Compact spare on FWD car drive axle?

[brages]

I was browsing through the owners manual of my 2016 Mazda6 and noticed something interesting about the spare tire. My owners manual says that if I get a flat on my front tire, I need to put the compact spare on a rear wheel and swap the full-size tire to the front. This is the first time I’ve ever seen this advice.

This is an old thread that I ran across, but I looked in the online owner's manual for the 2016 Mazda6 and I couldn't find anything about not using a compact spare on the front: https://www.mazdausa.com/siteassets/pdf/owners-optimized/2016/mzd6/2016-mazda6-owners-manual.pdf

For the Accord, they actually show a "donut" being installed on a front wheel in their guide: https://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/pubs/OM/AH/A30A2424IOM/enu/details/131244047-15363.html

 

[PandaBear]

This works if they front and rear are the same size. Some cars they aren't. I personally would not do this if I'm not going to drive highspeed afterward (local only, or below speed limit till I got home). If I'm on a road trip 500 miles from home I would put them in the rear whether the manual suggest it or not.

 

[drtyler]

This is an old thread that I ran across, but I looked in the online owner's manual for the 2016 Mazda6 and I couldn't find anything about not using a compact spare on the front: https://www.mazdausa.com/siteassets/pdf/owners-optimized/2016/mzd6/2016-mazda6-owners-manual.pdf

On page 7-5:

 

[brages]

Did you have to make it so big? lol... I missed that!

In my defense -- I first looked at the web version of the owner's manual, and I don't think it has that warning. https://www.mazdausa.com/static/manuals/2016/mazda6/contents/08020300.html

 

[JunkdrawerDog]

I have replaced more than one wheel stud because someone rammed it down to max impact.

This is why I go to great lengths to avoid letting anyone else tighten my lug nuts. I tighten them with the wrench that comes with the car. That way, I have some confidence that when a flat occurs, I'll be able to deal with it roadside.

 

[dishdude]

This works if they front and rear are the same size. Some cars they aren't. I personally would not do this if I'm not going to drive highspeed afterward (local only, or below speed limit till I got home). If I'm on a road trip 500 miles from home I would put them in the rear whether the manual suggest it or not.

What FWD car has different sized tired front and rear?

 

[spk2000]

Seems like many people are scared of the compact spares. When I was young a broken belt caused a bulge in my front tire. It sounded like a shotgun in middle of the night when it popped so it was pretty bad. I put the compact spare on and drove for about a month on it in many conditions from snow to rain to highway speeds due to my ignorance. A few thousand miles and that compact spare still looked great, handled great in rain and snow and highway speeds. I wouldn't repeat that with my knowledge now that I didn't have at 16 years old but it performed much better than people will lead you to think. That 86 Pontiac 6000 lasted a long time and the transmission never gave me any problems. The reason for putting it on the rear of a FWD car is the extra wear on the transmission being forced to accommodate the different size tires by slipping the friction plates inside the transmission.

 

[Speedbird001]

They all say this. I carry a full size spare. I rule out buying any car that doesn't have room for a full size spare. Lots of people think its crazy, but its saved me on long trips more than once.

100% this. I do the same. While your at it, look at the specs of most mini / temporary spares... They say stuff like do not exceed 50 MPH or even 50 mile max range! (Imagine half way thru a road trip and beeing hobbled by that)

Some things were just simpler back in the day: