Fullsize spare for Mirage? 14 inch

[Eggman]

I thought AWD used viscous couplings without lockers and used brakes to manage slip and in turn provide traction control. Different manufacturers have different ways and means.

[Mark]

I would like to think so, I haven’t seen an awd experiment wheel hop on dry pavement like an actual four wheel drive does when turning. I wouldn’t want to run a donut that’s noticeably shorter than the others on an awd though.

We are off topic here, but this is what owner's manuals (Subaru & Mitsubishi) say about their AWD systems & tires.

Subaru -
When replacing a tire, make sure you
use only the same size, construction,
brand, and load range as the original tires
listed on the tire placard. Using other
sizes, circumference or construction may
result in severe mechanical damage to the
drive train of your vehicle and may affect
ride, handling, braking, speedometer/odometer calibration, and clearance between the body and tires. It also may be
dangerous and lead to loss of vehicle
control.
. If you use a temporary spare tire to
replace a flat tire, be sure to use the
original temporary spare tire stored in the
vehicle. Using other sizes may result in
severe mechanical damage to the drive
train of your vehicle.

Mitsubishi -
On all-wheel drive vehicles, always use tires of the
same size, same type, and same brand, and which
have no wear differences. Using tires that differ in
size, type, brand or the degree of wear, will increase
the differential oil temperature, resulting in possible
damage to the driving system. Further, the drive
train will be subjected to excessive loading, possibly
leading to oil leakage, component seizure, or other
serious problems.

[Wallythacker]

Before the hivemind starts tearing into me, ACTUALLY RESEARCH your spare tire. MOST have a 2500-3000 mile treader rating. They do not blow up at 50.1 miles of use. The primary concern with them is heat, and lack of traction. Heat is not a problem on the back of a Mirage (that isn't one of the ones that left the factory on a Friday afternoon), and the other component of the speed limit and distance is differential wear and tear. Put it on a free wheel like the rear, don't do any drifting, and you'll have no worries on a few hundred mile trek back to civilization.

No, they have no traction. Rock hard compound, skinny and small.

To clarify, I am not advising using them as a tire for a month. But, as somebody who used to check scrap yards for old spare tires to do burnouts in a police car,the fear mongering around them is completely unfounded on a non driven axle that has a couple pounds load on it.

Kuhmo makes a 115 70 r14 that is pretty common as a spare. Ignoring your owners manual, its rated for 75mph and 1350lb, or, 5X the corner weight of the Mirages rear.

I do not have my Mirage at home to check our ratings.

Hmmmm, so 4 of those would be safe to run around for a couple of weeks to see what kind of gas mileage improvements you could get on super skinny tires?

[Mark]

Hmmmm, so 4 of those would be safe to run around for a couple of weeks to see what kind of gas mileage improvements you could get on super skinny tires?

Now that would be an interesting experiment!

I wonder how local law enforcement would look at that?

[Eggman]

Hmmmm, so 4 of those would be safe to run around for a couple of weeks to see what kind of gas mileage improvements you could get on super skinny tires?

MetroMPG reported trying that some time ago and said it didn't give the fuel economy gains expected. It did give a bad ride though.

Who knows Wallythacker - maybe the Mirage will react different. When are you going to do this experiment?

[Top_Fuel]

This thread is all over the place...so I might as well contribute something remotely related.

Some AWD vehicles are more sensitive to tire differences than others. My brother has a Mazda CX-9 with AWD. He got a nail in one of his tires that couldn't legally be repaired. Because the tires were close to 50% worn, the dealer would not install 1 new tire with 3 50% worn tires. He had to put 4 new tires on ($1,000+) or Mazda would use it against him if he ever had a driveline problem. This is one of the largely unknown downsides of owning a some AWD vehicles.

Here's a more in-depth explanation: Replacing all 4 tires on your AWD vehicle

[Mark]

This thread is all over the place...so I might as well contribute something remotely related.

Some AWD vehicles are more sensitive to tire differences than others. My brother has a Mazda CX-9 with AWD. He got a nail in one of his tires that couldn't legally be repaired. Because the tires were close to 50% worn, the dealer would not install 1 new tire with 3 50% worn tires. He had to put 4 new tires on ($1,000+) or Mazda would use it against him if he ever had a driveline problem. This is one of the largely unknown downsides of owning a some AWD vehicles.

I agree. Probably two downsides to owning an AWD vehicle like that.

First - All 4 tires need to match up.

Second - 4 new tires that cost over $1000 to replace.

If I had to replace the 16" tires on my Forester, my first choice in tires would be under $90 each. I wouldn't expect to pay much more than $400 installed.

I have multiple tires with plugs in them. Never had an issue with any them. Not saying plugs work for every situation, however. If the nail was near the sidewall, that may make the tire beyond repair.

Buying & owning AWD vehicles has become more & more expensive. Sadly, people don't think about replacing the larger/lower profile tires on some of these newer vehicles these days. It can be very expensive!

[Fummins]

Back on topic, I haven’t tried but I guess a stock regular wheel and tire won’t fit where the mini spare goes? If so that’s a little disappointing but not the end of the world. If I get a flat the spare is going on the back.

I slightly burnt up the posi on my one dodge truck by running a stock size spare on the back with an over sized tire on the other side. I gave zero sits at the time, I blew a back tire taking my kids to meet family for a camping weekend. Kids were both under 2 and miserable and it was getting dark fast, and I had a trailer. And had sketchy farmer directions too which is always fun.... About 20 mins down the road truck just started shaking like a bad u joint. Ended up having to pull over again and swap the old weather checked spare to the front.

[Mark]

Back on topic, I haven’t tried but I guess a stock regular wheel and tire won’t fit where the mini spare goes? If so that’s a little disappointing but not the end of the world. If I get a flat the spare is going on the back.

I slightly burnt up the posi on my one dodge truck by running a stock size spare on the back with an over sized tire on the other side. I gave zero sits at the time, I blew a back tire taking my kids to meet family for a camping weekend. Kids were both under 2 and miserable and it was getting dark fast, and I had a trailer. And had sketchy farmer directions too which is always fun.... About 20 mins down the road truck just started shaking like a bad u joint. Ended up having to pull over again and swap the old weather checked spare to the front.

Yes, back on topic! In all honesty, a full size tire should fit in the spare tire space for safety reasons. Your flat tire should be secured there while using your spare (full size or donut size).

My Subaru owner's manual even states this quite clearly. If you should need to use your spare, you should secure the flat tire in the spare tire spot for safety reasons. Should you get in an accident, the tire (spare or flat tire) should be secure.

Thus, companies like Mitsubishi should make the tire well large enough to fit a full size tire regardless of a donut spare being stored there.

[Fummins]

The Sonics at work have straps to secure your blown tire above where the spare goes. I assume it wont fit where the spare goes in those cars either. So if you pack you car full of stuff and have a flat you leave your blown tire on the side of the road or drag it behind?
What about Sto n go caravans where the spare is under the floor between the front seats, I guess you’re not stowing a fullsize wheel in there either? Stupid cars(enginerds)