I took my spare tire out and associated tools to save weight, plus I only weigh 140 lbs, my EVO smokes so many other rides out there.

 

Maybe a 1% weight savings versus potential major inconvenience as well as potential safety issues wherever you are stuck... not worth it.

The spare is the same diameter just not the same width and contact patch. It doesn't mess up the diffs unless run for a stupid amount of time.

 

If your going to use a can of fix-a-flat I would also carry a temp. plug kit (available at any auto parts store). Half the time the fix-a-flat just runs out of the hole. Also I would get the large can of fix-a-flat cuz the small one wont fill a EVO tire with enough pressure. The green stuff someone else was reffering to is called "Slime". It works pretty good on bikes, havnt tried it on a car....kind of messy though.......................

 

Must be only my spare cause when I sized it up on my wheel it seemed to be about 1 1/2 in. to small . Just standing it next to the wheel. Also the wheel is on the car and it has the weight of the car on it . I dunno I may just buy a spare enkei and mount it with a worn advan . But anyone with an 18in wheel will need to chuck the spare for a better sized wheel.

 

Its not totally based on overall diameter. If you have one tire that grips a lot better than the other ur stressin the diffs, i work in a tire shop and thats why we recommend 4 of the same tires on awd cars. Second dont even bother w/ fix a flat or that temporary repair kit. Both of em are trash. The fix a flat can end up costing u a lot of money, some shops wont repair a tire that has fix a flat in it because its so corrosive, its hard on the wheel and tire. I work at costco tire shop and we do free flat repairs, and theyre a patch and plug, so just go do that

 

Brent is right - that's why I posted what I did earlier. If you read the manual, check the section about the spare - it even says it will screw up the diffs. My guess is that Mitsu had to include it or else it would have to sell the Evo with run-flats. I am glad they chose the former. A friend in California had a flat during a meet and ended up using 2 spares to solve the problem. However, that would only be convenient if you had other Evos around...

 

I haven't had a flat tire in so long I can't even remember it. That includes seventeen years on the road in the service industry. I am not an advocate of leaving the spare at home but in hundreds of thousands of miles (since belted radials) I have never had to use one but you all know what happens if you temp fate.

 

Spare has been gone since day one along with all associated tools. Gotta love the road side assistance. You guys have to watch with the fix-a-flat stuff. It gums everything up and throws that specific tire outta balance. Also when you have the tire shop remove the tire from the rim all that crap is in there and it makes the tire hard to patch, sometimes they get pissed and wont even repair it. I would recommend against using it. I would suggest that if you do not have the roadside assistance to carry your spare.

my .02

 

Unless you're at the track, I can't see in gods name why you would want to remove the spare.
It's not going to make a difference to the handling/performance on the way to the shops.

If weight saving is really that important, go on a diet.

Some night you'll be stuck out of cell phone range on a destered road, flat tire and no way to fix it, and after loosing your *** virginity in the bushes, you'll be sure to carry a spare again.

I mean calling a flat bed go fix a flat. Are people really that useless these days??

 

i was going to remove the spare relocate the battery to trunk and use fix a flat. but after shopping for fix a flat i noticed none of the brands were available for tires with speed ratings equal to the evo's. so i kept the spare.

 

I agree about running the spare tire, it sucked. I drove about 3 miles, under 45mph. So I know I did not mess up my differentials. Now if I went down to the drag strip and launced a few times, yea I can see that it would mess it up.

Why in the hell would they sell a car, with a spare if your not supposed to use it???

That sounds like a good court case. Im not saying its not in the manual, but Im saying its stupid thatdid that...........

Not trying to cause an argument either

 

someone correct me if i'm wrong, but fix-a-flat is NOT for tubeless tires (like those on most aftermarket and performance rims). i think it even says so on the bottle.

 

I was considering removing it also...I haven't carried a spare in any of my last 3 cars/truck! But relocating the battery to the truck would be a no-no for me due to NHRA rules...You must have a kill switch it you relocate the battery to the truck, and I woun't have a switch on the truck on my car...

 

Sorry to sound ignorant, but what exactly to they mean by a kill switch? Would it be as simple as an on/off toggle on the positive (red) wire going from the battery back into the engine compartment?

Also, after reading the concerns with the spare causing diff stress ... it's outta there!!! I'd rather wait for AAA to show up than mess up my ride.