My 01 Grand Marquis has the original Michelin Primacy spare. I need to replace it ASAP. I should order a cheap Chinese tire to throw on
2001 Buick 20-year old spare tire... Hard to find!
- Thread starter JGmazda
- Start date
Thanks for the ideas guys!
I was toying with the idea of buying a 15" wheel "steelie" from Rock Auto ($60?) and throwing on a 15"tire that matched the diameter of the spare. Only thing... it's wider and I've got 7" in the trunk well to deal with. Put a new cheap tire on... $60-75 and I would at least have something better that the space saver spare...
Outside of the just buying a "NEW" replacement from the Tire Rack.... (Easy and done with it...) a better spare would give me piece-of-mind if a flat occurs. If a flat should happen on the front (In the Buick's case, it''s front wheel drive.) do I really want to drive ANYWHERE with that little spare? I'm told that in a case like that, one should remove a "good" rear wheel and switch it to the front and use the spare on the rear. Anyhow.... debating and going back and forth here...
I was toying with the idea of buying a 15" wheel "steelie" from Rock Auto ($60?) and throwing on a 15"tire that matched the diameter of the spare. Only thing... it's wider and I've got 7" in the trunk well to deal with. Put a new cheap tire on... $60-75 and I would at least have something better that the space saver spare...
Outside of the just buying a "NEW" replacement from the Tire Rack.... (Easy and done with it...) a better spare would give me piece-of-mind if a flat occurs. If a flat should happen on the front (In the Buick's case, it''s front wheel drive.) do I really want to drive ANYWHERE with that little spare? I'm told that in a case like that, one should remove a "good" rear wheel and switch it to the front and use the spare on the rear. Anyhow.... debating and going back and forth here...
As you can see from the pic... there's no room for error. The Discount techs must think I have lot's of wheel room to throw a full size in there... There's actually a semi-rigid foam donut under the tire I can remove. Placed a flat surface across the well and I have about 7" in depth to work with. Diameter is going to be the same obviously.
Well... I plan on some long road trips and nothing sucks more than getting stuck in the middle of nowhere! Even a new "functional and working" mini-spare gives me heebie-geebies... Finding a tire store and driving 20-30 miles on those things makes me queasy. Look at the construction of the blown tire... this was not a used spare! It's old... and it did this by age... 60psi vs. 35psi... larger footprint. My only hurdle is the trunk space. I suppose if the car was just driven locally... then the mini would be the answer... Otherwise... in the middle of the desert.... 50+ miles to a tire dealer.... hmmm....
I have a car with Montgomery Ward Grappler II tires on it. I haven't looked at the date code but seeing as how Montgomery Ward went out of business in 2001, the tires are at least that old if not older.
This car, a 1984 Chevy Cavalier, had been sitting parked in the garage at my dad's house since 2010. I've driven it about 6 miles since I got it running (had to get it out of the garage since the house was sold).
The tires on this car look fine, though I will replace them since they're at least 20 years old. They've also developed flat spots from sitting in the same place for that long.
Oh, and the spare tire, now almost 40 years old, also looks fine. Nothing like the photo above.
I would wonder if that tire was exposed to some chemicals or something that made it break down like that.
This car, a 1984 Chevy Cavalier, had been sitting parked in the garage at my dad's house since 2010. I've driven it about 6 miles since I got it running (had to get it out of the garage since the house was sold).
The tires on this car look fine, though I will replace them since they're at least 20 years old. They've also developed flat spots from sitting in the same place for that long.
Oh, and the spare tire, now almost 40 years old, also looks fine. Nothing like the photo above.
I would wonder if that tire was exposed to some chemicals or something that made it break down like that.
That's old!! Really though... your Cavalier's tires may appear to be fine, but they are definitely NOT. The tires on my Buick were 14-years old and looked fine also.. Maybe had 2-3k on them since they were purchased and sat in the garage for years. When I drove the car around the neighborhood and inspected them in broad daylight, I could see mini-cracks and spider-webbing in the sidewalls. AGE does degrade the rubber and once they start moving again, cold/heat cycles are going to bring this out.
Needless to say.... they looked "fine" but were really shot. As for the spare you see??? No chemicals.... That "explosion" is caused by the degradation of materials and loss of elasticity and breakdown of the rubber and cords inside the tire.
That Mini-spare has 60psi vs 30psi for a regular tire. Sitting there... time, air pressure, rubber losing it's function to be elastic and then.... (see pic).
Nope... I didn't think that would happen and was surprised to see it. In a HUGE way... I am really glad it happened at home and not on the road somewhere!
I purchased all new tires that week after seeing this and am so glad! (I'll never drive on tires that are more than 7-8 years old again).
For obvious reasons, please do yourself a favor and don't use the Cavalier unless new tires are installed. Even cheap "new" tires are better than the tires you have on now.
And the spare? That too!!! This is why I'm debating going full size (or close too it.) Fitment is the problem at this point... but yes... rubber degrades like all things...
The tires on the Cavalier will be replaced.
Why is all of the damage on the spare in the same area? Did that happen just from sitting in the trunk or did that happen when the spare was driven on? Or was it being filled with air when that happened?
Why is all of the damage on the spare in the same area? Did that happen just from sitting in the trunk or did that happen when the spare was driven on? Or was it being filled with air when that happened?
Good deal on the tires... Yeah it sucks because these tires have no "usage" on them. Yes, the spare just exploded like that by sitting in the trunk. (There wasn't an "explosion" per say, it just expanded over time and was found like this...)
That's why I'm debating purchasing another mini-spare like this... If I can find a "regular" tire that will fit... I would do this in a heartbeat. I really dislike these little space-savers...
They aren't very well constructed as you can see... They are certainly a compromise for size and placement, weight etc.
Owen Lucas
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Search local junk yards: https://car-part.com/
Thanks for the link! I may end-up going this route!
Well, problem on the Cavalier is that it takes 175/80R13 which only Milestar makes a replacement for now. But it looks like I can use 185/70R13 tires instead, there is more selection of those.
I would've thought the air would have leaked out of the spare before it "expanded" or whatever happened to it.
Yes, you have options when it comes to tires.... the "185" should be fine. Yeah, I'm with you on the air... I'm guessing there was just a weak spot and constant pressure forced it open... Just like when tires have a sidewall "bubble". Does not happen often as tire construction has improved over the decades, but those mini spares... sigh.... Probably the cheapest tire GM could find....
165/65r14 are always available, (2 modern cars still spec them OEM)
might be time to upsize to 14” treads
Thank you! Yes....Yes.... this choice would certainly put an end to my dilemma. Not off the table yet... Just having a hard time as I want to improve my odds should a failure occur.
As much as this would end my searching.... I can't help but think about driving on these.... and well.... not a good feeling, at for me.
Wait... is this for just the spare only? I can't imagine the Cavalier having OEM 13" tires. Maybe 14"... Probably 15".... but 13"???
From the tire size calculator, the 185 will make the speedometer read 3.3% higher than the stock size. Probably better for the speedometer to read higher than it is for it to read lower.
Most of these mini spares are not supposed to be used for more than 50MPH and for 50 miles max...which tells you something about their durability...
I can get 15" wheels from a newer Cavalier, plenty of those available for about $25 to $35 each on car-part.com. Bolt pattern is the same but the offset is 5MM higher, not sure if that really matters.
