The "No Spare Tire Paranoia" Blues

[sjz]

My name is Steve Z, and I'm OCD (self diagnosed).
Even tho I knew the car had no spare tire, I thought I would be OK with it...but I'm not. True, there is always roadside assist & AAA, but if I slash a tire or break / bend a rim, the chance that I would be able to replace these items while away from home (or even at home) in a timely manner are slim to none. This would be one wonderful way of ruining a road trip. Even tho I have the Kicker, I don't think it would drown out the little woman's comments should this contingency occur!
I have the AS Goodyears on the car now. I have purchased 4 used 300C SRT8 wheels, and am trying to develop a plan. I have no problem keeping a spare rim & tire combo in the trunk, along with a scissor jack & lug wrench. I realize they take up space, but I don't need lots of room back there.
Plan 1. Buy 4 Pirelli Scorpion 255/45/20 tires and mount them on my spare rims. Keep one in the trunk as a spare, the other three in the garage. Come winter, put the Pirelli's on the car, and leave one OEM tire/wheel in the trunk as a spare.
Problem: The 245/45/20 is 0.3" smaller in diameter than the 255/55/20, http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html
and I believe that may screw up the limited slip rear (am I mistaken?). Of course, if I get a flat in the rear, I could always move a tire from the front to the rear and put the odd size up front. That's a lot of work. Also a lot of money for four new tires.
Plan 2. Buy one OEM type Goodyear 245/45/20 tire, mount it on the rim, and keep it in the trunk. See for myself if these tires handle poorly on snow. If they do, work out a plan #3.

Am I the only one with these concerns? Am I in worse mental shape than I care to admit?
-Steve

[haas]

The paranoia is justifiable, trust me

[WhiteDiamond]

Steve,

Veryify that the wheels you are hoping to use as spares fit the SRT-8. The Brembo's are a larger caliper and may require a different back spacing. The .3" of change in diameter is a concern if you have to put the spare on a driven hub(rear wheels). I would keep the speed down and you may get SELs due to the ESP or ABS systems seing different rotations speeds. See if you can find a tire with a close diameter.

Todd

[srt8danno]

Steve admitting that you have a problem is the first step in recovery. I too have been worried about this matter as I await delivery. I hope a nice plan evolves from this site. Thanks for sharing your problem and I feel your pain.

[II kings 9:20]

My RX8 also had no spare, unacceptable without runflats. Whatever you do, lock that spare down securely in the trunk. People have been killed or severely injured from spares knocking the flimsy rear seats down and flying into the passenger compartment in a frontal crash. Would be a real shame to survive the crash only to have the back of your head caved in by the spare.

[TheSRTSaint]

Originally Posted by II kings 9:20

My RX8 also had no spare, unacceptable without runflats. Whatever you do, lock that spare down securely in the trunk. People have been killed or severely injured from spares knocking the flimsy rear seats down and flying into the passenger compartment in a frontal crash. Would be a real shame to survive the crash only to have the back of your head caved in by the spare.

Being my wife with has lived with OCD her whole life, I can without question state that this will NOT help his paranoia

[Mr.DJ]

Originally Posted by sjz

My name is Steve Z, and I'm OCD (self diagnosed).
Even tho I knew the car had no spare tire, I thought I would be OK with it...but I'm not. True, there is always roadside assist & AAA, but if I slash a tire or break / bend a rim, the chance that I would be able to replace these items while away from home (or even at home) in a timely manner are slim to none. This would be one wonderful way of ruining a road trip. Even tho I have the Kicker, I don't think it would drown out the little woman's comments should this contingency occur!
I have the AS Goodyears on the car now. I have purchased 4 used 300C SRT8 wheels, and am trying to develop a plan. I have no problem keeping a spare rim & tire combo in the trunk, along with a scissor jack & lug wrench. I realize they take up space, but I don't need lots of room back there.
Plan 1. Buy 4 Pirelli Scorpion 255/45/20 tires and mount them on my spare rims. Keep one in the trunk as a spare, the other three in the garage. Come winter, put the Pirelli's on the car, and leave one OEM tire/wheel in the trunk as a spare.
Problem: The 245/45/20 is 0.3" smaller in diameter than the 255/55/20, http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html
and I believe that may screw up the limited slip rear (am I mistaken?). Of course, if I get a flat in the rear, I could always move a tire from the front to the rear and put the odd size up front. That's a lot of work. Also a lot of money for four new tires.
Plan 2. Buy one OEM type Goodyear 245/45/20 tire, mount it on the rim, and keep it in the trunk. See for myself if these tires handle poorly on snow. If they do, work out a plan #3.

Am I the only one with these concerns? Am I in worse mental shape than I care to admit?
-Steve

IMHO...go with Plan 'B' (Plan 2), that is unless you have already found a buyer for your four 'Eagle RSA' tires (to help off-set your costs), as well as also knowing for a fact that the new tire size will fit up front on the OEM 'SRT-8' wheels without any rubbling/handling issues whatsoever...the P245/45ZR20's already come very close to the front suspension arm bolt.

[sjz]

Originally Posted by Mr.DJ

IMHO...go with Plan 'B' (Plan 2), that is unless you have already found a buyer for your four 'Eagle RSA' tires (to help off-set your costs), as well as also knowing for a fact that the new tire size will fit up front on the OEM 'SRT-8' wheels without any rubbling/handling issues whatsoever...the P245/45ZR20's already come very close to the front suspension arm bolt.

I agree, and that's what I'm going to do. I will post some pictures of what the whole mess looks like sitting in the trunk. Thanks to all for the opinions!
-Steve

[Nexus-6]

I got to experience the no spare tire fun last week...

Had a flat (a massive bolt had found it's way through the inner sidewall on the right rear tire)....lucky for me I noticed at the house. Had to special order the tire (nobody had them in stock) and 6 days later it showed up. Had to cart the wheel/tire in to get the tire replaced and put it back on this morning...kind of a pain honestly.

The worst part was being SRT8-less for a week while the tire shipped in.

[Rebel78]

I really haven't thought about it a whole lot. Maybe I should consider doing something, but I don't think I want a spare flopping around the trunk.