I just picked up a junkyard alloy rim to use as a full-size spare. The rim has a decent tire on it now; however the tire is a bit smaller than the regular tires I've got on the car...

regular summer tires = 205/55/16
regular winter tires = 195/65/15
"new" spare = 195/60/15
(circumfrance = 2.7% smaller than summer tires; 3% smaller than snows)

Anybody ever drive any kind of distance on a smaller spare like this? I figure the ABS light will come on, and the car might pull a bit to the side with the spare... but maybe not any worse than with the donut spare. If it seems like a bad idea, I'll get a new (or used) tire for the spare, but would rather keep the $$$ in my pocket...

- Brian '93 945T

Is your factory spare missing?

steve mc

I have the donut spare, but the tire is rotten. Looks like it has never been used, though.

Every couple months I make long (~300 mile) trips with the wagon fully loaded up, sometimes in the middle of the night... hence the appeal of a full-function spare. I've got one of my snows as a spare now, but I'd rather have a dedicated spare & keep all my snows stored standing upright.