Pleasure doing business!

 

many thanks to person who did the orginal post, pix and all, nice job !
great to have helpful people here on the site.

 

Salvage yard, find a 4-lug VW spare with a 15" wheel (early Passat or Corrado, some '93-'99 golfs and jettas). $ 10-$35, depending on the yard. Only install it on the rear (the Mini jack wil jack up the entire side of the car). Once thoroughly cleaned, it also fits under the cargo cover just behind the rear seat of an R53 if you're clever. (not sure about the R56 but it oughta fit, your cargo area is larger)

The other option for those of us who run snows in winter is to put your non-seasonal tire behind the seat and cover the whole shebang with a black cloth. It'll fit unless you're running 225's. That way you only change the tire that's flat, but you lose the cargo cover and some storage space.

Great job piecing together the "new" option, well done!

 

I found a 05 Honda civic spare, 15". Fits center hub fine. $17 at the local pull a part.

 

What's the model # on that? 15" or actually a 14"? All I can find are 14" Civic spares.

 

There are a few on Ebay right now. Search "15 honda spare" and look for 4 bolt versions.

01-05 civic, and I see 09-11 Honda Fit.

Sorry, I can't find a part number.

 

As for a "tote bag", an old t-shirt works, if you have access to a sewing machine it's even better, and for under $5 you can get one at JoAnn Fabrics or WalMart or Target to match your car. Heck, as long as we're being really specific, get a Men's Medium or a Women's Large. Sorry, I don't have the part number! :-P

Try VW or Honda spares, 15" or larger, as the centerbores will be fine - but to ensure they fit: Drive your Mini to the salvage yard, jack it up, and try it on! Yeah, it takes a little work, but you're being paid in the $ savings you get.

Answering very early posts, NEVER, EVER put a donut on the drive wheel of a FWD car. I suppose if you WANT to wreck your transaxle and drive a car that pulls dangerously to one side, then go for it. You can jack the whole side of a Mini up from the front jackpoint anyway...

The smaller 15" VW spare actually fits behind the seat AND under the cargo cover in my R53, so it'd darn well better fit in a Clubbie!

 

Does anyone know which ones will fit over the JCW brakes?

 

Out of curiousity.... I have run flats, but use my car for work. Can I not just get another rim and tire the same size (205/45 R17) as the others on the car? And if so, can I put it in the boot where the spare should go?

I have a 2008 Mini Clubman S.

 

You can but larger file will take a lot more space in the back of already minuscule cargo. I drive my mini back and forth about 80 miles one way so I feel your pain to some degree.

 

Here's where I store my spare... there's even a soft bag inside the wheel (between the spare and the back seat) that holds my jumper cables, small compressor, plug kit, zipties, a Leatherman, duct tape and a pair of tube socks for repairs. OK, OK, no tube socks, but a spare serpentine belt and some assorted repair paraphernalia...

Note: I've loosened the tie-down for this picture, with the tie-down tight the cover fits fairly snugly and won't tip up, but it's a small price to pay. This one's a 4-lug spare from an early VW Passat, many others will fit. (Don't ask me to measure it, you've got both a Mini and a tape measure!)

 

An older thread with still very useful information. Thank you. Just ordered the Spare Rim from the MINI Part Store. $44.82 shipped. I'll call TireRack tomorrow.

 

I am not sure how much shipping is, but Detroit Tuned has a tire and wheel combo for $118. http://www.detroittuned.com/shop/?productID=504

 

Thanks for the original post and the other comments. I ordered the donut rim from theminipartsstore. Now to find the donut tire...

 

I'm tellin' ya, find a 15" spare at a salvage yard, they're dirt cheap! Of course this time of year, they're also "dirt-filled", salvage yards can be messy places...

 

So I got the wheel and tire, but I noticed that the tire is shorter than the regular tires by about 3 inches. The Kumho spare is really small. Would there be any problem with using the donut on the rear when it is 3" shorter than the other three tires? It will be spinning faster, but that should not be a problem, should it?

 

No problem at all as long as it's on the back of a front wheel drive car, and keeps the bakc end off the ground. Your TPMS or tire pressure monitoring light will go on. While those donuts are far more sturdy than their mileage and speed limitations show on the stickers, DO be careful while driving that way, as the car will noticeably pull to one side.

 

Thanks. I am going to have the tire mounted on the wheel, put it on the car and take a test drive....

 

Sounds like a plan. Go easy, and remember your ground clearance on that corner will be pretty low.

Related story: On a memorable trip to the Dragon, in a Mini caravan, my wife and I in the properly-loaded but full Mini towing my small utility trailer in 70MPH traffic, a semi lost a Large Piece of Metal in front of me. Imagine a refrigerator door, only 1/4" thick and bent, spinning down the passing lane. Choices: Straddle and take out the Mighty Expensive Bits like engine, exhaust, fuel and brake lines, swerve left and hit the center divider, swerve right and hit the Large Truck next to me, or gently ease right and take it up the drivers side tires. (amazing how fast you can think in that situation!). I took it up the driver's side and lost all 3 driver's side tires in 100 yards: Front and Rear had 2" gashes in the sidewalls and immediately went flat (non-runflats), and the trailer tire was sliced OFF THE RIM - went some 40' in the air, according to my Mini buddy behind me! At 70MPH!

The car settled down, pulled left, but stayed relatively straight (THANK YOU Mini engineers, PittStopMINI vehicle dynamics school, and a bunch of autocrossing!!). With a firm-but-gentle hand on the wheel, and a lot of signalling and clearing-of-lanes by following Minis, and more than a little swearing over the FMRS radio (sorry!) we made the shoulder with minimal drama. And ONE spare tire. Borrowed another from a friend, changed the trailer tire, and drive 50 miles to the nearest tire dealer who could replace that size tire... all 50 miles on (2) 17" street tires, (1) 15" Autocross tire, and (1) 17" autocross tire! Resulted in some Very Interesting handling...

 

I put the new donut on the car and took it for a spin. Works fine. Does want to pull to the left. I'll explain to my wife (its her car) that if this happens she'll have to drive very conservatively....

 

...or she should call you to bring her YOUR car, then you can change her tire and bring it home...

:-D

Yes, it'll handle differently, but those donuts are really only meant to get you and your car safely to the tire shop.

 

The Tirerack is now restocked with the Kumho mentioned by the OP. $42 shipped. Just in time for a road trip to Oregon.