Spare tire delete idea

[Poodles]

You're removing weight from the wrong end...

[FloridaBRZ]

I say if you are that concerned with reducing weight.... go on a diet. I heard bulimia works really well. I have cancer and I've lost about 25 pounds from chemo and radiation. I can't feel any difference in my car though. Sad panda. but in all seriousness, you are removing weight from the wrong end, and that small amount wont make a difference. If you are stripping the entire interior then maybe it would help, but putting yourself in a potential dangerous position for a small amount of weight reduction is crazy pants. What happens if you are driving a loved one to the hospital, and you get a flat? Gonna wait for roadside assist? I know its an over exaggerated hypothetical situation, but stranger things have happened.

[Enders FRS]

He'd call an ambulance and ditch the car..... If you need a crazy hypothetical, the the zombie apocalypse is upon us and they are about to drop a nuke, you're still 5 miles from the 'safe zone' and you suffer a blowout and the car won't make 5 miles on the rim.....


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[B-R-Z]

IMO the weight and space savings isn't worth being SOL when you are on the side of the road at 2am with a flat.

Are you trying to improve your 1/4 mile or trying to make room for something else? Or are you just doing it to do it?

[extrashaky]

I have had AAA for almost 30 years. I have never had them respond in less than an hour. Even if I call AAA, I can't be sure they'll send a roll back, and doubt it's a good idea to tow this car on two wheels. The actual AAA trucks carry tire repair gear with them, but I always end up getting one of the contract tow operators who doesn't. So all they would be able to do is tow the car or change the tire for me, which doesn't help if I don't have a spare.

I regularly drive through rural areas. I really can't imagine running without a spare. In fact, I would upgrade to the OEM full-sized spare setup if I didn't need all my trunk space.

[ayilar]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

I have had AAA for almost 30 years. I have never had them respond in less than an hour. Even if I call AAA, I can't be sure they'll send a roll back, and doubt it's a good idea to tow this car on two wheels. The actual AAA trucks carry tire repair gear with them, but I always end up getting one of the contract tow operators who doesn't. So all they would be able to do is tow the car or change the tire for me, which doesn't help if I don't have a spare.

I regularly drive through rural areas. I really can't imagine running without a spare. In fact, I would upgrade to the OEM full-sized spare setup if I didn't need all my trunk space.

Ditto.

[FRSNewb]

Originally Posted by Akari

I've been highly considering removing my spare tire as most all of my driving is to/from work where I could easily have a friend bring it out or AAA home if need be. With that said I've love to find a way to utilize the extra truck space made by removing this and the tool trays.

Does any vendor make a new trunk mat that is meant for this purpose? Something clean looking that replaces the factory carpet piece and allows us to utilize this extra space would be perfect!

If you don't know of any, is this something that you would be interested in?

I do Subaru Roadside Assistance for the US (part-time job) so if you do do this, don't call us complaining the vehicle doesn't have a spare, and the only thing we can do is tow the vehicle for you to a Subaru dealership (we could tow you elsewhere but you'd have to pay for the tow), rather than putting on your spare tire to get you back on your way :P

[Muckraker]

Originally Posted by Ubersuber

Spare tires are pretty much irrelevant now. I have four unused space saver spares to prove it, two of which are 15-20 years old and therefore useless.

Count yourself as lucky.

The FR-S I bought this summer had a blow-out 10 days after I got it. The tire couldn't be fixed. I put 170 miles on the spare while waiting four days for a replacement tire. It had to be special-ordered from out of state.

Then this weekend, on day 66 of ownership, I found a screw embedded in the tread. The tire isn't flat, yet. I'm hoping it didn't penetrate enough to cause a leak.

Every car I've had in 30 years of driving has gotten a flat tire at least once and I've needed the spare to get around until I could get the tire repaired or replaced.

Roadside assistance may get you home, but it won't get you to your job the next day.

[nzer]

Back on topic for you.

If you currently have a donut type liner then I guess you're looking for a flat one like these:

The toyota 86 has this one
https://www.japanparts.com/parts/detail/43151

The Subaru BRZ has this one
https://www.japanparts.com/parts/detail/40672

And this
https://www.japanparts.com/parts/detail/40673

You should be able to find the equivalent in the US.

If however you mean a hard piece of board to go over the top I'm not sure where you'd find that but you could cut your own piece out.

And, off topic - our later cars came with repair kit. I got a spare when I split a tire wall and the repair kit wouldn't work. Not fun being stranded and then the hassle of leaving the car to go away and get a new tire fitted.

I also take a spare with me to the track just in case I need it to get home if anything goes wrong with a tire while on track.

EDIT: could this be what you're after http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71895

[cnk]

Just something else to consider is that there are some punctures that can't be fixed by AAA or roadside assistance and would either require a tow or the use of a spare. I took a metal rod to my rear tire last year that went in through the tread and out the sidewall. 10m later, I was headed home on the spare tire to swap out rims/tires.

If you're lowered, I really wouldn't want a tow truck driver scraping the hell out of the car getting it onto the flatbed either. Although the probability is low of you ever needing the spare, you'll be glad you have it when you need it.

[FRSNewb]

Originally Posted by Muckraker

Roadside assistance may get you home, but it won't get you to your job the next day.

You wouldn't believe the number of people that expect us to do this for them though.... smh

[campy]

It's a daily driver, not a race car. You aren't going to feel the weight difference going around the mcdonalds drive through.

Besides, flat tires usually happen randomly. Saying "I haven't gotten a flat before" isn't a good argument for leaving your donut at home.

[Scenic Driver]

For those that have said a spare isn't needed

I've needed the spare in almost every car I have owned since I started driving. A couple of the times it was due to a sidewall rip which could not be fixed with plugs or fix a flat (I do carry plugs and fix flats myself on the side of the road when it's possible but sometimes it just isn't). The last time it wasn't flat but I came out of work to find I had a bubble in the sidewall and didn't want to take a chance driving 60 miles on the highway like that.

I've also waited over 2 hours for roadside assistance at times when I've needed a tow, once was during a major rainstorm, I wouldn't want to do that just for a flat that I can change in under 10 minutes. I also do lots of driving in mountain areas where there is no cell phone coverage.

[Stang70Fastback]

Coincidentally enough, I was perusing these forums yesterday, and this is one of the threads I stumbled across. Read it. Thought, "Yeah, I'd rather have my spare just in case." Then I walked out to my car in the garage (which I hadn't driven since like last Friday) and sure enough:



Put the spare on, headed over to Discount Tire this morning and got it patched, tested, balanced and mounted, all for the grand total of $0.00! Discount Tire FTW!!!