[DaveS4s]

NO, Iam not talking about the spare tire that hangs over your belt, I am talking about the spare in the front boot. Here is the story , a couple months ago I was checking stuff in the front boot area and found my Spare was a little low on pressure , so I topped it off. Yesterday I opened the front boot to check fluid levels and found that the Spare had blown up, split from rim lip to rim lip. Now my problem is finding something to replace it with. My local Kauffman Tire guy says that they can't get a replacement tire for that narrow of a rim , unless I would be willing to part with Big Bucks. The Question is , is there a tire and rim combination that I could find at JunkYard??anic:

 

[sleekgt]

NO, Iam not talking about the spare tire that hangs over your belt, I am talking about the spare in the front boot. Here is the story , a couple months ago I was checking stuff in the front boot area and found my Spare was a little low on pressure , so I topped it off. Yesterday I opened the front boot to check fluid levels and found that the Spare had blown up, split from rim lip to rim lip. Now my problem is finding something to replace it with. My local Kauffman Tire guy says that they can't get a replacement tire for that narrow of a rim , unless I would be willing to part with Big Bucks. The Question is , is there a tire and rim combination that I could find at JunkYard??anic:

My 88 spare was 23 years old - didn't make sense to carry it even though it was never used. I replaced the spare tire with a normal 175/70-14 Insignia tire that was H-rated (none of this 55 MPH limitation) for like $80 new. My steel spare wheel wasn't THAT narrow - maybe your S4 is different?

I confirmed an 88 15x7 factory front wheel with 195/60-15 will NOT fit in my 88's front trunk/bonnet.

 

[philethier]

NO, Iam not talking about the spare tire that hangs over your belt, I am talking about the spare in the front boot. Here is the story , a couple months ago I was checking stuff in the front boot area and found my Spare was a little low on pressure , so I topped it off. Yesterday I opened the front boot to check fluid levels and found that the Spare had blown up, split from rim lip to rim lip. Now my problem is finding something to replace it with. My local Kauffman Tire guy says that they can't get a replacement tire for that narrow of a rim , unless I would be willing to part with Big Bucks. The Question is , is there a tire and rim combination that I could find at JunkYard??anic:

You could always use an Elise spare.

 

[petemon]

NO, Iam not talking about the spare tire that hangs over your belt, I am talking about the spare in the front boot. Here is the story , a couple months ago I was checking stuff in the front boot area and found my Spare was a little low on pressure , so I topped it off. Yesterday I opened the front boot to check fluid levels and found that the Spare had blown up, split from rim lip to rim lip. Now my problem is finding something to replace it with. My local Kauffman Tire guy says that they can't get a replacement tire for that narrow of a rim , unless I would be willing to part with Big Bucks. The Question is , is there a tire and rim combination that I could find at JunkYard??anic:

What size is yours?
Should be either a 175/70R14 or T125/80R16. Either way, Tirerack.com has them for $55-$65. You might be able to find the correct tire on a (non-compatible) rim at a junkyard cheap and have it remounted on your rim.

 

[Vulcan Grey]

I removed mine from the bonnet. It won't fit over my huge brakes!

 

[Turbo R]

I remember twelve years ago when a lot of Turboesprit forum members were actually removing the spares from their Esprits in an effort to reduce weight and balance out the weight lost when they got rid of their heavy factory mufflers. Sounded like a wonderful way to lose some weight off the car, but it did make the car sit higher once it was removed, necessitating adjustable shocks or suspension work to get rid of that 4 X 4 look.

Forgot who it was, but the topic faded away when it was noted that the spare was actually engineered in and considered by Lotus to be part of the crumplezone/crash structure.

BTW, I don't think an Elise spare would work as it is four lugs, unless one is talking about dismounting and mounting just the rubber portion.

I agree with Pete...tirerack.com should have something comparable.

Roy

 

[mpesik]

My understanding is that the car is so balanced sensitive that the spare tire is a necessity you get the most out of the cars dynamics but also a crash safety concern.

 

[maxvelocity]

Forgot who it was, but the topic faded away when it was noted that the spare was actually engineered in and considered by Lotus to be part of the crumplezone/crash structure.
Roy

I was one of them guys to tossing about that subject many years ago

FYI some Volvo wheels have 108 X 5 bolt pattern steel wheels with tires at the junk yard that will allow you to limp home after a flat

 

[jtrealty]

When the spare tire gets that old, even if it holds air, it is probably garbage. Once you use it it will probably blow out after only a few miles. With Deloreans we had some cases of owners having to use the spare (it is also a space-saver) and they shredded up quickly. If you want the ability to use a spare you should replace it. Many newer cars don't even have spare tires anymore! My Yukon just has a portable compressor with some tire sealant. Oh, and On-Star!
David Teitelbaum

 

[89.5 Esprit SE]

I remember twelve years ago when a lot of Turboesprit forum members were actually removing the spares from their Esprits in an effort to reduce weight and balance out the weight lost when they got rid of their heavy factory mufflers. Sounded like a wonderful way to lose some weight off the car, but it did make the car sit higher once it was removed, necessitating adjustable shocks or suspension work to get rid of that 4 X 4 look.

Forgot who it was, but the topic faded away when it was noted that the spare was actually engineered in and considered by Lotus to be part of the crumplezone/crash structure.

Roy

although it may be true that the spare has something to do with the crumple zone and crash safety, I doubt it is worth much in that role, and it could be easily replaced with with some high density foam, which would work better and be much lighter.

As to weight balance, that would be a relevant issue. Generally handling is improved with less weight in the ends of the car, but balance between front and rear should be maintained. If I remember the spare and jack is about 40 lbs, so decreasing muffler weight and battery weight is a way to balance the changes. You can easily go with a 15-20 lb battery, and then swap the cat for a straight pipe or a lighter high flow cat, pull the EBPV to save a little more and balance left and right. Doing this can save 70 lbs total, which is a big deal.

That is how I run my car. The AAA card weighs less than an ounce!

Randy

 

[irox]

Same here. I dropped the muffler, huge beast, went to 23lb battery, ditched the spare and jack and have the entire front boot great for carrying the occasional pizza.

 

[maxvelocity]

The Esprit was crashed tested and passed with the spare in place. Not sure how foam works in its place or how it affect survivability. Frontal crashes in our car would be bad in any case. During the years when the many guys were rebuilding totaled Esprit's I got to see a few of them up close and others through pics. The cabin stayed intact for the most part and often wondered what type of injuries were sustained by the driver in all the cars I had seen. I also wondered what the impact speed and circumstances were. A lot of unanswered questions.

I brought up the Volvo wheels as perhaps a space saver version could be used with a larger wheel size for people with larger brakes as a few cars share the 108X5 bolt pattern. But that is an unknown as I never looked into it.

There were also reports when the brakes on some models changed the spare supplied with the Esprit did not fit and were useless other than to meet the crash requirements. I understand this changed on the later cars but am unsure how many cars were affected.

I just want to be able to put on a spare so I can load the Esprit onto a trailer or car carrier, not so much as to drive it down the road.

Saving weight is important as roughly 10 lbs= 1hp or at least that is the figure a lot use. So Randy losing 70 lbs is 7hp. A lot of people try to pick HP here and there doing mods but losing weight is a fast simple way.

I suppose not eating that extra pizza slice and losing some lbs on the driver makes some sense too. LOL Plus it makes getting in and out of the car easier.

 

[Aedo]

...
BTW, I don't think an Elise spare would work as it is four lugs, unless one is talking about dismounting and mounting just the rubber portion.
...

The Elise spare is not lug spacing dependent

 

[firefighter1c57]

<snip>I suppose not eating that extra pizza slice and losing some lbs on the driver makes some sense too. LOL Plus it makes getting in and out of the car easier.

funny story, I was telling my little brother about swapping the battery in my bike for a light weight space saver ion battery. How much it'd cost, and how I'd dropped seven pounds off the bike. He looks at me and said, "wouldn't just be cheaper and easier for you to lose seven pounds." ...ah, ...uhm... yea... I guess....

 

[carbuff]

... great for carrying the occasional pizza.

I NEVER carry Pizza in my Esprit.


No matter which luggage compartment I place it in, all the cheese runs to one side. :facepalm


and NO, I don't like the frozen DiGiorno pizzas...:no:



rotfl

 

[sleekgt]

I NEVER carry Pizza in my Esprit.

Everyone knows fast food - fast car - it goes INSIDE the car next to the driver :evil:

 

[Alansglide]

A double double with everything.

I'll take it

Alan

 

[DaveS4s]

Thanks everyone for the great info. . I ordered a Kumho Spare tire from TireRack.com . There site doesn't have the option to order a IN and OUT with Fries. DaveS4s

 

[MidLifeZ]

So, how much do spares in 1994 S4 weight and also muffler? Curious how much HP I released by ditching both of them!

 

[89.5 Esprit SE]

10 lbs for 1hp makes sense, and certainly is worth the effort for the easy mods.
I was running my Esprit with probably 100lbs pulled off(Elise shells, battery, muffler, spare, jack, Alu tanks etc)

As to using foam for crash protection, I would venture to say that it is a very good way to go. The design and exact type of foam might be an issue, and I don't pretend to be the expert, but
Foam is already widely used in bumper inserts including the Esprit, as well as inside helmets!
The issue in car design is that it takes up volume.

I'm sure that properly designed foam inserts in the front bonnet would be a lot better than a rubber tire and a steel wheel, especially since the wheel won't crumple.
Randy