Fullsize spare, will it "fit"?

Spule 4 · #1 (**permalink**) 04-30-2006, 04:51 PM

All:

The infamous "cost and EPA rating saving" temporary spare tire is in the Fit. No thanks......

It appears from the owner's manual that switching the position of the screw that holds the spare, that a full size tire will go in there? Not sure, as the hole looks a bit shallow.

Has anyone seen if a 14" wheel will actually fit in the hole?

Also, is the 14" steel wheel used by a Civic or the like? I know the bolt size is the same, but what about width and offset?

I would pull a wheel and check, but it is raining here for the next several days....BTW, the Fit did well in strong rain and wind on the interstate.

Garrett

Packy · #2 (**permalink**) 06-05-2006, 08:21 PM

Bump to see if anyone has tried putting a full-size in the spare tire spot yet?

hatchgeek · #3 (**permalink**) 06-05-2006, 09:28 PM

I happened to look at the spare tire storage this weekend while preparing for a road trip and I don't think a regular tire will fit. The compact spare pretty much takes up all the space if you want the cover to then be level in the trunk space. I didn't actually stick a regular tire in there to test for sure, but from my best estimate the space is pretty limited, flipping it around won't make a difference either. So for now I guess we are stuck with the lil' guy.

Packy · #4 (**permalink**) 06-05-2006, 09:34 PM

Oh well, thanks hatchgeek

I've just been so spoiled with the full-size spare in our Forester. Granted, none of the vehicles that compete with the Fit have full-size spares either

oOo LinDa · #5 (**permalink**) 06-06-2006, 08:33 AM

hey.. i think i was deceived.. my salesman (which no longer works there) said that a full size WILL fit.. oh well, i guess i'll just have to wait and see.

sillypuddy · #6 (**permalink**) 06-06-2006, 09:56 AM

the full size will fit inside the well, because otherwise when you have a flat on the highway with 4 passengers, where else you going to put the flat tire? not going to throw it into the ditch :-)

but the issue is that the floor of the trunk will now not lay flat.. it will be higher than normal..

-joe

ngoldberg · #7 (**permalink**) 06-06-2006, 11:47 AM

I would not recomend putting a full size spare in the well , it will raise the floor of the trunk up and will not be secure. The full size tire is too wide.

Packy · #8 (**permalink**) 06-06-2006, 02:24 PM

It's too bad they couldn't have made the floor lower to allow a full-size spare... but I guess that would add to the cost of the car, so it's understandable.

sillypuddy · #9 (**permalink**) 06-06-2006, 03:15 PM

making the floor lower isn't an option, you can't go lower since the suspension is in the way, so you go up..

99% of the time the spare just takes up space.. i won't want to lose valuable cargo space to this "hitchhiker"

-joe

hatchgeek · #10 (**permalink**) 06-06-2006, 03:30 PM

I guess I should clarify my previous post and agree with others here. A regular tire would most likely fit (I did not actually try it out but checked it out while packing the car) in the well but it will raise the floor of the cargo space by not allowing the cover to lay flat in the back.

If you got a flat, theoretically you could put it in the well but you'd probably want to fix it ASAP because you don't want to be riding around on the little donut anyway. So packing the regular tire away nicely is kinda pointless long term.

I would prefer to have a regular size spare too but since the late 80's none of my smaller cars have had the space. I just pray for no flats.

Spule 4 · #11 (**permalink**) 06-12-2006, 10:47 PM

All:

Today, while I had the impact wrench out rotating tires on the Camry, I took a wheel (19mm nuts BTW) off the Fit and put it in the hole, and NO it does not Fit.

It will go in the hole, but the cover does NOT go flat.