FAQ : 235 : Fit a full size spare wheel into a New (B7) C4 or DS4 - electric parking brake - C4

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FAQ #235

	Fit a full size spare wheel into a New (B7) C4 or DS4 - electric parking brake
	Spare wheels are an option for New C4's and DS4s. If you don't pay for it, you get a can of sealant and a compressor. DSigns can have a (near) full size spare wheel. DStyles have an electric parking brake which sits in the wheel well, so Citroen won't sell you a proper spare. You can have a space saver though. DSports get the electric brake, but the front disks are too big for the space saver. No spare is available. Sealant is fine as long as it's only a small puncture. If you do some real damage, you're on your own. I can't see how the compressor is going to work if I destroy a wheel. How am I going to bolt it to the hub? It's time to get a proper spare: This is what you get. The parking brake is underneath. It's basically an electric winch. You can fit a 19 inch wheel in the well. In fact you could get something slightly bigger in there. But the wheel is too deep. Enter Mr Rolson. 10mm thick foam rubber matting. The solution is simple. Raise the boot floor. The carpet still fits. I had to tilt the back seats to tuck it underneath though. The finishing touch - a reversible boot mat. I wore holes in the boot carpet on my old C4. I had to buy this lot as well. Now I need to find somewhere to store all this stuff. The black plastic bit can go in the garage though. This should work for new C4s as well. If you want to do this yourself, you'll need the following: All prices are ex VAT. 19" Cairns wheel: 5401V1 - £304.85 Jack: 672594 - £25.56 Mounting stud: 671769 - £6.71 Wheel brace: 671739 - £5.92 Disassembly tool (the yellow plastic thing. I don't really know if I needed this): 676305 - £2.72 Boot mat (optional): 9464HG - £32.90 Rolson matting: £10.00 from Halfords. That includes the VAT. That comes to £354.09 (£424.91 including VAT). If you want the boot mat, the total is £386.99 (£464.39 including VAT). Don't forget to buy a tyre as well! Now for the tools! As most of you know, C4s and DS4s are very similar to Peugeot 308s. Many of the parts and accessories are compatible. The mk1 308 under shelf storage tray (part number 965781, £65.59) almost fits in a DS4. With a full 19 inch alloy spare under my boot floor, I needed to find somewhere else to store my jack. This may work in C4 mk2s, it definately won't work for mk1s. I have no idea about Picassos. The tray seems to fit... But there's a gap at each side. The tray is 10mm too short and can easily fall out. The gap between the parcel shelf supports is 972mm on a 308, and 982mm on a DS4. Could someone with a C4 mk2 measure the gap between the parcel shelf supports at the narrowest point? If it's at least 972mm then this will work. The mounting brackets are push fit. If you pull them out, you can modify them. The first thing you need is a bigger support. I used some strips of aluminium. 60 grit sandpaper (aluminium oxide paper if you're pedantic) makes short work of the paint. Roughen the surfaces, then stick them together with an adhesive of your choice. I used Araldite Rapid epoxy resin. You could stop there, but I'd rather do it properly. Hammerite Special Metals Primer. Hammerite doesn't like aluminium very much. It might have been OK without, but I didn't want to take the chance. And Hammerite smooth black To prevent the tray sliding about, I put some self-adhesive Hobbycraft Fab Foam on the bottom, bought for the princely sum of 80p. And some Rolson foam rubber matting on the sides to pack it firmly. This was left over from my spare wheel project. I stuck the foam down with double sided Sellotape. Push the mounts back into place. And install your tray. There's no chance of it sliding around and it doesn't make any noise. So, about that jack... That's not going to move. I went to Halfords and spent too much money instead of wasting my day off shopping around. HBR100 shock cord (bungee) for £13.99. HBB130 grommets for £7.99. I stuck the grommets in place with superglue just to be sure. It wasn't easy to drill the tray. Start with a small hole, then widen it slowly with the correct drill for your chosen grommets. The drill will snatch at every possible opportunity and you might end up with huge novelty holes. If this happens to you, please post pictures. The chocks you can see on the left are Draper 54500. Now for the other tools... I wrapped the other tools up in a sheet of foam I had stashed. Held together with more shock cord. And wedged behind the jack. No rattles. Observant readers are probably wondering where the other bits are. The emergency release for the electric parking brake is wedged in between the EPB and the foam it sits on. I don't think I'm going to need it very often. The locking wheel nut key and the yellow plastic thing (what is that thing for?) are in the boot side pocket, along with a tub of Big Wipes. I have my boot back! The parcel shelf still sits correctly. FrankBullitt wrote ... Fantastically useful, if expensive! We have the space saver wheel for our DS4, the insert is retained and the space saver sits nicely on top with space to spare under the boot floor; There is a different insert for cars with a full size spare but I'm not sure if the 19" wheel will sit in this - I suspect not looking at your boot! As for what to do with the loose parts it should all fit below the wheel around the handbrake mechanism if wrapped in bubble wrap, only the jack might prove to be too big - there is a retaining net in the boot that might hold this back. BigJohnD wrote ... Depending on your model (those with a manual handbrake I think), the well in the boot should accept a full size tyre. Here is my (OEM) 16" steel wheel with a 205×55 R16 tyre - same size as those on my 16" alloys. You need to add a suitable jack and wheel brace as a minimum. There is a screw fitting to hold the wheel to the floor, a little tool to remove the chrome bolt caps and tray, but they're not essential. And don't forget the towing eye and the socket/key for the security bolt. Also, I'm not sure if the 15" wheel clears the brakes both front and rear - go for a 16" to be sure.
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Member Rating :	10.0 - 6 votes
FAQ Posted by	Irritant
Info	Created: 24 March 2015 Last Updated: 30 March 2015