BADMAN

iTrader: (13)

I took my RR wheel and tire to Discount Tire for a slow leak repair(nail in tire).They call me later and tell me they destroyed my tire taking it off(Gatorback). They said they would buy me a new tire (F1) but need to order it. No prob. So to move my car from the center of the garage and out of the doorway I put on the donut spare and aired it up. Well, it has never been on the car nor ever inflated and when adding air, it stuck to itself on one side and will not pop into proper position. So if you are depending on that 20 year old spare to be good, you might want to check it. It has been in the deflated position so long that it wants to stay that way on the inside of the rim. Beware! Badman

bigjay89gta

iTrader: (5)

just keep airing it up it will pop into place. But just in case keep an eye on the PSI. Mine did the same thing when a curb hit me but once it got up to around 30 PSI it popped into place.

BADMAN

iTrader: (13)

Well, I had 50psi on it and it still has not "popped". I donot feel like being killed by a Goodyear product as I work for them. The irony would be overwhelming.LOL. The donut tire has decided to stay a donut. I guess it's fossilized. Badman

MD83Z

Do you know if it can be deflated back to it's storage size.....or suction added to it to pull it back down after inflating....I have never pumped up the spare (in 24yrs.) figuring it would never go back to small shape. I think the shape looks pretty cool... maybe you need 3 more

online170

wtf, so the tire as it sits now is NOT inflated???? Mine looks completely different, the tire actually has "tread" and seems pretty damn inflated to me. Am i missing something here?

HPE

I was thinking the same thoughts and then I got to your post- 100% agreed.
What the heck is that thing. I do not think that was an original f-body spare. And what the heck good is a spare if its not inflated if you need it in an emergency and stuck on the side of a road with no gas station or air pump?

My spare has been out of the car for about 3 years now since I custom built new brakes. It will not fit over the Wilwood brake setups but I run very good quality tires and carry a 200miles free towing membership from AAA to flatbed it if ever needed. With that said, I removed my original spare that has never been used (car is an '87) and it is sitting in my workroom in my garage in perfect inflated condition and looks nothing like the one you are posting- the one you have is huge- any one I have seen is narrow in steel or I have also seen the 1LE aluminum rim spare also.

Guest

The inside portion of the tire didnt pop out from its usual state of being collapsed.

Rayvan

Some of the cars (positraction R/E) came with an uninflated spare and a can of CO2 to inflate it with.
Inflated, the "compact" spare becomes the same diameter as the other tires. That way your posi-clutches don't overheat from two rear tires rotating at different speeds.

online170

Thanks Rayvan, i wasnt aware of this. So it was only SOME and not all of the posi cars?

Learn something new everyday!

85Iroc-Z

iTrader: (4)

I thought that you always got that style spare tire and inflator when your care came with a posi. Am i wrong or not.

blimko

iTrader: (1)

i have the mini tire that you have to pop into inflation as well and mine worked fine for being older than i am, as a matter of fact well i had it on a late 80 stang tried passing me on the highway and i could not resist as a thirdgen lover to show that pony what power is and my spare handled 100+no problem

Elthesh

Since all of our factory spares are really old now, can someone tell me where I could get a new spare tire? Noone ever has a clue. Tire shops tell me the dealer, and the dealer says they either don't sell them or they're discontinued. I have a pizza cutter blown up tire and a more reasonable sized fold up tire, both of which are quite old. I'd like to get a proper replacement for these instead of pulling them from the junkyard. A current in stock part number for the larger sized fold up tire would be ideal and where to get it.

On occasion, I've needed to use the spare so tossing it out and waiting for AAA to tow my car to wherever in the middle of the night isn't really a good option, lol.

Stevo

iTrader: (45)

that is just retarded.

about the spare, i had mine out and it did the same thing, i had easily over 50 psi in it and i said no more...never would go into shape. Mine had also sat since the car was new. It has been off the car ever since i messed with it...

Rayvan

All the posi cars got the folding/inflatable tire and CO2 can.
If yours didn't, it may have been replaced by a previous owner.
--
Rayvan

bigjay89gta

iTrader: (5)

Try and soap up and lube the sidewalls(soapy water) since they are more the likely stuck together we had to also jump on it a little to help break the seal but it went to its regular shape.

Mine looked just like that when I was airing it up and mine is for a 1989 GTA.

online170

Either that, or its not a posi......

BADMAN

iTrader: (13)

It is the original spare tire. I bought the car new in 1985 and this is the first time it has been on the ground and inflated. It didnot pop out off the rim on the inside. It is simply stuck in that position. It came with the CO2 can which was empty when I tried to see if it had anything in it after 22 years. The car has a posi rearend, if that does matter about which spare you get. I was simply trying to show this forum not to depend on these tires due to their age.BADMAN

pentiuman

My mini spare just did the same wrong thing as yours, inflating wrong, when I inflated it today with a compressor, except it was the reverse of yours, - It sticks out way too far! I was just putting it on, so I could (by hand) take the 2 front rims down to the store to get new tires on them. (Can't drive the car yet, w/ no tags or ins.). Wow - looks dangerous to me! I'm afraid to put any more air in it. I tried inflating it off the car, and then on the car, with some weight on it, - in which case the bottom of the tire on the ground stays centered, and the top pops out. Guess I need to buy a full size extra rim for my 91 GTA, so I'm not stuck on the side of the road some day. Anyone got one? Current tire size is P245/50R16. Thanks everyone, glad to know I'm not the only one to see this apparent defect.

L69norm

Yes, keep putting air in and it will flatten out. I thought my spare was going to blow off the rim too, so I took it to a tire shop and we inflated it inside a tire cage. When all at air is released, it folds back again.

pentiuman

Thanks. Good to know, but I think I'll have a shop do it next time I'm there, even if it's only a 1 in a billion chance of killing me. I've read of a case where a tire blew when a guy put too much air in a regular tire, and they can really hurt you. - Another reason (of many) why I don't like driving next to 18 wheeled (trucks), especially with my window down, is that I'm concerned a retreaded tire will shred (as they commonly can) and slap me in the face (aka eyes).

After the mini spare is inflated (and expands right), I may keep it inflated in my trunk, unless someone can state a good reason not to do that. - I don't have the can of air that apparently originally came with the car. I also don't want to be stuck on the side of the highway messing with changing a tire too long. Especially with that stupid scissors jack which I have trouble using, even on a clean, flat garage floor, with a trouble light. When I die, I want it to be in a spectactular, heroic way. Fireworks. Not a stupid, avoidable accident.

Reminds me of when I once saw a parked car which had a mini spare mounted, that was in bad shape and just about out of tread, unevenly worn- they apparently drove many, many miles with the mini spare on. It's a temporary tire folks. Bet comedian Jeff Foxworthy has a "sign" for them people.

Reid Fleming

iTrader: (2)

I used the spare tire a few months ago. Blew up my Goodyear GS-D3 tire on the highway. Pulled out the spare, inflated it with the can of CO2 and drove into the next town.

The tire shop guy simply unscrewed the metal valve that's inside the rubber valve and the tire then deflated itself back to original uninflated size. Put the metal valve back in and then back into the trunk it went.

Now trying to find a place to get the CO2 tank refilled. THAT is the hard part.

I must say that spare tire sure does inflate odd. It looked like it was going to come right off the wheel while I was inflating it. The tire was way on the outside until it was almost done. At that point it settled back in around the wheel like you'd expect. Pay attention to the directions when you're inflating it is all I can say.

The ratcheting handle on the scissor jack and wheel lug removal is pure genius. Much better than those turn and twist levers that come on most scissor jacks.

As for leaving it pumped up in the trunk. Would there be room?

blacksunshine'91

iTrader: (10)

Old thread back from the dead. But if anyone is interested in the solution; take your old CO2 canister to a place that services fire extinguishers and you should be able to get it filled there.

HankL69

iTrader: (1)

I didn't realize how old the original post was untill I read the last post. If you think our 3rd gen spares are old how about my first gen "space saver spare". I think the reason our '85 IROC's got the infllatable spare instead of the donut was that without a full sized tire the ground fx would drag. I have never had my spare on my IROC inflated but I might just try it to see what happens. I have inflated the spare on my '69 firebird and it inflated and deflated just fine. I still would not trust either one.