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Thread: 15" spare tire for 2014 Mirage ES

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    15" spare tire for 2014 Mirage ES

    Hi,
    I put 15" wheels and 175/65 R 15 tires on my 2014 Mirage. I just realized the spare tire in the trunk is now useless. Can anyone suggest a tire/wheel package appropriate for my new setup that will fit in the spare tire well?

    Thanks,
    John



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    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jrc92 View Post
    I put 15" wheels and 175/65 R 15 tires on my 2014 Mirage. I just realized the spare tire in the trunk is now useless
    I run taller 15" wheels/tires on my car but still rely on the stock spare. It's not useless. You could put that shorter spare on the rear of the car with no issues. It might throw an ABS code because all 4 wheels won't be turning the same RPMs all the time, but it would not do any mechanical damage.

    If you put the shorter spare on the front of your car, you could argue that it might be hard on your differential because it would be working constantly to compensate for the different diameter tires. That's probably a stretch unless you are running a limited-slip differential or driving a long distance.

    If you had a flat on the front axle of your car and you are concerned about it, you could move one of the back wheels up front, and put the spare on the back. That way you would have the same diameter tires on the drive axles...where it's a little more important. Just make sure you carry a jack-stand or some blocks of wood...which would make this task a lot easier.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


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    Quote Originally Posted by jrc92 View Post
    Hi,
    I put 15" wheels and 175/65 R 15 tires on my 2014 Mirage. I just realized the spare tire in the trunk is now useless. Can anyone suggest a tire/wheel package appropriate for my new setup that will fit in the spare tire well?

    Thanks,
    John
    Outside tire diameters -

    165/65r14 = 22.4" (14" factory size tire)
    175/55r15 = 22.6" (15" factory size tire)

    175/65r14 = 23" * (common alternative 14" size / 2.7% variance with 165/55r14)
    185/55r15 = 23" ** (common alternative 15" size / 1.8% variance with 175/55r14)

    * 22.4" to 23" = 2.7% variance
    ** 22.6 to 23" = 1.8% variance
    When tire shopping, anything under 3% is considered OK.

    My 115/70r14 Mirage spare has an outside diameter of 20.3". That's not anywhere close to even a factory size 14" or 15" tire.

    Adding 175/65r14 tires to your Mirage has not made your spare tire any more useless than it already was. It's a temporary fix to get you home or to a tire shop, & I wouldn't look at it any other way.

    Since I have a summer & winter set of tires, I keep a full size spare in my spare tire wheel well.
    Diameter-wise it fits perfectly fine. My 165/65r14 tires are wider than a spare, but I built a cover (cut out a masonite board & added some wooden cleats spacers on the ends). The tire itself supports the majority of my homemade cover. I can hide things like jumper cables, spare clutch cable, serpentine belt, spare headligt bulbs, gloves or whatever. The space is used, stuff is protected, and basically hidden from view. Wider 175 or 185 tires would take up more space. A 165 wide tire is about 1.5-2 inches (estimating not measuring) above the spare wheel well space. I like having a full size spare, especially for longer trips. I don't want to have to buy a tire I don't want if I had a flat tire somewhere. I'd rather use a full size tire I already have & have my factory donut spare sit in my garage.

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    Dirk Diggler (03-25-2023),Top_Fuel (03-23-2023)

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark View Post
    Adding 175/65r14 tires to your Mirage has not made your spare tire any more useless than it already was.
    It's a temporary fix to get you home or to a tire shop, & I wouldn't look at it any other way.
    +1

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


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    Mark (03-23-2023)

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    Quote Originally Posted by Top_Fuel View Post
    I run taller 15" wheels/tires on my car but still rely on the stock spare. It's not useless. You could put that shorter spare on the rear of the car with no issues. It might throw an ABS code because all 4 wheels won't be turning the same RPMs all the time, but it would not do any mechanical damage.

    If you put the shorter spare on the front of your car, you could argue that it might be hard on your differential because it would be working constantly to compensate for the different diameter tires. That's probably a stretch unless you are running a limited-slip differential or driving a long distance.

    If you had a flat on the front axle of your car and you are concerned about it, you could move one of the back wheels up front, and put the spare on the back. That way you would have the same diameter tires on the drive axles...where it's a little more important. Just make sure you carry a jack-stand or some blocks of wood...which would make this task a lot easier.
    Posts like this gives me hope for humanity. You still the man, Top-Fuel.



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