The Fit's tires are not standard tires which are usually stocked at your local tire dealer so its a good idea to always have a 5th tire on-hand. Place it in your garage or basement somewhere.

I just got a screw in the sidewall of my tire today. Luckily, it took the local tire dealership about 4-5 hours to get the tire. Meanwhile, I could have used that time and was stuck at the local Starbucks idle. I didnt want to travel around on the donut tire.

If I had a 5th tire then it would have taken under 30 minutes, but this took a lot of time. I can imagine in some areas of the country where they would have to order it and it takes days to come in...

 

Yep- tire rack had a shortage for months and months last year. When I got the chance, I just picked one up. It sits and waits in case I need it in a pinch.

 

195/50/15 are pretty easy to find

 

Lolwut?

Always spend 25% more for tires?

 

When I have new tires installed, I always keep the two best ones for emergencies. On trips I put one in the Fit. Although this is not a brand nee tire, I don't let my tires wear all the way out before replacing them.

 

+1 to Spreadhead for making more sense.

If you're buying 4tires, keep one of the old ones, don't buy 5.

 

I just toss one of my snows or my summer tires on cepending on the season. Btw, just about any tire from the older 4 lug civic will fit in a pinch. Hit the junk yard and pick up a 14" steelie, ask them to leave the tire on and keep it as a spair. Shouldn't cost much.

 

Or go to 205/50's. And get a full-size spare.

 

I always got a fifth rim and tire and rotated all five.

Only problem with this? Well, two of them.

1. TPMS issues with fifth wheel, since I don't want to pay a dealer a hundred bucks every tire rotation.

2. In this case it means I'm stuck with the crummy tires for that much longer. But I wouldn't want to be on a long trip and not have a real spare.

 

as has been said, a better, cheaper, and more practical solution is to buy a steel rim and full size spare. i got one for $100 at my local discount tire. I throw it in the back on long trips.

as far as tpms goes, you just have to live with the light until the replacement tire comes in. we drove for how many years without tpms? you can survive for a week.

 

Just wondering if a full-size tire + wheel would fit in the place of the crappy, donut spare that comes with the car?

 

It's a bit thicker, so no, the floor board won't close fully.

 

Truth! hahaha

I got a nail in one of my factory tires and ditched all 4 since they were garbage

What's wrong with the doughnut until they get the tire in stock?

 

Max speed 50 mph with the doughnut. Exceeding that is a form of natural selection, as those things get really hot really quickly. It also has barely any tread.

 

Also, the tire does not have the same tread pattern(obviously) or exact height as your stock. so if it is mounted in the front, your car will not go straight, it will pull so you will have to correct for that.

But yea, it's a "spare" you can lightly use it as it's namesake. You should recheck it's pressure and add air as soon as convenient, likely it is low. That can help immensely with it's overheating and treadwear.

 

When I got a nail in my tire it was in the front, I put the doughnut on, it didn't pull at all...

It's just a few days to deal with it, I drove 55 on the freeway in the right lane and just was careful with my starts and left more room for braking. I don't see the big deal.

 

You won't, until it blows out. Best of luck.

 

I've had two flats on my Fit... used the SAME spare tire both times. The first time was a bit of an extended duration (two weeks? maybe more) because I was waiting for new wheels and tires. The second was still a few days.

And I've driven pretty much the same I always do, with the spare... if you look closely, you still might be able to find some indication I did a pseudo-burnout with my spare (it was originally the length of the turn through an intersection).

Just how does one have to drive to "expect" a blowout (on a spare)?

 

You drive beyond the capabilities of the tire, which is 50 mph. Now, are you ok at 55? Probably, but the faster you go and longer you go on it, the more you push your luck.

Pseudo-burnout with your spare? Do what you wish.

 

2 extremes here. Reality is somewhere in the middle.
The spare tire is not going to 'splode if you happen to go over 60, it is also not going to last 30k miles or perform like a regular tire (I'd expect maybe couple thousand miles of safe travelling if kept properly inflated and gentle driving).

I think you can maybe expect something in the middle, but you do need to be conscious that it is different and much more fragile with less rubber then your standard tire. You hit a pothole or bump with your regular tire and it'll do fine, hit the same with your spare and it may not hold up.

I do agreee, your mileage may vary depending on how hard you push your tires, asking a lot of a spare tire will wear out the spare even faster then a regular tire. End of the day, you need to just examine the spare and keep an eye on it to determine wear.
As far as the pulling, it depends on your other 3 tires I suppose. On other cars I've had, spare tire in the front doesn't track straight.

That being said, if you thought it was hard to find a replacement stock tire, it is equally a pain if not harder to find a replacement emergency tire. Keep that in mind before going out and thrashing your spare.