Hi,

Has anyone replaced the useless compact spare tire with a full-size spare? The compact spare is no good for long trips, like from San Francisco to LA. I know that the I30 has a full-size spare, but I am wondering if any modifications need to be made to the mounting brackets for the tire.

Also, any idea where the cheapest place to get one of these is? A steel rim would probably be good enough for the spare.

Thanks.

 

I bought a extra 17" wheel and tire from the dealer. To make it fit in the well you need to face the outside of the wheel up and take the cardboard cover out. It fits very nicely in the well like that. although you do get a "thump" when you go over big bumps because the wheel is not screwed down.

 

I like the Y2K Max from Canada more & more!

Not only do we have LSD ... we have a full-size spare as well!

 

How is the full-sized spare secured? Do you have the cardboard cover like we do?

It would seem we should be able to order a longer screw from a Canadian dealer if that is the case.

 

hmm ... good question .. i've never looked .. i'll tell u tomorrow ...

 

weird.. i was just thinkin about this today to myself while driving home.

 

I have a mickey-mouse tire. A big one, but it's all of 130-150 wide.

 

I have the full size spare (Can Y2K-SE) and I'm not convinced this is a good thing for performance. I was actually considering replacing the spare and tire jack with a spare air bottle. Not sure if this would be wise though. The benefits would be a 46 lb weight saving (full size spare weighs 40.5 lbs, Jack weighs 5.5lbs). This weight savings would be equivalent to a 3.2 hp increase (3200lbs initial weight / 3154 lbs * 222 HP) and of course improves handling.

Anybody have thoughts on the reliability of spare air products? Anybody know the weight of the puny spares?

 

I have read on the back of the fix a flat cans that you are NOT supposed to use it on high performance tires. For that and other reasons, I went with a full size spare. It would be very inconvient to be in the middle of B.F.E with a flat and just a bicycle tire. Cheap insurance for a little piece of mind.

 

My last vehicle was a 1990 300ZX and it had a uninflated spare with a can of air from the factory. I don't know if this set up is lighter than the mini-spares in the Maximas, I haven't taken a real close look at the spare in the Maxima. You might want to price out the cost of the 300ZX spare. Also, the jack on the Z was a nice aluminum piece(should of kept it).

 

What should we do if we wanted to get a full-size spare here in the US? Is it just a generic wheel in the same size or is it Nissan-specific?

 

Live in Canada & my GLE came with full size spare(steel rim though)...

Fits flush in well...& has a large screw & heavy duty plastic washer type nut to screw it in place tightly...never rattles...

 

Was your Canadian spare a 205/65/15 or a 215/55/16 tire? I haven't been able to find a source for steel rims over 15", at a reasonable price. tirerack.com has 15" for $44, no 16's

 

so what size is your full size spare and how is it held down