Spare tire in CMC??

We are planning on driving the ole CMC a bit this summer. Has anybody been able to find a space saver that will fit into the trunk? I have a scissor jack from a Toyota I had that I can actually fit in the engine bay in front of the tail light! So I'm covered in the jack and the breaker bar department. Thanks all!

4" stock vw smoothie

125-70-15 space saver tire

jacks / tools fit underneath (held by bungee cord so they don't rattle)

custom mount

Excellent. Thanks. That's what I'll do. My gas tank seems larger and higher than yours. I'll pull the capet and look tomorrow.

Keith, make sure you get some kind of a strap and bracket in there to hold the spare off of your battery. Before I chopped my car up and deleted the spare, I had a devil of a time figuring out what the trickle-drain was on my battery. It was the curve of the trunk combined with the 'natural' placement of the tire in that space -- the steel wheel was laid across both terminals.

I bought the bracket and a tire strap and never had that problem again once I installed them correctly.

Mango--your car looks great!

I like the idea of a 125 space saver tire rather than my 145. Thanks!

That would work great with a 5-bolt pattern. Do you have 5-bolt or 4-bolt wheels?

I just got back from the tire dealer who put a 125 15 on my wide 5 wheel. It is smaller than the 145 and will do everything I need from a temporaary spare plus gives me more space in the trunk.

Thanks Mango for this idea.

Best $10 plus a $5 tip to the guy who mounted and balanced it for mw
I ever spent!

I wouldn't travel without a spare.

right on Jack! glad it all worked out.

also - just as an FYI to folks thinking about this - i stuck a big black garbage bag with my tool kit so if/when i have a flat - i can put my 185 in the cabin (no way it would fit back under the hood) without making a mess of the interior.

Whoa!

What a great idea.

And so simple we ALL should have thought of it.

I'm going to the garage now to slip a coupla trash bags in somewhere.

So, for payback, here

I use a 135/R15.
Been in there 10 yrs. and never used!(Knocking on wood)

Looks like Bill's got hood struts, too.......

Are all narrow tires the same diameter as what's on the four wheels? I don't know much about tires and my thinner spare is not the same OD as my as my road tires. Therefore, if I blow a rear tire do I put a front wheel on the back and put the spare on the front ?

VS trunk with 4-bolt, 4.5 wheel x145 tire. Hydraulic jack, assorted cables, belts, tools, ets...

Not to mention ironing board, folding chairs, vacuum cleaner, beach umbrella, etc.

David:

I guess the first question would be; "How far will you have to go on the spare?"

True, if you put the different-sized spare on the rear, you would have two different diameter tires and that would make your axles turn at different rates. But that difference would be compensated for by the differential within your transaxle. It should cause no damage if you're running it for a short while - 100-200 miles or so. Personally, I might even go farther than that, but I would probably be worrying the entire time but that's because I worry about things like that. I have not yet seen a rear differential destroyed by running mis-matched-sized tires on the same differential.

Just be aware that it's going to handle really, really weirdly, especially when you step on the brake, because the braking torque arm at the wheel will apply different amounts of force to each rear wheel (you'll pull to one side), and you may experience a bit of "torque steer" when you accelerate (probably pulling to the other side from braking). Either of those will probably cause you to get the right size tire re-installed ASAP.

That's going to put some heat in those spider gears after a while!!! I'd take the time to swap the tires to get the rears the same.

That's what we did in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2010 when we blew the first rear tire, Keith. I didn't know much about VW trannys so we put the front on the rear and the spare on the front just in case. When the second tire blew 75 miles later that became a different story....Three night delay in beautiful Spanish Fork over the long weekend. We did get to Sundance and Park City though.

Or you can carry a tire plug kit and a pump like I do. If more then that happens to your tire, something tells me a spare isn't going to make the car drivable.

I am all about the plug kit, but let me say this. You can cut tires on steel. Valve stems and valve stem shraeder valves go bad. Plugs and a pump won't help that. If I'm 50 miles from a gas station with no pare, I'll be pissed that my plug kit won't seal that 3" slit!!

I carry a plug kit and pump also--along with a spare. I like the idea of keeping the rears the same and that's what I will do if I have a flat. This removes any potential problems with the differential
---just have to be careful driving and braking with the donut on the front.

Beats the hell out of sitting beside the road.

Jack, I agree

AAA, Hagerty, and many insurers offer flatbed service as part of their insurance. I haven't used it yet, but it is an option. I think my Hagerty coverage is 25 miles for tow. I do have a space saver spare, jack, etc. in my Spyder on long trips. I have plugs too.

you mean ear plugs, right?

Ha ha ha. Tire plugs, tools, jack, air compressor yes. Earplugs? Yes. Need them when the top is up/on, desperately! What did you say?

This is getting ridiculous... I can't find a 15x4" steel 4 bolt wheel.... are they that rare????

none of thesamba ads panned out?

no local vw club or wreckers?

Samba guy finally emailed me 4 minutes ago.... Theres a local VW yard, and they are all 5"+, which just isn't going to close without bowing the hood. I found a whole stack in this air-cooled yard today, but they were all wide 5.... maybe this last ad will pan out. They had a set of gorgeous NOS Mangels wheels... $600.... yikes....

Update, as I wrote this.... reply from the one ad that has what I need... LOL
"Not interested in shipping. Sorry. Jim"

Let me clarify..... Will a 4.5" fit with the small space saver? Did they actually even make a 4" wide in 4 bolt? I see that cip1 has chrome 4.5" 4 bolts in stock..

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=5215658

68-71 were 4Jx15", 71 was 4.5Jx15.

a 125 will fit a 4.5" no prob if these guys can run this:

Mango, you have a CMC, will a 4.5 fit and not rub the hood?

'72 model was first year for the 4.5" wheel - prior to that they were 4". Are you looking at the stamping on the back of the wheel or measuring the wheel? Some folks incorrectly measure wheel from side to side outer edge - measurement is to the inner mounting lips.

i'm not sure if a 4.5" will fit. i am running a 4" spare.

Roger that. I'm sticking to my treasure hunt!

Whats a good little compact scissor jack for this project? Somebody here suggested Windstar?

I think I scarfed mine from a Geo Metro.

~WB

Got mine from a Windstar, only because the jack's drive shaft has a 19mm hex head, just like the speedster wheel lugnuts. That way I didn't need to pack a different metric (or English) socket size.

got mine from a '94 honda civic

1980 accord

Which ones (besides the ford) use a 19mm socket?