I have been looking for a new spare for a while, but to no avail. Currently I have a full size steel wheel in the trunk that I am using. I want a full size donut though. The donut is slim enough to fit under the trunk mat cover thing, but big enough that I don’t drag the ground… I am dropped pretty hard, so if I put the donut on, I am like 1 inch of the ground… which isnt good.
A side note, the 14" steel wheel doesnt fit on the front because of my Acura Legend Brake conversion… But thats not really a big issue, just a hassle if the front goes flat.
So what do you guys use? Does anyone have a full size (diameter) donut or a full size - skinny (like 4" wide) wheel?
Oh, okay. Well, I have never measured the stock donut, but the diameter of the wheel itself would be something less than 14 inches, which is pretty small, especially if the car is lowered (mine isn’t so it doesn’t matter to me).
BTW, it might be mentioned that smaller diameter spares shouldn’t be installed on the front of front-wheel-drive cars. It’s really hard on the differential in the transmission. If you get a flat tire on the front, put the donut on the back, and switch the full size wheel to the front.
What I would suggest is to call a Honda or Acura dealer (or maybe even Toyota or Nissan) and ask them if any of their vehicles ever came with a larger diameter steel donut spare with the same 4-hole pattern as the second generation Integras have. Maybe you can buy a new one (probably prohibitively expensive) or find a used one somewhere.
Duane… what you said about the differential is only true on a limit slip diff car… on an open diff car (which ours is unless you have modified it) it doesn’t matter as there is nothing stopping one side from spinning faster than the other.
If you had a flat on the front you’d just put the spare on the rear first, and then put the tire that came off the rear onto the front. Takes an extra 5 minutes or less.
The 00-up civics came with 15" spares I believe. Might be able to find one off another make vehicle that is 4x100 also.
I’m using a stock steelie. I just plan on making a custom trunk board that goes around it.
I’ve also heard about not putting the donut-sized spare on front wheel drives cars, but I thought it was mainly a safety issue, not anything to do with the transmission.
All I’ve got right now is a can of that tire sealant junk haha :crazy:
And yes, putting different sized tires will cause your tranny to wear out quicker. One tire will spin faster than the other and it’ll prevent your spider gears from turning as one. It’ll be like you’re turning a corner at all times, even when you’re driving straight.
