HI Gang,


New Poster here, three weeks and counting. I have a 2019 Fit Sport 6M with the HFP Suspension Package. Loving it so far. I have also been looking into the full size spare thing. Getting a true full sized spare in the back will require removing the foam insert

that holds the tools and supports the hatch floor cover. I came from the generation that always had full size spares and I tend to like them. The compact spare is the same height as the tires on the car but grossly narrower. I am with the original poster and being

out in the boonies with such a poor excuse of a tire scares me. The temporary spare in back is 135/80-15 on a 4 inch rim, which is basically 5.5 to 6 inches deep at the widest. The tread touching the ground is around 3.5 to 4 inches wide. You have half a tire that you are putting you trust in. I have been looking at a possible option of mounting a 155/80R15 BF Goodrich or a Vredestein Sprint Classic 155SR15 on the temporary spare wheel. The section width on both is 6.2 inches with a tread width of 4.3 or 5 inches. The

height on both is 24.8 or 24.9 inches which makes it a little taller. The thing I like is that it is a real tire rated for highway speeds and much more than 50 mile range. I have one mounted on a completely different type of wheel, rear wheel on my Honda Pacific Coast motorcycle, and it fits in the wheel well of the Fit just fine. I believe it will work and still be able to put the foam insert back in. The kink in all this it the TPMS. Will it set of the dummy light because it is looking for 60 PSI or not? Can you get a matching 5th wheel transmitter for the new and lower pressure for the spare or can the existing spare TPMS be reprogrammed for lower pressure? Does anyone here know if this can be done or if it will be an ongoing fight with the car's monitoring system?


Thanks for reading. I hope it helps.

 

GK fits don't have a TPMS transmitter on each wheel. They instead use the ABS speed sensors to calculate wheel speed. So after swapping in the spare, reset the TPMS so it calculates the new wheel speeds.

For me, the spare tire is only good to get me to somewhere I can patch the regular tire or get it replaced. I've seen people driving way faster than 50 MPH and there was a car in the neighborhood who was running on the spare for months lol. I think it can probably handle a lot more than suggested, but not really looking to push it.

 

Considering how many cars nowadays do not have a spare at all - and no space for one - we should consider ourselves lucky. Incidentally, the existence of a spare was one of the things I looked for when I bought the Fit. I might not have bought it if it didn't have one. It will be interesting to see what Honda does with the 2020 model, which supposedly involves a major redesign.

 

I've used spare tires quite often when I had a slow leak around the rims.

Always put spares in the back, no matter where your flat tire is. It won't mess with the differential and you'll keep most of the handling. You'll also keep your stopping power since the front brakes are doing the mort job. Be careful if you brake hard when cornering... but that shouldn't happen since you'll be careful with a spare right?

You don't really need a full size spare, unless you're driving off road.

 

I couldn't agree more.

 

Around NY there are enough potholes that I've always had a full-size spare. Flats are too common around here.
Typically when I buy a car I have them throw in a rim at cost and I buy a tire and have it mounted.
For my 2010 I think it fit fine in the well but stuck up higher. With my 2016 I just threw the spare in the hatch (so I have both the tiny spare and big spare in there), because I rarely carry so much stuff for it to be a problem.

The issue with some of the Fits is that the tires aren't necessarily stocked at tire stores so if you get a flat you might have to wait a day or so to replace it. That's fine if you're home but if you're travelling and in a different city every night it becomes more complicated.

 

AgileFit

I just got through installing the BF Goodrich TA radial, 155/80R15 on the temporary wheel and secured in the back. It went in just fine a lined up perfectly. When I installed the foam insert it was tight towards the front of the vehicle and it stands up about an extra .75 inches in the back. I can deal with that because I have the rear tray to cover it all. My TPMS light hasn't come on so well see as the days go by. I also added a couple of things to the wheel well while I was back there. Standard emergency items, 12 volt air pump, small bottle of slime. folding T Lug wrench, a fleece blanket and a foil emergency blanket. Now it just needs a 2" X 20' tow strap, a small battery jumper and a small folding camping shovel. Has anyone ever mounted a winch hidden behind the bumper? Just kidding, I did that with an old 1988 Honda Civic Wagon AWD. I was a blast in the winter.

So those of you that don't like the doughnut tire, just switch it out with a real tire it will be much safe and it cost the same at a temporary replacement. I have included a few photos of the new install.

I hope this was helpful to the group.

Steve

 

This is awesome, thank you for this! I think carrying a full size is a personal choice and I prefer a full size. I appreciate you posting the details of what you have equipped and pictures. Do you have any photos or links forthe items?

I like the car to look aggressive but I also want to be resourceful and ready to react. Could you tell me more about that liner on the back of the backseats?

 

For Dan The Man 1689

There are three different things I have in the back of my Fit. One and Two are both Honda accessories, the Cargo Tray and Rear Seatback Protector. The seatback protector comes in three parts. They are held on with tie down and Velcro. The other Honda
accessory is the Cargo Tray. There is a third thing I have added and it is under the wheel well cover. You can see it in the photos with the wheel well cover opened. I bought and cut a piece of Lexan and cut and glued it to the underside of the wheel well over. I bought it at Lowe's in the glass area. I have done this in every vehicle that has what I consider to be a week wheel well cover. I use Lexan due to its strength and impact resistance to sharp blows. I cut the Lexan about .25" smaller all around and then I sand the edges and the side I am gluing to the wheel well cover. I then used some blue painters tape to mask the areas on the underside of the cover and I wiped down the Lexan with some denatured alcohol to remove any oils. I then applied 3M 77 spray adhesive on the cover and Lexan. I made sure to give the cover a liberal coating due to its fibrous nature. I then pulled the tape off and let the pieces dry completely. When dried I stuck the pieces together and put some weight on top and left them for a few hours. I reinstalled the cover and now it is stronger than before.

The first car I did this to was a 1988 Honda CRX DX. I really enjoyed that car and other than a few minor farkles, it remained pretty much stock. It died 245k miles into its journey. Very good handling vehicle for having a stock suspension.

I hope this was all helpful to those following this thread.

I have a few of other things I am doing to Fit. I plan on changing out the stock tires to a little bit larger and wider. I have a set of 15 inch wheels coming in so I can mount a set of snow tires on them. A trailer hitch for my bike carrier. Maybe some cross rails on the roof and maybe I'll design a camping set up for back for longer trips.

AgileFit
Steve

 

You could probably trim that foam piece so that it fits flush?