Full size spare wheel+tire in OEM spare storage?

maxwax

CX5 Road Tripper
:
2014 Sky Blue Touring AWD
Subject says it all.

I've gone on long trips before where I'll be away in remote areas of the USA and away from cities for days. I'd like to get a full size wheel + tire and store it in the space where the OEM spare is at.

Pardon my ignorance, but I'm assuming the OEM spare is a little smaller and less capable than what's on the wheels now.

Thanks,
 
As I understand it (from another thread here - I haven't verified the size of the spare) the spare is a full diameter tire (or very close, at least) but is obviously not as wide as a full size wheel + tire. The full size wheel and tire should fit in the hole for the spare, but the spare tire cover isn't going to fit properly.
 
Subject says it all.

I've gone on long trips before where I'll be away in remote areas of the USA and away from cities for days. I'd like to get a full size wheel + tire and store it in the space where the OEM spare is at.

Pardon my ignorance, but I'm assuming the OEM spare is a little smaller and less capable than what's on the wheels now.

Thanks,

No doubt that silly looking spare is not as capable as the real deal but I would trust it to get me out of some pretty remote and treacherous places. You just need to go slower when you get to pavement on your way to a tire shop. You might not ever need to use it, quality modern tires are quite reliable when kept properly inflated.

A full size spare will really impact the functionality of the trunk area.
 
The 'donut' spare tires usually are rated for 50 mph max, and this is stated in large letters on the sidewall. I'm guessing the CX-5 spare has this same rating, but I haven't specifically checked.
 
Not sure of the depth of the spare tire well, but from memory I doubt a full wheel would fit without raising the floor panel.

In any case, I would buy a decent tire plug set and 12v compressor to bring with you. That way you can repair most punctures pretty easily - though always get the tire professionally re-repaired and patched on the inside, when back in 'civilization'!

You can also use the tire-inflator/sealer cans, but they can have negative long-term effects and I personally wouldn't use them.
 
You might not ever need to use it, quality modern tires are quite reliable when kept properly inflated..

True, but still very much vulnerable to the random sharp object. Had to replace (not repair) a tire at just 30,000 miles or so after a screw became embedded in it.
 
Subject says it all.

I've gone on long trips before where I'll be away in remote areas of the USA and away from cities for days. I'd like to get a full size wheel + tire and store it in the space where the OEM spare is at.

Pardon my ignorance, but I'm assuming the OEM spare is a little smaller and less capable than what's on the wheels now.

Thanks,

Great question, MaxWax.
Since I'm going on a trip in a week and a half, I thought this required a couple minutes to answer.

I have snow tires mounted on my stock wheels, and aftermarket 17's that have the stock Geolanders on them, on the car, so it was as simple as grabbing one of my snow tires, popping out the center cap, and tossing it in the trunk to see what the answer is.

Stock:


Full Size:


Unfortunately, the answer is No, you can't put a full size spare, and have a flat lying trunk floor.

You can screw down the full size wheel using the yellow screw down knob:


But then you have a floor that looks like this:


Hope this answers your question Max.

BC.
 
Great question, MaxWax.
Since I'm going on a trip in a week and a half, I thought this required a couple minutes to answer.

Unfortunately, the answer is No, you can't put a full size spare, and have a flat lying trunk floor.

But then you have a floor that looks like this:


Hope this answers your question Max.

BC.

THANKS! That picture is exactly what I wanted to know. Based on this information I think my approach for a serious road trip might be to pull the stock spare and re-use that space for whatever items I want to bring but don't reasonably expect to use. Not really sure what that would be right now, but basically: use that stock spare space to free up space elsewhere. Then, bring a full size spare in the trunk/boot area along with other items.

If you have an opportunity, could you take a picture of one of your full sized tires in the trunk area? It would give me, and others, a good visual idea of how much space they take up. I suppose lying flat and packing stuff on top would work and keep the added weight's center of gravity a bit lower, but if I'm really going in a rough terrain, I might stand it up so it's accessible.

Thanks, again and nice work with the visuals on this post. This was great!
 
Factory spares can actually go through quite a tremendous amount of abuse, even though it is rated for such low speeds. The actual engineered factor of safety is beyond the low rating of ~50 MPH.

Exhibit A:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPh90yNX-mY


At the same time, don't be one of those idiots that do 70+ MPH on the left lane with a space saver spare on the driving wheel for a weeks worth of daily commute, in which case is front wheels of all CX-5's (front bias on CX-5 AWD).
 
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As no one else has mentioned it, according to the owners' manual you are NOT to use the standard spare to replace a front wheel; swap the flat front with a good rear and then install the spare in the rear. This should suggest that the spare is sufficiently sub-par that only in the gentlest of conditions should usage be considered.

Brian
 
As no one else has mentioned it, according to the owners' manual you are NOT to use the standard spare to replace a front wheel; swap the flat front with a good rear and then install the spare in the rear. This should suggest that the spare is sufficiently sub-par that only in the gentlest of conditions should usage be considered.

Brian
All well and good, and I understand the thinking, but that means jacking the car at the good wheel, swapping the tire, unjack, jacking at the BAD wheel, swapping the tire, unjack. Try telling that to someone stopped on the side of a highway with cars whizzing by at 70mph! Agggh!
 
According to Mazda the space saver can't be used when towing.

I've got a full set of 19" wheels with tyres, and intended to use one as a spare, as I tow a 1565kg caravan, in the UK we don't have a spare at all.

Its a shame the boot floor is raised but I can live with that.
 
According to Mazda the space saver can't be used when towing.

I've got a full set of 19" wheels with tyres, and intended to use one as a spare, as I tow a 1565kg caravan, in the UK we don't have a spare at all.

Its a shame the boot floor is raised but I can live with that.
Can't you put the spare in the 'van?
 
All well and good, and I understand the thinking, but that means jacking the car at the good wheel, swapping the tire, unjack, jacking at the BAD wheel, swapping the tire, unjack. Try telling that to someone stopped on the side of a highway with cars whizzing by at 70mph! Agggh!

Honestly, if you're on the side of a major road like that, just swap the spare with the bad tire, drive until the next exit, get off the highway, and do the switch then.
It actually won't damage the drive train to have the spare tire on the front, since the CX-5 does not have a locking/limited slip front differential.
I'm not really sure what the warning in the owners manual is about.

BC.
 
Just wondering if a wood support frame could level floor of so full size wheel can be carried any thoughts
 
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