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Had a flat. Pulled out my spare and realized that the rubber on that spare is pushing 9 years old. Has anyone bought an aftermarket spare to replace an aging spare? Any experience to report? Thanks in advance.
Is yours a collapsible spare? If so any other normal space-saver spare may not fit in the trunk space. Just something to think about.
I have no idea, is it possible to find/replace just the collapsible tire part of the spare? Are there part numbers or sizes or mfg or anything on the rubber you can google?
this question was posted on the w212 forum. don't own or know much about e55s or their bolt pattern. did a very quick search for used replacement spares that fit this SB on ebay and found several under $300. additionally, another google search for oem full sized rims list a fitment range of 06 to 09. before spending the $500, I would contact the good people at modern spare.
this question was posted on the w212 forum. don't own or know much about e55s or their bolt pattern. did a very quick search for used replacement spares that fit this SB on ebay and found several under $300. additionally, another google search for oem full sized rims list a fitment range of 06 to 09. before spending the $500, I would contact the good people at modern spare.
Is yours a collapsible spare? If so any other normal space-saver spare may not fit in the trunk space. Just something to think about.
I have no idea, is it possible to find/replace just the collapsible tire part of the spare? Are there part numbers or sizes or mfg or anything on the rubber you can google?
Mine is the uninflated spare and requires a pump in the trunk (mine came without a pump of course). It seems to me like a donut should/would fit in the space, and my research says that the spare wheels from a CLS and S class will clear the E55's massive brake calipers. I'm going to a parts yard tomorrow that has a few of these cars to see what I can come up with.
Still no reply from the spare tire specialist that so many have linked to. I pulled a donut-style spare out of a 2007 CLS-550 today, and it looked great except that the steel wheel was a 17" (versus the 18" factory spare wheel in my trunk) and the tire was a 155/70-17. My "inflatable" spare shows 175/55-18. The outside diameter was about 24.5". The E55 is significantly taller than that from my eyeball measurement showing about 25.5", a difference of a full inch.
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So, should I just try to find that larger tire in a donut version to have a spare that I don't have to inflate? Even the CLS-550 has 17" wheels versus the 18" wheels on my E55.
Thank you!
Last edited by CapeFearElvis; Feb 12, 2026 at 10:30 PM.
Have you tried a tire shop? Most can order you a replacement.
Thank you. I'm trying to move over to a tire that has the correct outside diameter and fits the 18" MB temporary wheel. OR, I'd like to just put a full size wheel/tire in the trunk and call it a day.
1) pull one of your current wheels off the car and see if it fits inside the spare tire area. this could be the cheapest solution if you toss out the floor panel, stereo equipment and NOS bottles.
2) while a wheel is off the car, check all the current spare tires that you have collected for fitment. bolt pattern, brake caliper clearance and the ability to hold air would be the most important. if 1or 2 is positive its safe to leave the driveway for now.
3) appears as if 211-400-31-95 and 230-400-49-00 have both been discontinued (size 6x18 offset 25) 230-401-19-02 - 6Bx18H2 - ET25 is probably the replacement.
3) appears as if 211-400-31-95 and 230-400-49-00 have both been discontinued (size 6x18 offset 25) 230-401-19-02 - 6Bx18H2 - ET25 is probably the replacement.
Thank you. I figured that surely someone has been down this road on a 20 year-old MB and would have the information readily, or it could be found on the forum. I've been wrong before, however.
What are you referencing with the above part numbers and other technical data? Is one the tire, the other the wheel?
Thank you again. For what it's worth, this is what I have in the car now, except that I don't have the air pump shown in Photo #1 (that's a photo from the site I downloaded to try to determine what SHOULD be in the spare tire area):
Last edited by CapeFearElvis; Feb 13, 2026 at 11:19 AM.
The compact spare that came with my X7 is a T155/80R19 that is 731mm in diameter versus the 779mm diameter 275/50R20 mounted tires. BMW has problems with its transfer case and differential reliabilities, so mounting this sub-size donut and driving 50 miles with it is not something I ever want to do. I carry a Slime Rescue kit and tire inflator as the preferred flat fix.
The compact spare that came with my X7 is a T155/80R19 that is 731mm in diameter versus the 779mm diameter 275/50R20 mounted tires. BMW has problems with its transfer case and differential reliabilities, so mounting this sub-size donut and driving 50 miles with it is not something I ever want to do. I carry a Slime Rescue kit and tire inflator as the preferred flat fix.
Exactly. I'm trying to find a "donut" type spare (one that stays inflated) with the proper outside diameter (OD) so that I don't have ANY issues. I figured there must have been someone that has taken the collapsed spare out of the E55 and put a non-collapsible tire on it with the proper OD. I think I'm getting close, however. The Continental T135/70-18 shows an OD of 25.5", which is a match for the tire spec of the Michelins that are on the car.
Then again, if a full-size wheel/tire combo will fit in the trunk without a lot of swapping the plastic parts in the trunk under the spare, that's an option, but the cost of the factory AMG wheel and a suitable tire won't be cheap. At the end of the day, I'm leaning toward wanting a donut on the factory spare wheel.
(6bx18h2 - et25) 6B: The width of the rim is 6 inches. x18: The diameter of the rim is 18 inches. H2: "Hump 2" - this indicates the profile of the rim flange to securely hold tubeless tires. ET25: The offset of the wheel is 25mm.
a similar code is cast into the back side of a full sized MB rim.
plenty of used MB spare tire compressors for sale on ebay.
most cordless tool companies (dewalt, ryobi, milwaukee) sell units that fit their standard batteries.
(6bx18h2 - et25) 6B: The width of the rim is 6 inches. x18: The diameter of the rim is 18 inches. H2: "Hump 2" - this indicates the profile of the rim flange to securely hold tubeless tires. ET25: The offset of the wheel is 25mm.
a similar code is cast into the back side of a full sized MB rim.
plenty of used MB spare tire compressors for sale on ebay.
most cordless tool companies (dewalt, ryobi, milwaukee) sell units that fit their standard batteries.
Thank you for explaining some of the nuances of the wheel markings. I know it's a 6x18, but I've never seen a "B" or "H2" marking related to wheel size or shape.
My search is not for the compressor, but for the correct donut to mount to this wheel, a donut that stays inflated continuously.
I don't want to have to inflate a spare on the roadside should I get a flat.
I have some updated information that might help others as it's helped me with this spare tire thing. I reached out to www.sparetire.com (www.sparewheel.com never replied to my email). This is what they told me about my search for a spare tire that would fit the factory spare wheel:
"Unfortunately the wheel you have is 18x6". This makes it too wide for standard temporary spare sizes (which are typically for 4-5" wide wheels) and too skinny to use a standard tire (in which the skinniest tire that meets your diameter, requires a 7" wide wheel). I'm also not sure if the wheels used with expandable spare tires are the same lip type used for a standard temporary spare tire, but they probably are."
So, that tells me that I likely can't use the factory spare wheel with a traditional spare tire, and I'm going to have to a) buy a spare wheel/tire combo, or b) go with a full-size wheel/tire if it will fit in the compartment below the trunk's cargo floor.
I went to another parts yard today and found two factory AMG wheels that weren't in the best shape but are ideal for a spare. Both were 8x18 ET30, and one had a fully inflated (and holding air) Michelin Pilot Sport in 245/40-18.
I was able to mount both in the parts yard and spin them on a car. One has a slight bend on the internal lip (of course it's the wheel that's in better shape), but the one with the Michelin tire spun true on both inner and outer lips - not bad for $100 for the pair. I got home, cleaned them up then pulled all the foam and spare out of the trunk cavity and put the full-size in the hole. The result:
The full-size tire fits in the cavity PERFECTLY. The floor panel comes down and meets the side supports as it should, and the panel sits on the spare tire edge giving me the support I felt was necessary when carrying luggage. The only concern is that the spare is not secured to the bottom of the cavity, but I can fabricate a solution using the original retainer. I might try flipping the tire/wheel over and consider options from there too. All in all, I'm ecstatic that I don't have to rely on the inflatable spare and find a silly 12v air pump to carry around in the car.
Carrying a tire inflator with you, especially on road trips, is not a bad idea. Most are quite compact, many are rechargable battery powered, and having one provide a quick remedy to low pressure warnings.
Since I've gone as far as I'm going to go with this spare upgrade, I'm posting the last piece to the puzzle, i.e. a way to hold the full-size spare in place since the plastic "nut" for the E55 is too short to reach the threaded shaft in the bottom of the trunk with a full-size wheel/tire combo in place.
I took my "nut" to the parts yard to look for one that was about 1-1/2" longer but threaded the same. I didn't have to look far: I found MB part# A1648980114 in one of the cars. It works perfectly to secure the wheel to the trunk floor. Sorry, I don't recall which car it came from as I already had another in-hand that I thought was perfect and got this one as a backup. Turns out the perfect one didn't work, and this one did.
Here are some photos:
Last edited by CapeFearElvis; Feb 21, 2026 at 10:58 AM.
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