What's a spare for?
It seems silly for the spare to be smaller than the factory wheels. I know its 17in but I wonder if its a 45 like the factory size. It is def a lot skinnier prob like a 205. You would think the mitsu engineers would have taken this into consideration. If it really is that much smaller im going to completely take out my spare wheel.
That may sound like a good idea but if there is significant sidewall damage (due to driving on the tire when it first goes flat) you risk having the tire blow up in your face if there is one weak spot.
To the OP, the spare is meant to be driven for limited distance, so, you would not see any damage to the drivetrain. The damage comes from driving diffrent tire treads/sizes for extended periods of time. Basically what happens to a diff when there are different tires sizes is that the diff "thinks" as if it is turning continuously which generates heat and breaks down the gear oil prematurely, resulting in failure. Don't drive on the spare for too long and you won't have any problems.
To the OP, the spare is meant to be driven for limited distance, so, you would not see any damage to the drivetrain. The damage comes from driving diffrent tire treads/sizes for extended periods of time. Basically what happens to a diff when there are different tires sizes is that the diff "thinks" as if it is turning continuously which generates heat and breaks down the gear oil prematurely, resulting in failure. Don't drive on the spare for too long and you won't have any problems.
My guess is that it's made for the regular lancer wheel/tire combo, has anyone stacked it against whatever they run stock? I bet ya it lines up perfectly. Makes sense business wise to use the same tire throughout, since most people with "race" cars don't use spares anyway.
My guess is that it's made for the regular lancer wheel/tire combo, has anyone stacked it against whatever they run stock? I bet ya it lines up perfectly. Makes sense business wise to use the same tire throughout, since most people with "race" cars don't use spares anyway.
kinda stupid I think...all this makes me want to ditch my spare. Its too bad supposedly a full size spare wont sit flush in the trunk...
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Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 2,080
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From: Southern California
Just leave it in. Any "negative" of keeping it is so negligible.
I got a flat within a couple of months of getting my IX SE back in early 2007. I was driving to UCLA to visit my brother (who was a grad student there at the time) and my parents (who had driven down from Ventura County to visit him), and on the 405S I noticed the car driving a little funny, so I stopped in Fountain Valley and noticed the tire pressure was really low. I had AAA at the time, but I just threw the flat on and drove around until I found a tire shop, which luckily for me was an America's Tire Co. (who fixes flats for free) within a half-mile of where I had stopped. I'd rather not have kept driving on the flat, plus waiting for a AAA guy to show up just so I could drive a half-mile would've been silly.
Why would you really want to remove it? Yes, it's weight, but it's not really all that much weight... I'm guessing maybe 15 pounds... but it's 15 pounds that's sitting in the trunk of an already front-heavy car, and it's resting below the trunk floor. I'm not saying it's a performance benefit, but I don't think it's hurting the car much, if at all. While most of us have AAA, sometimes it's not worth it to wait for them just for a flat tire, unless you don't have the arm strength to rotate five lug nuts or if you felt your Evo just needed to shed those valuable 15 pounds from the trunk floor.
I got a flat within a couple of months of getting my IX SE back in early 2007. I was driving to UCLA to visit my brother (who was a grad student there at the time) and my parents (who had driven down from Ventura County to visit him), and on the 405S I noticed the car driving a little funny, so I stopped in Fountain Valley and noticed the tire pressure was really low. I had AAA at the time, but I just threw the flat on and drove around until I found a tire shop, which luckily for me was an America's Tire Co. (who fixes flats for free) within a half-mile of where I had stopped. I'd rather not have kept driving on the flat, plus waiting for a AAA guy to show up just so I could drive a half-mile would've been silly.
Why would you really want to remove it? Yes, it's weight, but it's not really all that much weight... I'm guessing maybe 15 pounds... but it's 15 pounds that's sitting in the trunk of an already front-heavy car, and it's resting below the trunk floor. I'm not saying it's a performance benefit, but I don't think it's hurting the car much, if at all. While most of us have AAA, sometimes it's not worth it to wait for them just for a flat tire, unless you don't have the arm strength to rotate five lug nuts or if you felt your Evo just needed to shed those valuable 15 pounds from the trunk floor.
I carry a tire repair kit so if the tire is reapairable I can fix it on the spot. A small air compressor that plugs into the cig lighter to inflate the tire. A can of fix a flat if its beyond a plug but enough to get me home. THe whole kit ways less than my spare too. 
