The donut spare ALMOST looks sporty!
07-06-2006, 08:10 AM
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The donut spare ALMOST looks sporty!
Got a flat last weekend and the tyre had to be replaced due to sidewall damage. TireVan are coming in about 20 minutes to install the new one, so I took the opportunity to get a shot of the donut spare after backing it out into the driveway. It ALMOST looks a bit sporty on there. (It handles poorly, though. The donut has been on the car since Saturday, but I only drove it one time—the three miles home from the service station. Handling was too lousy, and it's too dangerous to drive on I-395 or the Beltway if you have to keep your speed down to 50 mph.)
I would have preferred to find out how it looked by seeing it on someone else's car, though!
I would have preferred to find out how it looked by seeing it on someone else's car, though!
07-06-2006, 11:35 AM
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Originally Posted by XtraKrispy
I never looked at my spare. Is that what all of ours looks like? Much better than the black donuts I'm used to! 
lol same here...i never looked at mine...im gonna check it out when i get home
07-06-2006, 11:44 AM
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I had never looked at mine either, so I did a real double-take when I saw it for the first time.
The picture doesn't show how much narrower the spare tyre is compared to the others.
The picture doesn't show how much narrower the spare tyre is compared to the others.
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07-06-2006, 03:18 PM
#11
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here too, where did u get that from?
07-06-2006, 03:26 PM
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It was the one in the trunk of the car. Last Saturday I was out running errands and when I came out of the cleaners I noticed that my right rear tyre was very low. I immediately stopped at the nearest gas station and put in 35 pounds of air, then went to a nearby Sunoco station. They couldn't fix it immediately, so I left the car there and came back later to retrieve it. They said that the tyre could not be repaired due to sidewall damage (they showed it to me and they were absolutely right) and they had put the donut on. I had never lifted it out before and I was quite surprised to find one that looks like that! I can confirm that it's the one that was in the trunk because the trunk tray was unscrewed and the tools from inside the donut were sitting in the middle of the trunk.
Perhaps if you lift yours out and look at it, it might look like mine? I know the only time I had looked under the floor of the trunk before I saw a donut tyre with a black centre, which is the black thing that contains the tools; it lifts out, so maybe if you lift it out you might find something different?
Perhaps if you lift yours out and look at it, it might look like mine? I know the only time I had looked under the floor of the trunk before I saw a donut tyre with a black centre, which is the black thing that contains the tools; it lifts out, so maybe if you lift it out you might find something different?
07-06-2006, 03:47 PM
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Yes. The 6-speeds get a 17" donut with that offset to clear the brembos. The autos get a 16" donut, all black plain steel wheel.
The 17" donut is also wider than the 16" incase you put it on the front. It needs to be compatible with the LSD which the autos dont get.
The 17" donut is also wider than the 16" incase you put it on the front. It needs to be compatible with the LSD which the autos dont get.
07-06-2006, 03:56 PM
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Maybe I'm wrong but don't the 6MTs have brembros in the rear too? His pic of the spare on the rear clearly shows an unpainted caliper like on my 5AT. Makes it seem like the 5ATs also get this nicer spare.
07-06-2006, 03:57 PM
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Good point on the 6MT. Yes, I have a 6MT with Navi. I didn't even think of pointing that out because I take it for granted (every car I've ever owned has been a manual transmission with anywhere from three to six speeds). I tend to forget how many people on the forum have the 5AT simply because I tend to assume that people who post on these sites are more likely to be enthusiats who buy the manual. Perhaps an unwarranted assumption, of course, as this thread shows.
johnny--2k makes an eminently sensible comment regarding the front brakes.
johnny--2k makes an eminently sensible comment regarding the front brakes.
07-06-2006, 03:59 PM
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Originally Posted by brianp6621
Maybe I'm wrong but don't the 6MTs have brembros in the rear too? His pic of the spare on the rear clearly shows an unpainted caliper like on my 5AT. Makes it seem like the 5ATs also get this nicer spare.
07-06-2006, 04:01 PM
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Originally Posted by 1995hoo
No, the Brembos are on the front only. I have the black front calipers. You might also be able to tell that my front wheel on that side appears to be a slightly darker colour than the donut. That's not just the lighting from the lousy weather this morning; it's brake dust. We've had so much rain recently that I haven't been able to wash the car in quite some time.
reminds me I need to finish painting my calipers (did the fronts 3 weeks ago but haven't done the rears)
07-06-2006, 04:11 PM
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Originally Posted by brianp6621
So is the rear caliper painted like to front and just appears to be unpainted in the pic?
07-06-2006, 04:36 PM
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Originally Posted by 1995hoo
bar2v, you must be a UVA alumnus with a user ID like that one. Glad to see there are more of us on here.
07-06-2006, 06:30 PM
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Originally Posted by bar2v
Ha, yep, nice call. I remember thinking how dumb of a user ID it was when I got it, but now my fingers just seem to magically type it when a user ID is required. Hopefully, my password isn't as obvious.
07-06-2006, 06:57 PM
#25
Darn, I got all excited and went to my trunk to check out the spare. Its the ugly regular black donut. I have a 05 TL, Navi and 5AT.
I didnt read the other post carefully..darn u people are lucky with the 6MT.
I didnt read the other post carefully..darn u people are lucky with the 6MT.
07-06-2006, 07:41 PM
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I didnt read the other post carefully..darn u people are lucky with the 6MT.
07-06-2006, 11:48 PM
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I got a flat coming back from the Essence Festival in Houston. I had to roll on that ugly black spare for a day and a half (dealer was closed on the 4th of July). I naturally assumed that for all the money that I paid for this car that I would have gotten a decent spare. Wrong, wrong! Come on Acura, you guys are better than this! Giving me a donut for my Civic is one thing but giving me one for my TL is just unacceptable.
07-10-2006, 11:42 AM
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Well, I had the new tyre put on the car this morning and had all four of them road-force balanced. I posted back in January regarding the people I use to buy tyres and a few folks were skeptical that such a service exists, so I took some pictures for proof.
They show up with this big truck:
The back of the truck contains the generator and the air compressor and their tools. When the generator runs, all the neighbours know some sort of work is being done:
In the front of the truck you find the tyre-mounting machine:
Next to that is the road-force balancer:
Far better than dropping the car off at a tyre shop or sitting there for three hours. This is one of those "Why-didn't-I-think-of-that-first" type of businesses!
They show up with this big truck:
The back of the truck contains the generator and the air compressor and their tools. When the generator runs, all the neighbours know some sort of work is being done:
In the front of the truck you find the tyre-mounting machine:
Next to that is the road-force balancer:
Far better than dropping the car off at a tyre shop or sitting there for three hours. This is one of those "Why-didn't-I-think-of-that-first" type of businesses!
07-10-2006, 11:44 AM
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NICE! THat looks like a Hunter machine. If so, those are not cheap. I worked at a dealership and I remember a lot of places coming to us to have wheels roadforce balanced because we were one of the few places with that machine in the area. I think we charged $200 for a roadforce balance.....crazy!
07-10-2006, 12:02 PM
#34
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Today's tab:
One Pirelli PZero Nero M&S tyre, 235/45/17: $157.79
"On Site installation including scratch free mounting, Road Force Balancing and all stems, weights, and disposal fees" (for the one new tyre): $41.00
On-site Road Force Balance for the other three wheels to ensure that they were all the same, $13.00 x 3 = $39.00
Road Hazard coverage for all four tyres (I wasn't offered this when I first bought the Pirellis in January, but they sold it to me for all four this time to make up for it): $15.96 x 4 = $63.84
Total without tax came to $301.63. $13.00 per wheel for the road force balancing is not bad at all. $41.00 for the installation of the one tyre is more than the average tyre shop charges, but to be able to stay at home and get some work done around the house is well worth the extra money to me.
One Pirelli PZero Nero M&S tyre, 235/45/17: $157.79
"On Site installation including scratch free mounting, Road Force Balancing and all stems, weights, and disposal fees" (for the one new tyre): $41.00
On-site Road Force Balance for the other three wheels to ensure that they were all the same, $13.00 x 3 = $39.00
Road Hazard coverage for all four tyres (I wasn't offered this when I first bought the Pirellis in January, but they sold it to me for all four this time to make up for it): $15.96 x 4 = $63.84
Total without tax came to $301.63. $13.00 per wheel for the road force balancing is not bad at all. $41.00 for the installation of the one tyre is more than the average tyre shop charges, but to be able to stay at home and get some work done around the house is well worth the extra money to me.
07-10-2006, 08:46 PM
#36
that BS. 5at owners have to deal with a crappy ass 16" black shit wheel but the 6mt's get a finished 17" rim. that's the biggest crap i've ever seen. what's the deal. acura couldn't afford to put those in all the tl's?? it is that lack of continuity and customer care that will make this my last acura!!!!!!!!!!!
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