I have to fit the spare on the rear and then fit the rear wheel onto the front, a bit messy but it works. Before I did this I had tried a 18" space saver, it wouldn't fit in car. Hope this helps.

jikjak

ive got a Vredestein space saver tire i can sell.
i believe it is 175/55/18

EXECMALIBU

I was told REPEATEDLY by the MB dealer that there was no spare available for the SL55...

What a surprise they were WRONG!!!!!!

There is a special option 18 inch wheel/tire combo for the SL55.

There is even a very rare 19 inch wheel/tire combo for the SL65! I know this for a fact because I have one.

Fitting it in the trunk is a totally different story! it has to stand up and takes a lot of space! But it sure beats walking a long way home!

What you guys are not addressing is the real issue is if you have a flat!
The real dilema is where the hell do you put the filthy and very large flat tire??

It does NOT fit in the trunk!!!

I guess on the side of the road that you could just break out your tire mounting machine and remove the tire from the rim and then take the insanely expensive AMG rim with you...

cowiepeters

The final Chapter.

I ordered the spare tyre from parts.com in February.

The order went through to a Benz Dealer...Nice people.

Shipping to Australia was... complicated.

The dealer didn't ship internationally but I was able to arrange shipping from an international firm locally and the bill (about $AUD500) hasn't arrived yet 3 months down the track.

One of the photos shows the wheel (not inflated) on the car so I know it fits over the brakes.

Next step was to order the bits that secure it to the car.

The photos show the bits and the part numbers. The extra bits to secure the tyre were about $AUD160

The US part suppliers weren't interested in shipping the little bits to Australia.

A lot of hassle for something that should have been there to start with and which MB Australia said doesn't exist!

Thanks for all of the assistance.

Peter

allen forrest

Peter-great investigative work. I ordered all the parts from parts.com for my 03 SL 55. No problem. However when I placed the wheel in the trunk for storage, the bracket doesnt hold the spare firmly in place. When screwed down as far as it will go, the wheel is still able to move around. Did you add an additional collar or some other spacer to take up the difference? Allen