Guest TurboSedan Posted February 3, 2003 Report Posted February 3, 2003 i had a rear tire blow out and had to put my donut spare on and guess what? it rubs the caliper! i was so pissed it doesn't rub badly enough to damage anything just mar the caliper pretty good and the car shook while driving and the donut would lock up pretty easy. i was 70 miles from home (middle of nowhere with no money = yay) and didn't really have a choice in the matter. so for those of you that have done the rear brake upgrade - i suggest a '94+ donut spare (if not a fullsize). later joshua Quote
STR Posted February 4, 2003 Report Posted February 4, 2003 HOLY CRAP!! I never thought of that! I should check that out. Quote
GnatGoSplat Posted February 4, 2003 Report Posted February 4, 2003 Good info! I'd definitely better pick up a 94+ spare because after I change my front brakes to 95+ the spare won't fit in place of any wheel. Quote
Guest TurboSedan Posted February 4, 2003 Report Posted February 4, 2003 i'm converting to '95+ front brakes soon too (more like early summer). so far i already have the strut/knuckle assemblies from a 49,000 mile Cutlass in my garage, but i still need new rotors, pads, new ball joints, and braided lines. i'd like to get the bigger booster too. joshua Quote
nerfbars Posted February 4, 2003 Report Posted February 4, 2003 Food for thought if you do blow a rear tire just take a tire from the front and put it on back and put the donut on front. Quote
Guest TurboSedan Posted February 4, 2003 Report Posted February 4, 2003 no way i'm driving 70 miles with a donut spare on the front of a FWD car....that will mess up the diffrential won't it? joshua Quote
GPRACER Posted February 4, 2003 Report Posted February 4, 2003 no way i'm driving 70 miles with a donut spare on the front of a FWD car....that will mess up the diffrential won't it?joshua No, not if it's the one that came with the car originally. Quote
Guest TurboSedan Posted February 4, 2003 Report Posted February 4, 2003 hmm, i guess i had always been told otherwise and didn't want to risk it. oh well, i didn't damage anything, except scratch/mar the caliper up a bit. joshua Quote
GPRACER Posted February 4, 2003 Report Posted February 4, 2003 Why would GM supply a spare that would damage the differential? The differential can compensate for the difference in tire outside diameter, and it is just meant for temp use to get you to a garage. I have actually seen this also on the 99+ N body Gm cars, if the front brake pads are not installed correctly, the spare and sometimes the fullsize wheel will contact the caliper. Quote
ismellrealbad Posted February 4, 2003 Report Posted February 4, 2003 i dont think its bad for the car, but it my opinion its really unsafe. if i have one of those things on the front as soo as i get home or asap i will switch the back tire to the front and put the donut on the back. those things lockup so easy and i feel reall unconfortable taking any kinda turns with them. i almost rear ended one of my HS teachers cuz i had the friggin thing on the front and i had to stop real quick and all i did was slide right twards her on dry pavement :yikes: Quote
GnatGoSplat Posted February 4, 2003 Report Posted February 4, 2003 One of the big car magazines (either Motor Trend, Road & Track, or Car & Driver) once had an article on those donut mini spares. They concluded that those things can take a lot more abuse than most people think. I gotta wonder though... if you have to change to the spare on the road, you aren't likely to have a jack stand with you, so it wouldn't have really been practical to move the front wheel to the rear and put the donut on the front. Quote
ismellrealbad Posted February 4, 2003 Report Posted February 4, 2003 ur right its not possible the little tote-a-jack will only go so high and i dont have jack stnads with me so im forced to leave it on the front till i get home Quote
Brian P Posted February 4, 2003 Report Posted February 4, 2003 I drove to school and back twice on my donut spare on the right front. ABout 160 miles total. It sucked, but yeah it held up fine. That's good info about the rear brakes! Cause Im still looking for brackets! As soon as I find a car w/ them I'll take it's spare Quote
Guest TurboSedan Posted February 4, 2003 Report Posted February 4, 2003 heheh i'd like to bolt on 4 donut spares and go 'ice skating' with my CS on a frozen lake. joshua Quote
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