[gpjlytham]

Hi All.

I just bought a 2002 Cougar V6 for my daughter and the spare tire needs to be replaced. I called discount tire and they say the size is no longer available.

It looks like the spare wheel well in the trunk is too small for a regular size wheel, I might find a wheel/tire in a cougar at the junk yard but it will be a 20 year old tire.

What options do we have? do any modern cars have the same bolt pattern and come with a donut spare?

Suggestions?

 

[gpjlytham]

I see that Kumho make a 125/80 15 spare tire. The tire height would be approx 1" smaller than the original spare. And the original spare wheel height appears to be approx 1" smaller than the tires that are on the car 205/55/r16. Therefore the Kumho spare tire height would be approx 2" smaller than the other tires.

Does that really matter? a spare would only be used to get you to the nearest tire dealer.

Thoughts?

 

[B3NN3TT]

Should be ok if you make sure to keep it on the rear; never mount a mismatched tire size on there front.

Why not just drop an electric inflator with slime in the back and call it a day? My Mustang is thusly equipped from the factory. No room for a spare back there.

https://www.autozone.com/suspension-steering-tire-and-wheel/tire-repair-kit/p/slime-smart-spair-tire-repair-kit/266790_0_0

 

[gpjlytham]

I did a little more research and it looks like:-
Original tires were 215/50r16
tires on car now 205/55/r16
original spare tire t125/90r15

the original tires were approx. .5" larger than the original spare
The tires on the car are approx. 1" larger than the original spare
If i get the available spare it will be approx. 2" smaller than the tires that are on the car.

 

[gpjlytham]

I went to discount tire and they confirmed that no one makes the original spare size tire (or no one they deal with makes the original size tire). He said the 125/80 15 isn't ideal but it would work. He recommended using it on the back not on the front, but said even on the front it would get you to a tire place. So i bought the tire.

The slime and tire inflator only work if the tire has a small leak and so a spare is a better way to go. My malibu and soul both didn't come with spare tires but both cars had a space for a spare so I bought spares.

 

[B3NN3TT]

Agree, it doesn't really help with a blowout, but sometimes these things happen. My MINI Cooper S didn't have a spare from the factory either; it was sold with run-flat tires, which are awful. So I put on the tires of my preference and threw a slime inflator in the back.

I also have roadside assistance coverage on my insurance policy, which was a very small additional cost - good thing for anyone to look into.

 

[02cougarxr]

One of my annoyances in modern cars is the lack of a proper spare, as in my wife's pacifica minivan. they also provided the slime which didn't do much when my wife thought the 8" curb looked like it might like to eat some aluminum rim for an after dinner mint. Sliced the whole side wall. I went out and bought a spare rim and mounted a used returned tire from Town Fair. They offer a mini spare that fits in the center cubby, but then you cannot fold the middle seat down which we sometimes like to do. So I have full size that just lives in the rear cargo area, keep a spare rubber mallet and 1"2 ratchet with the proper socket, and a new scissor lift. I hope to never have to use it. I have changed 3 tires in the past 10 years on my truck on the side of the road in not ideal conditions. last one being Last Halloween morning, changing out a flat in a Dunkin Donuts small parking lot wearing my Hanson Bros. Jersey from Slapshot. That was the half asleep mistake forgetting to chock the fronts on the incline and the truck rolled off the jack. Thankfully those rotors were being replaced soon after.

 

[mmc757]

Here's how my journey to answer the same question went a while back:
OEM spare tire size no longer available?

 

[mmc757]

My Miata has nothing. They put a stow in the trunk for a jack and repair kit but didn't provide them. I'm told there's a Honda spare that fits in the trunk but I'm really not interested in losing my trunk for that. So yeah...I've got a compressor and slime kit.

 

[DarkCat00]

Hi All.

I just bought a 2002 Cougar V6 for my daughter and the spare tire needs to be replaced. I called discount tire and they say the size is no longer available.

It looks like the spare wheel well in the trunk is too small for a regular size wheel, I might find a wheel/tire in a cougar at the junk yard but it will be a 20 year old tire.

What options do we have? do any modern cars have the same bolt pattern and come with a donut spare?

Suggestions?

Others that will work with the same bolt pattern 4x108.
Ford Focus (Early ones with 4 lugs), Ford Contour, Ford Fiesta, might be others just make sure they have the same bolt pattern. I used focus and contour ones as I couldn’t find any cougars at the time. But like Bennett said if you can’t find any good ones just use a tire inflator in you trunk. They do make can slime so it’ll be easier to keep and if it expires you won’t be out much. Good luck

I have my original one still in my trunk, but I’ve used a few on my parts car and they still hold up and look good.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ocondan223]

Hi All.

I just bought a 2002 Cougar V6 for my daughter and the spare tire needs to be replaced. I called discount tire and they say the size is no longer available.

It looks like the spare wheel well in the trunk is too small for a regular size wheel, I might find a wheel/tire in a cougar at the junk yard but it will be a 20 year old tire.

What options do we have? do any modern cars have the same bolt pattern and come with a donut spare?

Suggestions?

Not sure how much you like to pay buy you can buy a use ram on ebay for around a 150 and amazon you can get a tire for 90 dollar .

 

[skater]

Not sure how much you like to pay buy you can buy a use ram on ebay for around a 150 and amazon you can get a tire for 90 dollar .

Can you please provide a link to this tire on Amazon? I couldn't find it by searching on size.

 

[B3NN3TT]

Can you please provide a link to this tire on Amazon? I couldn't find it by searching on size.

I think they might have been referring to a full OEM-size spare wheel & tire. Not clear.

 

[mmc757]

The price with exchange rate on this cool Euro donut is down to about $330. That's worth consideration if someone is hell bent on a donut.
The Fiesta is probably the only direct fit we have in NA that's not already too old. Its just a little smaller diameter.

 

[mmc757]

I had another random thought that everyone will hate...
It's possible to get a motorcycle tire with adequate ratings in a size that would fit...

This is a 25" diameter tire that should be acceptable for a 4 1/2" or 5" wide wheel. That would fit in our spare tire well.

 

[B3NN3TT]

The Fiesta is probably the only direct fit we have in NA that's not already too old. Its just a little smaller diameter.

Does the Fiesta ST use an inflator? They have an OEM 17" tire, so if they use a space saver, it should be larger than the base Fiesta...

 

[mmc757]

Fiesta donuts are available in 125/80/15

Here's one from a 2018

 

[mmc757]

Does the Fiesta ST use an inflator? They have an OEM 17" tire, so if they use a space saver, it should be larger than the base Fiesta...

ST is 205/40/17 - 23.5"
Base is 185/60/15 - 23.7"
Spare is 125/80/15 - 22.9"

 

[B3NN3TT]

Ha, wow - didn't know they used that much tire on the base model 15's.