I've had one flat in my limited. From experience, just get the damn thing towed. It will cost you at least $60 dollars to replace the can of goop thats in the trunk anyway. So tow it for $75 to $100 dollars to the local tire shop and have them patch it. Shouldn't cost you more than $125 dollars for a flat, and then you don't have to worry about the goop screwing up your tire sensor (which many times it does, and won't be covered under warranty). Plus you don't have to worry if the tire place scraped all of the goop out of your tire. b/c if they didn't you may end up with a nasty vibration.

just my .02

 

After lots of phone calls and "googling" I found an auto parts store that will sell me a Spare Tire 170 Type, SLK320 for $238, shipping included. They claim it will work on either the front or rear of the SRT. I have read all the threads on this forum regarding tires and although people have suggested that the spare for a 2002-03 SLK 32 AMG would work I have not heard of anyone actually buying the tire and fitting it. This price is actually $200 less than the Mercedes dealers who would "special order" the spare. All sales final is what everyone says. One Mercedes dealership mentioned they had many spares laying around and that I was welcome to visit and try them on the SRT. Maybe I should spend a day going through tire roulette...

Paulius

 

Hi Paulius, Ebay recently had a MB minispare offered for the great price of $70 including shipping. Some suggested this would fit the Crossfire. It was for MB ML 350, 430, 320. The guy at the Co. offering it was nice enough to check if it would work on the Crossfire. Nope, the bolt pattern might be OK but the wheel/tire diameter was 29". We need around 26". A wild idea, if an appropriate diameter spare was located would the wheel be strong enough, if correctly spaced holes were drilled in the spaces between the existing holes?

Regards and good luck,
Sloreflex

 

Getting holes drilled in the exact bolt pattern is a job for a machine shop only because the layout and physical drilling will allow too much error. Additionally, on a steel wheel the holes are formed with a bevel for strength.
With all that said. Any wheel that you can bolt on will get you a short distance at low speeds (maybe < 30 mph) (and particularly slow around corners).
I am using a 1997 Ford Crown Victoria donut with old drilled lug nuts as spacers (because the lug bolts are so long) (I have test driven it and it worked fine).

 

Senginc, thanks for the helpful and practical comments. No I wasn't planning to drill the spare myself. I'm about as handy with tools as a left handed dog.
This might be a nice side project for an enterprising person who owns a machine shop. Get a mess of junkyard minispares of the appropriate wheel/tire diameter and drill 'em according to a preset Crossfire pattern. Then they could announce it here and sell to folks like myself. Oh, it's gotta be cheap. For some of the costs mentioned here, I'll just take my chances. Best, Slo

 

MB spare. Any interest?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MERCE...SQ3aRECOQ3aBIN

 

Thanks for the tip FP. I have a inflatable Mercedes spare coming my way in a few days that a friend swears will fit on my SRT. Will keep you informed if it works so as to spread the word. My experience at the Mercedes Dealership two weeks ago showed that many Mercedes spares do not fit the SRT.

Paulius

 

Just wondering, if you have a flat and you put on the MB spare tire, will the flat tire fit in the trunk?

 

Remember also that some of you will be on a 'vacation' type of trip with the cargo area somewhat full to begin with. So, even with the space of the doughnut spare, you will probably have a very unhappy passenger with a lap full of stuff for the duration of the run to the tire repair shop.

I invest in the AAA service personally and don't care if they only cover 30 miles for a tow or whatever it is before you have to start shelling out the cash. I'd rather have the vehicle brought to a shop and have the tire properly repaired than chance a wheel/tire combo that was not really made for my car. Not to mention the loss of space in an already space limited vehicle.

Good luck with your quest guys!

 

I think it may have been answered already, but a flat tire will fit in the trunk depending on how much other stuff you have in there. My guess would be if you had a spare in there that was taking up space unless you had it jammed full of other stuff you could move things around to get the flat tire to fit if you took the spare out. I normally take 2 tires with me when I go to the autocross and they both fit in the trunk with it closed (I normally have 2 front wheels and tires, but one time I had a front and a rear and it still fit).

BTW this is in a SRT Coupe.

Thanks,

Michael

 

Me 2. Just joined AAA last week. Hopefully I won't need it, but good to know it's there if I do.

 

I have AAA and it turned out to save my neck the day I had the flat. I was towed 100 miles with no extra charge. They drove me to my chrysler dealer and all the mechanics spent a few jolly minutes shaking their head wondering what the boys at Chrysler were thinking when they decided not to include a donut. I like having all my bases covered so I will adjust to life with a donut in the boot ( or course if it fits on the car, which remains yet to be seen).

I'll let you know.

Paulius

 

Since I rarely carry much in the trunk anyway, I wouldn't mind at all taking up some of the space with a donut spare. If someone KNOWS for sure of a donut that will fit a '04 XF, I'm sure it would be helpful to everyone here. If the one now on eBay is the right one for the XF, then I may have to pick one up. Somebody asked the seller if it would fit; the bolt pattern is right; unsure of the diameter.

 

Just curious - Do you know what caused the flat? Did you hit a pothole or road debris?

 

I also use AAA. I just upgraded to the Plus service - towing up to 100 miles. You can't get too far with the original 3-5 mile tow

 

As soon as I saw the tire pressure sensor light up I pulled over to the side of the road and noticed the flat. I pulled out the "mercedes" flat repair kit, hooked up the compressor, attached all hoses, doubled checked against instructions in the manual and hit the "on" button. The filler produced to spray out the one of the hoses and onto the road and my clothes. The leak was from a metal crimp connection on the hose indicating a faulty unit. The only positive result was that I also saw the filler leaking out the side of my tire. From this I ascertain that I must have hit a pot-hole and ripped a small hole in the side of my tire. Once back at the dealership they confirmed that there was a side-wall puncture.

Paulius

 

Repost #15...Strap Wife/Girlfriend To Rear Deck, Put Tire/Rim Inside On Seat To Prevent Loss/further Damage...

 

LOL. Yeah, I heard that one in some previous post for this on-going topic. My wife's retort is " how about I drive with the tire in the front seat and you in the trunk." With the luck I have been having finding a "donut" that fits the XF this problem will probably never get a chance to rear its ugly head.

P