tendons

why did they make the space in the trunk rectangular? is it to discourage any tire placement? and why is the tire pressure monitor then not standard equipment, as it is with run-flat tires in the mini and new five.
very strange, for whatever reason; someone, sstranded somewhere unreachable by the tow truck is going to sue. It can't be a money issue, they could just charged more and we'd never know. Do you think it's a weight thing?
The car is front heavy as it is, a little more weight in the back wouldn't hurt.

t-bone

It's kinda rectangular because the battery is in the way.

tendons

called mb today and the tech help started out explaining that these"are performance cars" and they wanted to keep the weight as light as possible and when I pointed out that i've had both a 93 5003 and 01 e55 and THEY both had spare tires he then said that mercedes was going to put a spare tire in all e55's after october 03. My dealer said b.s., he'd never seen a spare in an e55 yet and is really embarassed about having to tell people than there is none.

Dr Chill

It's tough to find someone at any level at MB that isn't full of sh-t.

t-bone

Ok... so after seeing all these posts about the spare, I decided to go out and take pictures so you can see why there is no room for a spare:

Here is the spare tire well. As you can see there is no room. I placed a WIRED magazine in there for size reference:



But then I thought, "Hey maybe there would be room if they made the indentation more circular. Let's see what it looks like underneath." So I removed the lining to see if there was more room underneath. And what did I see? BOOM a huge *** battery:



Here is another picture with the WIRED magazine for size reference. As you can see, there's no room for a spare.



THE END

tendons

O.K. there's no compartment; but they still could have thrown in a spare; the lincolns of one or two years ago just had the tire thrown in the back, maybe with some thing holding it down. It just seems wrong to not provide a fifth wheel. In ten years I've had two blow outs in areas where no one was going to come to within an hour and I got to change the blown tire with the
SPARE.

saber

I got a flat last week on the way home at 1:30 am. I hit a pot hole and blew my tire. My 5 other cars got flats on the same hole but were able to change their tire and get on their way. I waited for two and half hours to get my car towed home. I have not gotten a flat in the last fifteen years. I need a spare....

saber

By the way, Mercedes paid for my tow because the car did not come with a spare

tendons

o.k., I called mbusa again and again they said that after october, which I think we've substantaily passed, a spare tire would be included in both the e55 and s55. I didn't know those guys didn't get a spare; hell , we've only paid 80 or so, but to put out 120 and be stuck without a spare gotta really **** you off.

E55 KEV

OK, the E55 has no space for a spare in that lower compartment, however, the W211 E320 does have space and a spare.

What is different about the trunk on an E320 and a E55?

sfkarp

Here's the deal. The regular E320 has a smaller battery and it is on the right side in the trunk. This leaves room for a space saver spare. The E55 has a much larger battery that is placed in the middle, leaving no room for any kind of spare. I just looked at an E55 and you could use the space saver spare from an SL 55. It would not take too much space and give you peace of mind.

t-bone

This is what I thought too, so I decided to go check out an SL55. I took out the space saver spare and tried to see if it would fit in my E55 spare tire well. The answer?

NOPE. Won't fit.

The battery of the SL55 is on the right side too. That's why it has room for the spare. I guess I'll go buy a front wheel and leave it in the trunk.

E55 KEV

Damn! Mercedes should have left the battery under the rear seat like the W210!

ES.

My dealer informed me that 2005 production will start in June and for now the only thing they know about the 2005 E55s is that they will come with a spare. Given the other posts, I'm not sure what this means to the battery.

Pueo

Sorry tendons, but S55's always came with a full size spare! That's part of the reason I went with an S55. I know I haven't needed to change a flat tire in over 20 years but with only 1 roadside assist guy to service the island, you could have up to a 2 hour wait just to get him to come. Not to mention having to pay for a tow if it can't be repaired and being without a car after that.

After living with my M5, which also didn't have a spare, it's nice to not have to worry anymore about having being stranded onthe side of the road!

redcoupe

Your spare is in the little can of tire fix in the trunk.

Eddie Knopp

Well now I'm joing the club - pothole 1 me 0. I think the response of MB is dealer specific. I had to get towed and it took 2 days to get a replacement tire (I had on Dunlop Winter Sports). Given the fact that I have an excellet relationship with my dealer they gave me a loaner and comp'd the tow charge. I was told by the tele-aid guy that the tow was free.

The dealer's parts guys are looking into a space-saver spare that could fit underneath - has anyone had any luck with this ?

Thanks

Dr Chill

What was the total cost to you for the new tire extravaganza?

Eddie Knopp

Just the cost of the tire + mounting etc -- $225 + tax

Eddie Knopp

I've been doing a little research and think I've found a tire that's fit. I've contacted the manufacturer and will see what they say.
Here's the info I came up with:

From '04 SL55

Yes it is 18"

The tire reads Vredestein Space Master 175/55-18 91P and is made in Holland and the wheel is made in Belgium. I would imagine that you'll need some foam parts and an attachment point to make it fit in the trunk well.

U.S.A.
Vredestein Tires USA
467 Middlesex Avenue suite 101
Metuchen N.J. 08840
U.S.A.
Tel: 732-549-2440/800-221-3422
Fax: 732-549-2450
USA@Vredestein.com

The space master



An innovative spare tyre that saves you weight and space

The Space Master meets all the requirements of today's high performance cars. When called into action, it works in complete harmony with the latest electronic control systems and drivers notice no variation in driving performance. What is more, this added value spare tyre offers you a volume saving of some 60 percent in comparison with conventional spare tyres. This is why the intelligent Space Master is not only used in sports cars but is also fitted as standard by other car manufacturers in their premium range cars.


The Space Master is manufactured in the following sizes:

Size Application

145/70-17 Mercedes SLK
Mercedes SLK 55 AMG

155/70-15 Audi A2

165-15 Mercedes C-class Sportcoupé
Mercedes SLK

165/70-16 Mercedes C-class Sportcoupé
Mercedes SLK
Porsche 911 Carrera 4(S)
Porsche 911 Turbo

175/55-18 Audi RS6
Mercedes SL Turbo
WS211 AMG

185/60-17 Porsche 911 Turbo
Maserati Spyder
Maserati Quattroporte
Mercedes SL

195/80-17 Porsche Cayenne
VW Touareg

195/75-18 Porsche Cayenne
VW Touareg

205/70-16 Audi A6 Allroad Quattro

sfkarp

I now have a spare tire that fits into the space under the stock cover just like an E500. Here's how I did it.

Spare tire from an SL55.
Remove some of the foam parts.
Remove the stock squarish insert.
Relocate the battery to the right side.

Spare fits very well and the cover for the trunk fits back on just like stock. Hardest part was the battery and relocating the negative cable. The short negative cable attaches to a black box that can be relocated (it has long wires) probably just like the E500 setup. I now have peace of mind and also an empty trunk compartment.

Bikr Boy

Please let us know what you come up with. Right now I have an empty hole in my trunk that sure could use a spare. That little can does not give me a lot of confidence.

t-bone

Could you post some pictures of your setup?

Also, where did you get the SL55 spare from? Do you have a part number for it?

Thanks....

Eddie Knopp

Here's the part # -see below (from an email with my MB parts manager)

The part number supplied to you by Vredestein is the number that I came up with using the Parts Catalog from Mercedes Benz. The A211-400-31-95 is the part that is not available for order from the USA or Germany and does not even have a price attached to it.

Subsequent to this - Germany confirmed that they had the spare and it's been ordered using the above part number.

SFKARP - a picture would be great - that way we could duplicate your setup.

Thanks

sfkarp

Ok, let's see if you guys can get to these pictures. The picture of the small black box is the one that has to be moved so the negative battery cable is long enough.

http://photos.yahoo.com/sfkarp@sbcglobal.net