spare tire questions:
16" winter wheels, 17"summer wheels. what do I do about a spare? one of each? a donut? does it matter?

 

As long as you keep the same diameter as what is on the car you can run whatever size wheel you want. How much of a difference in diameter between the summer and winter tires is there?

Here is a link to a tire size calculator http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html if you need it.

 

I would just get a 16" for a spare (cheaper than a 17) and get an economy grade tire as well just to save a bit more. Remember it's a spare so when you do need to use it, just keep it on long enough to get your other tire repaired.

 

Actually the same size diameter is only critical for the front wheels. If you don't want to lug around a full-size spare, you'll be fine with a smaller diamter donut. If you get a flat on the front and you have more then a handful of miles to travel to get the car home or to a shop for repair, just make sure you put the donut on the rear and put the good tire from the rear on the front.

The donut spares will also tuck neatly in behind your front seats so you'll still have one accessible rear seat and your full cargo area open.

 

Thanks to my son who just totaled our 97 Honda Civic, I now have a donut spare from that undrivable vehicle. I've seen postings before that say this spare will fit our cars. Anyone have any real experience with that?

 

I hope your son is OK.

What size wheels does your Honda have? A 14" wheel isn't going to fit over the front brakes on a MINI.

 

i bought a set of x-lites used from a local MINI buddy and put one in
those tirerack tote, stacked it up on top of my other wheelset.

now i can call the wife to bring the tire tote if i ever get a flat
and she won't have to worry about getting her hands or cloths
dirty.

 

My son and passenger both walked away without a scratch thanks to airbags and a pretty much head on crash. I don't know what size the wheels were, but the spare is a mini donut type spare. I haven't gotten to try it on yet, but I thought maybe someone else had used one. Ther are lots of postings about this sort of stuff but I don't recall anyone saying they actually have one.

 

Haven't tried in on the front for brake clearance yet.

I put it in a vinyl spare tire cover from Walmart behind the passenger seat. I can throw it in the trunk if I have back seat passengers.

 

I'd guess it'll go over the front brake just fine. Best check it though.

 

I believe in another thread it was determined that the mini-spare tire that comes with Chevy Cobalt fits. As I recall the poster(s) obtained them from local salvage yards for a pittance and placed them in nylon bags. They supposedly fit in the boot!!!