phil

can a full size 17"or 18" wheel and tire fit properly in the wheel storage compartment in the trunk ? i thought i read in the manual to put the flat or damaged tire in the place of the 3/4 spare. right now i'm running on 18"oem wheels and yokos.

Ron A

I went out and measured the spare and the regular tire. I have 17", and the spare is about 1" less diameter, so it will fit in the opening, and it looks like there is room for an 18" wheel. The problem lies in the width of the tires. The spare is about 5" wide, and the regular tire is about 9" wide, so the floor of the trunk will not lie flat with a full size tire in the spare tire well. If you can do with a significantly more shallow trunk, then it could work, but you would have to fill in the area around the tire with something to support the trunk floor.

dsc888

Ron A,

That's interesting you mentioned that. I wonder if Acura gives us those little donut spares to save $50 off cost since my Camry came with a full size spare. It's nice to know that you can continue driving without looking for a gas station to repair your tire at highway robbery prices in my Camry. My GF's G35 came with a full size spare as part of their winter package. It's too bad Acura doesn't accomodate those of us who may want to purchase a full size spare. That's one of my few gripes about this near perfect car. Someone correct me if I am totally wrong.

dsc888

1SICKLEX

The TL has a doughnut for a spare???

Ron A

I would say it is more of an attempt to make the best use of the available trunk space, rather than cost, but it is probably a little of both, with a higher percentage going to cost saving.

I forgot to mention it above, but I was surprised that the spare is virtually the same size as the regular tire, which is not usually the case. I'm sure you have noticed cars driving on the space saver spare and how small the spare is, making the car much lower at the end where the spare is.

dsc888

I meant space saver spare...although some are not much bigger than a chocolate frosted though !

dsc888

dsc888

Good points, Ron. I am sure Acura could have engineered in a little extra depth for the spare compartment to fit a full size spare while allowing the floor to fold flat like many other car companies. I am one who would gladly pay for a full size spare whether on an OEM rim or a steel wheel. This comes in handy for long road trips or if you are in the middle of nowhere. Thanks for the pointer though.

dsc888

rets

If possible, I'd have the full size in my trunk instead of spare. It limits your speed below 50?? without VSA, and looks ugly.

rets

BTW, I ever mentioned this in another thread. It's so hard to get our OEM size tire if you need it urgently. If you like to take this opportunity (I mean your 04TL is running on spare tire now when you have the broken tire) and order some decent tires (like Michelin, etc), you will find no where to give you the same day service.

Without pre-order, most of shops do not carry our OEM size...

dsc888

rets,

You are right on the money. I honestly feel that Acura should have taken this into consideration given the odd tire size. At least an option for a full spare would be really nice.

Has any fellow TLer placed the regular size rim into the spare slot yet? How much does the trunk tire cover stick up? Thanks.

dsc888