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The diagram shows what appears to be a wheel, and tire, not mounted onto wheel.
Description also says that "tire replacement required".
I'm confused. Does the kit only include a 20" wheel that's the same size as my OEM wheel, but no tire, and I need to buy a new tire? Or does the kit include wheel, AND tire, but the tire is too small, thus the "tire replacement required" phrase?
My MDX's OEM tires are 245/50 R20.
Pretty sure you’re in same boat as me. Kit includes a donut rim but you have to buy a donut tire. New donut tires are expensive enough you might consider a full size rim and tire (gently used). The kit is still the way to go either way.
I did the spare tire kit minus the donut spare at time of purchase (kept the air pump). I purchased an used OEM rim and 20" tire off ebay for about $280 for both. Donut spares have a limit of 50 mph and 70 miles max and you can't tow with a donut spare. The donut can also effect braking, acceleration, and handling depending on driving conditions. It can also be a pain in the bottom to check to make sure the PSI is set to 60. I set my full size spare to +40 PSI and only have to check it 1-2 times a year (easier to let air out compared to putting air in at o'dark 30 in the rain).
Guys,
I finally looked under the MDX and there's already a donut spare there, so I don't need this "Spare Tire Kit", right? Can't I just get a full size spare and replace the OEM donut one?
Thanks,
You are good to go if you already have a donut spare.
Will the spare rim an Acura rim? If so, the lug nuts are good to go for spare rim also. If your rim is not an Acura rim, you might need to get the right type of lugs for that rim:
Left: Aftermarket rims mostly used acorn (straight tapered at 60 degrees) lugs
Right: Acura uses ball (rounded, 45 degree) lugs
I also purchased a tq wrench to set to the required 94lb/ft for the lugs. Discount tires was extremely bad about over-tq the lugs waaaay past recommended and even broke off a stud a few years ago on my TSX. I could hardly budge the lugs when they did this with the Acura lug wrench without almost standing on it. They since turned down the power and use a tq wrench to tq to specs now. I still like to double-check the wheel tq after any service that removes the tires and it will come in handy if you have a flat on the road and need to re-tq to spec.
I like to set my PSI in my full size spare to 40-45 PSI. Tire pressure will drop 1-2 PSI in several months. Everyone can tell stories of taking out their spare tire when needed and PSI is down to 10-20 range. The +40 PSI means I only have to check my spare 1-2 times a year. Easier to let air out compared to adding it.
Another thing I did was look for aftermarket ball type lug rim locks for the Acura rims. Everyone has a key to the Acura brand lug nuts locks. Wheel locks from Gorilla Automotive might give you a little extra security if your are worried about that, for Honda/Acura ball lug locks, Amazon, $32:
You are good to go if you already have a donut spare.
Will the spare rim an Acura rim? If so, the lug nuts are good to go for spare rim also. If your rim is not an Acura rim, you might need to get the right type of lugs for that rim:
Left: Aftermarket rims mostly used acorn (straight tapered at 60 degrees) lugs
Right: Acura uses ball (rounded, 45 degree) lugs
I also purchased a tq wrench to set to the required 94lb/ft for the lugs. Discount tires was extremely bad about over-tq the lugs waaaay past recommended and even broke off a stud a few years ago on my TSX. I could hardly budge the lugs when they did this with the Acura lug wrench without almost standing on it. They since turned down the power and use a tq wrench to tq to specs now. I still like to double-check the wheel tq after any service that removes the tires and it will come in handy if you have a flat on the road and need to re-tq to spec.
I like to set my PSI in my full size spare to 40-45 PSI. Tire pressure will drop 1-2 PSI in several months. Everyone can tell stories of taking out their spare tire when needed and PSI is down to 10-20 range. The +40 PSI means I only have to check my spare 1-2 times a year. Easier to let air out compared to adding it.
Another thing I did was look for aftermarket ball type lug rim locks for the Acura rims. Everyone has a key to the Acura brand lug nuts locks. Wheel locks from Gorilla Automotive might give you a little extra security if your are worried about that, for Honda/Acura ball lug locks, Amazon, $32:
I bought the spare tire kit last month and also got a used, but in excellent condition, matching 20" Advance wheel off eBay for $150. I just need to stop procrastinating and get the tire for it. General has a decent $125 tire (Altimax RT43) that's exactly the same diameter as my stock tires so I'm probably going to get that... should put me at roughly $300 total for the 20" wheel and tire after getting it mounted.
Thanks again to mrgold...you've been very helpful with your spare tire knowledge!
I found a 20" Acura rim with the following specs: width is 8", bolt pattern is 5 x 120, offset is 55 mm. Description states that it fits 2017-2018 MDX.
Will it fit my 2017 MDX Tech SH-AWD?
Thanks so much,
I finally had time to take the tire and wheel to have it mounted, balanced, valve stem installed. Cost me $30.
Below is a photo of the full size spare, hoisted up in the donut location.
Part of the tire shows below the bumper. That's not a problem, right?
I figured it's normal since it's a full size.
Just wanted to confirm with you guys.
yup. In fact the owners manual tire changing instructions say to put the bad tire in place of the donut spare. I did exactly the same thing on ours. We travel many places that are 50+ miles from the nearest town, which in many cases consists of a post office, tavern, grocery store, a few houses. And 100+ miles from any town that would have any chance of having a replacement tire. So..... the inflator kit or donut spare just doesn't cut it. And many of the areas we go to are completely out of any cell service to call roadside assistance.
At least the ability to install a real spare is far better than many Audis, which has the inflatable spare in a spot that isn't big enough to put your real tire. I guess it's supposed to go on the passengers lap. Or other cars that have NO ability to have even a donut spare, only an inflator kit.
What did you guys do with your donut spare?
I'm wondering if it's worth anything to sell it.
Thanks,
well, my MDX came with no spare. I bought the spare tire kit which is the mount and brackets , jack and tools and a donut rim. The donut rim is in the recycle bin. you could list it on craigs list.
I'm finally going to install my full sized spare but not sure on one thing now. Should the finished side of the rim be face up or face down when it's installed?
I was assuming face down, but when looking at the Acura installation instructions for the regular spare, it looks like they have the concave side facing down, which would mean the finished side of a full sized spare rim would be facing up. Which should it be?
I went ahead and installed it finished side face up for now, but how tight should I get it? The instructions say to listen for a click, but I didn't hear a click yet and don't want to overtighten it.
I went ahead and installed it finished side face up for now, but how tight should I get it? The instructions say to listen for a click, but I didn't hear a click yet and don't want to overtighten it.
It will click. It will need to be pretty tight before it clicks.
The donut spare tire and wheel weigh 37.5lbs. A full sized spare is somewhere in the 60-70lb range (factory tire 29lbs, I forget the exact weight of the advance 20" wheel).
For those of you with the full sized spare, do you know for sure if the finished side of the wheel should be face up or down when hoisted up?
I have the donut but so far don’t do any remote or off-road traveling. No plans to swap.
But...what does grr full-size wheel and spare (and kit) add to the FWD weight?
when you get a flat in the middle of nowwhere with no cell service full size spare is priceless. Who really cares about the weight? I don't.
We travel in enough places far enough away from any tire shop that the donut spare is useless. We are often 200 miles from the nearest town with any service station and way further than that from a place with a tire shop that would have a replacement full sized tire in stock. Donut spare is fine if you are in metro areas all the time. Not so good if you travel in the midwest states or away from the coast in many places.
The donut spare tire and wheel weigh 37.5lbs. A full sized spare is somewhere in the 60-70lb range (factory tire 29lbs, I forget the exact weight of the advance 20" wheel).
For those of you with the full sized spare, do you know for sure if the finished side of the wheel should be face up or down when hoisted up?
finished side down. If you try to install finished side up you'll likely end up with a scratched rim since the finished side is offset proud of the tire.
I did a tire cover for my full size spare to help keep it clean under the MDX. I did the same thing for my 11 MDX when I upgraded to a full size spare in 2014. I added a used Discount Tire bag around the spare because the tire/rim that touches the chassis from the open part of the cover still got pretty dirty on my 11 MDX. I just rip a tiny hole in the bag to check the tire pressure.
finished side down. If you try to install finished side up you'll likely end up with a scratched rim since the finished side is offset proud of the tire.
Thanks. I also initially worried about this, but after trying it installed face up, It feels like the two main points where the spare rests against the underside of the car actually make contact with just the tire. It doesn't feel like there are any spots where the rim is making contact. I suppose if it shifts around at all on a rough road or bump, it could move just enough to ding the wheel.
I also wonder about the installation instructions showing the donut spare being installed 'finished side' face up (concave side facing down, which would be the same orientation as installing a full sized spare face up).
Finally, there's my safety side thinking finished side face up is better because it allows for less tension on the cable since it's not extended as much from the mechanism.
I don't know the official answer, but I'm still leaning towards finished side face up...and probably putting wayyyyy too much thought into this!
When I had a full-sized spare on my '06 Pilot it was installed face-side up. If you think about it, if you had the finished side down, you'd expose that front face to all sorts of cr*p from road salt to rock chips and even risk scraping. As was stated earlier, the touch points with the spare are all rubber and not the wheel, so you wouldn't scratch it. And unless you're like mrgold35 and want to completely cover the spare tire/wheel :-) putting it face up is the safer bet.
I am wondering if the Base 18" rims would fit for the 20" rims on the Tech pkg as a spare? I have a tire from my previous car laying around in the garage that is 18" which is barely used (has like 5k miles on it) and highly considering ordering the spare tire kit.
I used my OEM 19" 11 MDX Adv rim as a full size spare when I upgraded to aftermarket 20" rims from RonJon Wheels. Never had to use my spare on my 11 MDX in +6 years since I installed it. I figured if the smaller circumference donut spare worked; then, 19" OEM shouldn't have any issues. Decided to go ahead and purchase another 20" OEM Berlina rim to use as a spare when I installed the spare tire kit on my 19 MDX hybrid.
02-17-2020, 09:06 PM
