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What do you think of this new $55 Rim for a Spare?


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They fit and cost me $51 at Tire rack last fall, I have four of them in 14x5.5 for my snows. They are lug centered which would be fine for a spare. What I don't like about them is the paint chips while you are putting wheel weights on, so see if the place you get the tire installed will use adhesive style weights when they balance it.

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Black Steel 15 inch Rim 6 inches wide.

$55 shipped.

Site says it will fit the Sparks.

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/findWheelDetail.do?bp=4-100&fl=&yr=2013&pc=72515&counter=2&wd=15&rw=6&vid=023664

Any other IDEAS ??? Thanks.

Why do you want a 15 inch spare? It most likely will not fit in the tire well in the trunk area. A 14 inch rim with a 115-70-14 donut tire will have a diameter of about 20.34 inches and fit nicely at the bottom of the trunk well. Just a thought as I am not an expert in this.

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I measure the Hole, where the spare tire would fit.

Looks like the stock tire w/ 23" OD will fit.

Has anyone actually taken off one of their tires and placed in the spare tire hole?

Here is what I am thinking of doing...

Buying a 14 inch rim..http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/wheels/unique/product/submitProductSize.do?pc=73342&tmn=83&typ=Car%2FMinivan

$51 shipped.

Buying a 175/65R14 Goodyear Viva Tire from Walmart..$55 shipped. Pick up in store.

So.... what do you think of my idea?

The OD of this spare would be the same as the stock tire or 23 inches OD.

Total price... about,

51 rim + 55 tire + 11 mounting/ stem/ balance @ W/M = $117 total

Edited by stevesparky
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I measure the Hole, where the spare tire would fit.

Looks like the stock tire w/ 23" OD will fit.

Has anyone actually taken off one of their tires and placed in the spare tire hole?

Here is what I am thinking of doing...

Buying a 14 inch rim..http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/wheels/unique/product/submitProductSize.do?pc=73342&tmn=83&typ=Car%2FMinivan

$51 shipped.

Buying a 175/65R14 Goodyear Viva Tire from Walmart..$55 shipped. Pick up in store.

So.... what do you think of my idea?

The OD of this spare would be the same as the stock tire or 23 inches OD.

Total price... about,

51 rim + 55 tire + 11 mounting/ stem/ balance @ W/M = $117 total

The stock tire doesn't even begin to fit. I tried it. Your purchase will have a diameter of about 23 inches which will jut upward quite a ways because the tire well is somewhat conical and gets smaller at the bottom. Your tire may go about 1/3 of the way down. Look, I went thru all this. If you want something that fits nicely, you will need a 14 inch rim with an appropriate donut tire; what many call a space saver tire. If GM ever comes out with a spare tire kit, it will be 14 inches with a donut tire. It is the only thing that will fit. I picked up a 2004 Saturn Ion space saver tire from eBay for $59 with free shipping. It is less than 21 inches in diameter and fits nicely on the car and in the tire well. It has a 57.1mm ( spark has 56.6) center bore, so no worry there as the lugs will center the tire on the smaller Spark center hub. Most 4 by 100 bolt patterns are on smaller cars and have a smaller center bore that the Spark, so that is how I ended up with the Saturn spare; one of the only ones I could find with a larger bore.

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Thanks... I appreciate that you have done all this.

No sence in me repeating.

I will look for a spacesaver tire instead.

I see the Saturn space saver tires on ebay. About the same price you paid.

So any 4 HOLE will Fit?

And I will have to ground out the center HOLE?

What are you doing for a JACK?

Edited by stevesparky
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Thanks... I appreciate that you have done all this.

No sence in me repeating.

I will look for a spacesaver tire instead.

I see the Saturn space saver tires on ebay. About the same price you paid.

So any 4 HOLE will Fit?

And I will have to ground out the center HOLE?

What are you doing for a JACK?

Yes, it will fit the Spark without doing anything. Like I say, mine is a Saturn Ion from 2004. If I remember correctly, Ions 03 and up have a center bore of 57.1 so it will fit the Spark. Everything else is also compatible In including the four hole bolt pattern. Getting a scissor jack is another thing. You can't use a jack with a flat top as the Spark has a slight downward ridge on the seam. I bought a jack online at Harbor Freight. Do a search on "scissor jacks." The one you want, with the notch on top, will came up first on the results page. I think that it was about $18. Also, the Ion space saver tire weighs about 19 lbs compared to the 40 lbs of a full sized tire.

If you go this route, you shouldn't use your 14 inch spare on the front wheels. If you get a flat on a front tire, you will have to do a double change. Exchange the spare with a good back tire and take that former back tire and put on the front. to replace the flat. I'm not sure of this, but it is what I've heard.

Edited by zogburr
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Flat jacks work fine if you get a nice thick chunk of rubber to use as a jack pad, ask a tire place if they can cut a chunk out of a blow out for you. I bought a rubber tire block to keep the car from rolling and it had a nice thick section in the back that didn't really do anything so I cut it out and now have the jack pad and the wedge.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I didn't know you could buy new donuts! Also - when did they start coming with tread? I have never seen a donut with actual tread before!

What about going to a junkyard and buying an old donut wheel, then getting a new tire? I'm not sure how I would trust a 14 year old Donut.

Edited by NoSprak
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  • 1 month later...

I agree , it didn't come close to fitting . The rear seat backs limit the space also , even with the seats flat I don't think it could fit in the hole . I guess I'm happy that at least I wedged it in hatch area but it's a Mickey Mouse setup . Still better than someone breaking in the car to steal my new spare in back seat .

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  • 1 year later...

Yes, the stock 15" rim with a stock 185/55 tire will fit in the spare tire location. Lay your seat backs flat and the tire fits by dropping in the back first and then the front. It might be the front first, I've had one in there with a tire iron and a bottle jack for over six months. It only drops in there one way, but it's not too hard to figure out how to fit the stock rim and tire size into the spare tire well.

By the way, I replaced my stock rims and worn tires with 14" rims and 185/60 H rated tires. It rides way smoother and handles better than the rock hard "fuel economy" stock tires. My average fuel consumption dropped from 42 mpg to 41 mpg.

$30 for the four used 14" x 5.5" steel rims, $20 for wheel covers, $225 for tires. From now on it's $225 out the door for new rubber from any tire store in any town, the best price I could find for the weirdo stock size was $430. Tire circumference is 1.1% smaller, you can feel a little more pick up in first and second gear, but overall the gearing change feels pretty much the same. My son just put 195/50's on his stock rims for $264 (four tires).

Both of our cars have snorkel mods (air resonator removal with stock downpipe), throttle body half shaft mods, and rear muffler delete (straight pipe replacement).

Edited by gitsum
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I just called the local Chevy dealer. The parts man looked it up, and quoted $645 for a new aluminum 15" rim. He didn't sound like he knew what he was talking about. More research now, as I'm not looking to break the bank, and from the above posts, know the 15" rim just won't fit my 2014 Spark.

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My stepdad was actually looking for a spare for my Spark today. I've just accepted that I don't have one and wasn't worried about it, but since I drove 700 miles from Ohio to Maine to see them, he decided to find me one while I was here. The dealer quoted him $600 for an OEM factory rim with no tire. Most junkyards won't even look for a match, when they see the Spark doesn't come with a spare. We ended up stopping at a junk yard, and got a brand new scissor jack, lug wrench, and new donut tire/rim for $60 total.

I'm not complaining. :happy feet:

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My stepdad was actually looking for a spare for my Spark today. I've just accepted that I don't have one and wasn't worried about it, but since I drove 700 miles from Ohio to Maine to see them, he decided to find me one while I was here. The dealer quoted him $600 for an OEM factory rim with no tire. Most junkyards won't even look for a match, when they see the Spark doesn't come with a spare. We ended up stopping at a junk yard, and got a brand new scissor jack, lug wrench, and new donut tire/rim for $60 total.

I'm not complaining. :happy feet:

Yep, cheaper way to go.

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I just called the local Chevy dealer. The parts man looked it up, and quoted $645 for a new aluminum 15" rim. He didn't sound like he knew what he was talking about. More research now, as I'm not looking to break the bank, and from the above posts, know the 15" rim just won't fit my 2014 Spark.

That price is insane, hell, you can get a nice set of four for that money...

Edited by WaltK
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