On a 1998 Maxima, how well will a full size tire and wheel fit in the spare tire well? I was thinking to replace the spare tire that blew out with a full size tire and wheel. Mechanics say they usually will stick out of the spare tire wheel well, but has anyone actually tried it to see how well it fits or how much a full size wheel will stick out of the spare tire wheel well?
Thanks for the feedback. Based on what you said, I think I will replace my blown out spare with a full size tire and wheel since that should fit in the wheel well.
The GLE came with a spare tire as T125/70D16.
The full size is Full size tire P205/65R15, Wheel size 15x6, bolt pattern 5x114.3, stud size 12x1.25, hub/center bore 66.1, 5 BOLT, 7 spoke, ALUMINUM WHEEL
This is the 7 spoke OEM that came on my 1998 Maxima GLE. Other models of the Maxima used different wheel designs
A full size spare will be higher than the floor of the trunk. I wanted to do the same thing with my 97, but when I put a full size wheel in the recess, That's when I discovered this.
If you want to see for yourself, jack up the car, take one of the wheels off and put it in the trunk.
Did you leave the full size tire in the spare area, or take it out after you saw it sticking out above the trunk floor level line?
I dont want to lose much or any trunk space since I usually keep a full trunk of my stuff.
How much higher did your full size tire stick out above the level line of the trunk floor? Did you throw out the trunk floor panel that goes over the spare tire wheel well? Or did you keep the trunk floor panel and let the tire under it create a small bulge in the middle of the floor where it sticks up a bit?
Yes, I know I could take off a full size tire to put it in the spare tire wheel well area to see, but was hoping to avoid that step. Maybe someone has a photo of how it looks?
The SE rim is 7.5" wide so it does sit a big higher. I've only used it once but it was nice having a full size spare for a few days till could deal with the fllat tire.
Did you leave the full size tire in the spare area, or take it out after you saw it sticking out above the trunk floor level line?
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I didn't like the not level situation so I didn't put a full size spare in. I kept the toy tire and also got another toy tire from a junkyard so I would have 2.
It was probably 5 years ago that I tried it and I don't remember how much it stuck up, but I think it was probably at least 2 inches because if it were only an inch, I probably would have used a full size tire for a spare.
Looking at all the responses you are getting here, I think you are going to have to break down and take a tire off and try it for yourself.
It fits, but not well enough. The circumference of the tire is not a problem. The problem is the width of the tire, which causes the tire to stick out on top by about 1". This messes up the 1/8" thin board flatener that goes over the tire to make a flat surface.
Because it sticks out about 1", I decided to stay with the spare tire, because I did not want to lose any trunk space. In addition, it causes the trunk floor at the carpet level to no longer be mostly flat. If you dont need all the storage space in the trunk, you could put in the full size tired and not worry about it taking up some of the space and creating an uneven floor because of the protruding tire.
In the photos of the spare tire, the spare tire looks smaller than normal, because I had a blowout on it.
Deflated spare tire in spare tire well
Deflated spare tire in spare tire well
Full size tire in spare tire well - sticks out on top by about 1"
