shaving weight off my merc

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John Peerce

Active Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2003
Messages
176
Location
London, UK
Car
C43 AMG
As my car is 1999 model, it came with a normal spare 17" AMG alloy wheel in the boot, same as the ones on the car itself.

Although its an alloy wheel, its still quiet heavy actually, not to mention it occupies large space under the boot mat. However, i have been reading on some websites about using a mercedes supplied kit called (Tirefit) which has a sealant and small electric pump supplied by mercedes which would eliminate the need to carry the wheel around, freeing up space under the boot mat for all sorts of things (a cooler springs to mind , or maybe petrol metal container)

It may well be that this is the norm these days in mercedes cars sold in the UK, but for me i have just found out about this. Has anyone any experience of this kit ? does it really replace the need for the spare wheel ?

for example has anyone used this Tirefit after puncture ? also how much is it, and what is the part number to order this kit ?

here is the link to some info on a guy who reduced the weight of his slk and gained space in the boot (fitted a luggage box in place of old spare wheel)

http://www.slk32.com/pages/tirefit/tirefit.html

and here is a link with pictures of some guy using this kit:

http://www.mbcdi.com/tirefit/thumbs1.htm
 
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That looks the same as the kit that comes as standard in the smart roadster (except my one is orange, not blue!) I believe the kit is around £80(!) to buy separately.

Probably more economical and just as effective to carry a £5 can of Holt's Tyre Weld and a cheap compressor around.
 
i personally don't see the point.

Imagine getting stranded somewhere because the gunk won't fill the hole.

A wheel is better than gunk.

I also recall something about if you use this you need to get a complete tyre and the fitters hate doing them because they have to clean up the inside of the rim
 
There are limits to what these tyre sealing systems can cope with. Bog standard nail punctures & the like fine so maybe nine times out of ten or more that can be dealt with, but anything worse like a rip, tear, rim or bead damage as a result of deflation and you can be in trouble.

So my view is that relying on tyre sealant alone is only a good idea if you do not venture out into the wilds much but even so I would always keep the jack on board.

By way of a cautionary tale, workmate has a Subaru with a space saver tyre, but discovered the hard way it would not fit over his chunky front calipers! So absent full size spare, a front wheel puncture will always mean for him swapping a rear tyre for the space saver and putting the freed up rear tyre on the front. How happy he was to find this out one wet, cold evening in the middle of nowhere. So now two cans of tyre sealant and a footpump add to the poxy space saver as fixtures in his motor. :D
 
The New SLK comes with a very slim solid rubber tyre that takes up very little space and I belive the old slk came with an uniflated spare and a powered tyre pump. Either of these could be a compromise to save some space and weight.
 

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