So I took my car to Discount Tire to have a nail repaired and they scratched up the rim pretty bad when removing the tire. They are buying me a replacement rim to replace the damaged one. I was thinking about asking them if I could keep the damaged rim and put a bi-direction tire on it to use as my spare.

Does anyone know:

- If a S - 19" rear rim will fit over the front caliper?
- Will a full size rear rim fit in the spare well and be able to button everything back up like with the smaller donut?

 

I don't know the answer to the first question, but I know you can't put 2 different sized wheels on the same axle.

No, a full sized wheel/tire won't fit into the spare well and button down like the donut spare does.

 

If you can't put two different sizes on the same axle, then how can you get away with running the donut?

 

hey man, your questions are kinda weird lol.

are you refering the donut as the spare wheel? if so, then that's only for temporary. you can't drive too long if it's in the front cuz your alignment will pull to one side.

 

^^^ What he said ^^^. Maybe I should have been more specific. You CAN do it. But you shouldn't do it. The donut is for slow speeds and short distance, it's a band aid to get you to a safe location to get a wire fixed or replaced. It shouldn't be driven faster than 50 mph according to the owner's manual and although there's not a distance limit mentioned in our owner's manual, I've seen others state not to drive on it for more than 40 miles or so. The tread will wear off of a donut very quickly. I tried to drive from San Antonio on one years ago in a different car after an accident had damaged my wheel. It was slick as a baby's butt when I got home. 200 miles or so.

So I guess if you want to use it like that it might work OK (if it clears the brakes), but it wont fit properly in the trunk like the donut does. I guess maybe I misinterpreted your question originally and thought you wanted to use it as an extra wheel/tire and not as a temporary measure.

 

^ +1 our spare tire is trash... I think mine went bald within 100 miles.

 

Exactly. They are not meant to drive any real distance at all, just to limp you to safety. I was shocked to find mine worn down to the inner belts when I drive home about 200 miles on it in my Maxima. They are made to get you off of the road to the nearest shop, not drive on.

 

I never had an intention to drive it for prolonged periods, unless it happened to be the rear that got the flat, its just that I would feel more comfortable with a full size spare instead of the donut.

Do that many stupid people post to make you think I wanted to run prolonged with staggered wheels on an axle?

I just wanted to know if it would be possible considering they are replacing the damaged rim. You basically told me what I needed to know, that it will not fit in the trunk permanently.