full size spare with aftermarket wheels?

EvilStig

New member
Anyone with a 185 have a set of 5 aftermarket wheels or know how well a full size spare can be made to fit in the factory trunk well? I'm debating whether to get a set of 5 17x9s, or if that exercise may just be pointless.
 
EvilStig":1il5cxn2 said:
Anyone with a 185 have a set of 5 aftermarket wheels or know how well a full size spare can be made to fit in the factory trunk well? I'm debating whether to get a set of 5 17x9s, or if that exercise may just be pointless.
The question of fitting the trunk well is dependent on your resulting tire diameter. If you select tires for your aftermarket wheels that are of the same diameter as the 215/50R15 tires that your ST185 was originally fitted with, they will fit the spare tire trunk well. If your selected tires have a wider cross-section width, it may raise the height of the hump (that the carpet in the trunk is made to fit) a little, but that would be about it.
 

FC Zach

Active member
EvilStig":2diiqfdc said:
Anyone with a 185 have a set of 5 aftermarket wheels or know how well a full size spare can be made to fit in the factory trunk well? I'm debating whether to get a set of 5 17x9s, or if that exercise may just be pointless.

I'm using a 7th gen wheel as a spare with a tire close to the diameter of what's currently mounted. Use online calculators to find the appropriate size, in the event you use a different size wheel for a spare (different than the 17x9 you mentioned). . like already mentioned, wider wheels/tires are going to sit higher in the hatch location.
 

CMS-GT4

Active member
My 255/40/17 spare fits in the wheel well. I don't run the carpet but I was able to fit it in the hole.
 

EvilStig

New member
CMS-GT4":3j8tn16g said:
My 255/40/17 spare fits in the wheel well. I don't run the carpet but I was able to fit it in the hole.


Good to know. I'm looking at 245/35-17 which is a bit smaller, though I'm wondering if I can fit the carpet over it, being only 1cm narrower than yours (I would really like to use the carpet....) I suppose if nothing else I can add a false floor to bring the carpet level up, and store tools etc under it.
 

underscore

Well-known member
Just as a comparison, I put a 205/55R16 in mine today. It fit in the well, but apparently the anchor point in the middle is slightly off center which is funny. Because it's so much thicker than the donut I had to flip the threaded anchor around to make it work but it is secured in there now.

For normal road use I'd probably just find a car that has the same tire diameter as whatever you're running and take the spare from it. ie the stock tire is 215/50R15 (23.5") so the spare is 135/70R16 (23.5"). 255/40R17 is 25", a Toyota Matrix uses 205/55R16 which is 24.9". I don't know what size the donut they have is but it should be ~25" which would be perfect.
 
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