Lightest spare tire available?

[Less Weight]

Hey fellas,

Ok, I'm sure this has been brought up before and there probably is a thread regarding it, but I can't seem to find anything. With said, I'm looking to ditch that useless air kit in my trunk and replace it with a spare tire but I don't want to add a whole bunch of weight so I want the lightest possible option.

I believe I read someplace on this forum that any spare used should be of the same overall diameter as the stock tire which makes sense to avoid any transmission damage. However, does anyone know if there is a spare tire with the same diameter as the stock tire but obviously a much narrower section width? Maybe something in a 195 width on a 14 or 15 inch rim with a really thick sidewall height? Obviously bolt patterns have to match up too.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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[shawn3210]

do you have a performance package? I been looking for a spare but no luck with having a performance package.

 

[earlingy]

There was a thread on here where they contacted Torsen and verified that up to a ~ 20% difference in tire diameter would be fine, the spare isn't that far off, and you aren't going to drive it hard or far on the spare. This, of course, only applies to PP rear diffs (and only to option 1 below). Non PP doesn't have Torsen, so you should be alright with the spare at any corner.

For PP, you can:
1. Get the regular spare, it fits on the rear. If you get a flat in the front, you put the spare on the rear, and move the rear to the front with a small spacer for clearance. Hope it isn't raining when you get a flat, because you have to change two tires on the side of the road.
2. Get a Hyundai Equus spare from a junk yard / eBay, have its center bore machined out to fit over your hub, and get some flanged lug nuts that match both the car and wheel. It matches the rear diameter if you're afraid, even though Torsen said it is OK.
3. In the GT350 forums, someone bought a full width 19" wheel from tire rack, took it to a shop and had the middle cut out, welded back together and balanced as a 19x4, then put a tire from a BMW i3 on it- it matches the rear diameter too. PP or not, this is probably the lightest option, but far more expensive.

If you care about weight, you should either stick with the compressor or even take it out. Just don't take the car on road trips that way.
P.S. If you use the sealant, the tire shop you take it to is going to hate you.

 

[thumper]

P.S. If you use the sealant, the tire shop you take it to is going to hate you.

... and budget to have the TPMS sensor replaced. :rant:

 

[Less Weight]

do you have a performance package? I been looking for a spare but no luck with having a performance package.

No, I have a base GT. I bought the Performance pack wheels after the fact.

 

[Less Weight]

There was a thread on here where they contacted Torsen and verified that up to a ~ 20% difference in tire diameter would be fine, the spare isn't that far off, and you aren't going to drive it hard or far on the spare. This, of course, only applies to PP rear diffs (and only to option 1 below). Non PP doesn't have Torsen, so you should be alright with the spare at any corner.

For PP, you can:
1. Get the regular spare, it fits on the rear. If you get a flat in the front, you put the spare on the rear, and move the rear to the front with a small spacer for clearance. Hope it isn't raining when you get a flat, because you have to change two tires on the side of the road.
2. Get a Hyundai Equus spare from a junk yard / eBay, have its center bore machined out to fit over your hub, and get some flanged lug nuts that match both the car and wheel. It matches the rear diameter if you're afraid, even though Torsen said it is OK.
3. In the GT350 forums, someone bought a full width 19" wheel from tire rack, took it to a shop and had the middle cut out, welded back together and balanced as a 19x4, then put a tire from a BMW i3 on it- it matches the rear diameter too. PP or not, this is probably the lightest option, but far more expensive.

If you care about weight, you should either stick with the compressor or even take it out. Just don't take the car on road trips that way.
P.S. If you use the sealant, the tire shop you take it to is going to hate you.

Thanks very much for the thorough reply.

Do you happen to know how much the regular spare tire weighs and how wide it is(tire and rim dimensions)? Also, is it a donut or a regular tire and where can I buy it?

Also, since I have a non PP, I can also use your Hyundai option suggestion. Does that weigh considerably less than the regular spare designed for the Mustang.

Thanks again for your input!

 

[Paul@PKAUTODESIGN]

Just so everyone knows, I have still kept this project going even with my transition to my own company.

Its being worked on right now with a group of guys so well see what we can find, we are aiming to have it work with brakes up to the Shelby GT350 sizing.

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