I've been running non run flats for a couple of years now. What I do is just carry around an extra 15" steelie with a snow tire on it. I have 17" wheels for the summer. Anyway, I was thinking a small donut would take up less room in the back. Anybody know what would fit before I go calling junkyards?.

-Jim

 

discussed here
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...pare-tire.html

Actually I'm looking for one as well, and although I have found several 14in space savers from civics, I'm not sure it will clear the front brake. I have not seen any 15in and may have to just take a chance.

 

You dont want to mount a spare tire on the front of a car, that can cause all sorts of steering and braking problems. I am also looking for a spare tire as well, if 14in clear the rear brakes then I plan to pick up a spare from a civic.

 

I think the 14in will clear the rear without problem.

Understanding a temporary spare is better on the rear wheels, I had hoped a 15in would at least allow for direct use over short distances. But I cannot find one. Has anyone?

I also noticed, the pre '96 civic seem to have a smaller regular tire size than the post '96, and wondered if the spare was smaller and I should look for a post '96 civic spare. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but these are about 3/4 inch shorter than a mini 17in tire?

 

I have seen them on Ebay in last two months.....they are made for the NON S Coopers.

If you get a flat on the front, you have to move a back tire to that spot and put donut tire on rear.

Personally, I'd purchase a Tire Goo kit from Walmart. It is just like the one's sold in MINI Stores everywhere, and includes the 12v tire pump, except Walmart sells them for 19 bucks and other MINI shops sell them for 40 bucks.....and always good idea to have AAA.

 

 

Well in my case my father is insisting that I have a proper spare, so the search continues. I just need to figure out the hub size on the civic and I am set I think.

 

I, also, would like to buy a donut spare. Presently I'm carrying a summer tire for a spare and it is quite big for the back.

 

Spares are old school thinking for a 21st century Sub-MINI car. AAA, and the Tire Slime kit. The kits work awesome, and in most cases fixes the flat permanently.........unless you happen run over a metal guard rail. In that case a flat is probably the least of your worries.

 

Please consider this option:
Space Saver Tire

 

I just renewed my AAA for a whole family of drivers, for an entire year, for half the cost of that space saver (am i reading it wrong?)

Tatt

 

$250 for a space saver?! c'mon, you've gotta be kidding.

 

Many folks will consider the convenience and peace of mind of being able to get the OEM spare ready-to-roll from a reputable vendor to be worth that price.

Just because some of us are comfortable with the junkyard approach isn't a reason to roll the eyes at Don for running a business.

And I drive lots of places with NO cell coverage and maybe one car coming along every couple of hours... AAA doesn't help much in those cases...

 

I bought mine for $75 IIRC on the Market here on NAM. I bought a sweet bag from our own Jersey Girl to carry it in. It rides nicely standing behind the co-drivers seat.

I thought a Honda Civic donut would work. So I pulled the donut out of my son's Civic. It was a no-go on the front, I figured it would be. It also is a no-go on the rear!

Wow $250 is a whole lot. You'd think at that price it would be gold plated.

Read somewhere that a Cobalt donut fits...

 

Also if you experience a total tire blow out, the can of goo isn't going to help much either.

This is one of the reasons why I have stuck with runflats. Standard radials have a higher tendency to incur a total blowout vs runflats.

 

Runflat doesn't help me either, though, when I'm 300 miles from home on a weekend in the middle of nowhere with no tire shops that stock tires in our size... only a spare helps then...

 

Sure. I have had a "blowout" in a runflat and I was still able to drive on it for 35 miles with zero air. Try that on a radial.

 

Did you miss the part where I said 300 miles from civilization?

 

Nope. I also meant to include a remark for "us city dwellers" in my previous post.

It must be nice to be 300 miles away from civilization!

 

If the Miata spare donut is supposed to work on the Mini, here is a source that is reasonably priced.

 

Miata should NOT work if I'm reading the specs correctly... center bore on Miata is 54.1mm, center bore on MINI is 56.1

 

You guys should be ashamed of yourselves. These are Ferrari/Porche prices. I mean, come on, $250 for something you get at a junkyard for $20. And almost $200 for a jack and a wrench?????

I'll cross Mini Mania off my list on this one. Talk about gouging...

 

The last blowout I had on a car was in 1986. For me blowouts are not very common. I'd gladly take my chance rather than drive on runflats. Just my .02 here.

 

Crashton,

What exactly did you buy for $75? I missed something on that.


Thanks,
Jim

 

A fellow NAMer was selling a donut from a Cooper & I snatched it up. Keep an eye peeled in the Market I've seen several others sell in the last couple of years.