Spare Tire

OK I'll bite. What good does a spare tire do you if it is at home?
Forest

Good question, Forest!
Anyway, Gary when I changed from 15" wheels to 17" I kept the best front tire mounted on the wheel and keep that around as a spare since it will fit on both the front and rear of the car. I kinda understand the leaving the spare at home since I have actually never carried a spare in the car. I always have a cell phone and credit card however. When we go on trips to car shows, my wife typically follows behind in the Expedition and carries the luggage, spare, jack and tools (oh yeah, the cooler too!). This is my plan until I put together a custom trailer and hitch to tow behind the Pantera.

Good luck
Gary
#06984

Some of us have different diameter tires front and rear.

If the spare tire is samller in diameter than the rear tire it is replacing in an emegency situation, will it cause problems to the ZF transmission if a guy has to drive 50 miles with different size tires on the rear?

Well right now I don't have any spare tire and I need one. A spare tire at home is better than no spare tire. If I am just driving around town some one can always bring it to me. That's why I thought a full size tire/rim would be better than the small space saver. As Ron said it has to be easier on the ZF too. I am just not sure what other cars have the same bolt pattern. It would be nice to have a space saver to take on trips but I don't know that I would leave it in all the time if I am just driving around my local area. And yes, after getting the Pantera I joined AAA.


Gary

7" Campys are a dime a dozen. Some are just laying around in a garage taking up space and would love to go to a new home. Depending on where you are, you aught to be able to find one to use for a spare.

And having a spare in your garage is definitely better than no spare at all. Also carry a can of flat-fix in case you pick up a nail.

How about carrying a tire plugging kit? So far, I have noticed low tires and been able to plug them before they went completely flat.

The OEM collapsible spare is probably unsafe to use, and were actually involved in a recall when the cars were new. They were on a 14"x 6" Ford steel wheel and cleared stock brakes. Nowadays, there are lots of collapsible tires available as close as your wrecking yard and can be installed on a wheel easily, but are a real bitch to de-mount, so be sure you don't change your mind! I built a spare wheel for one guy using a 16"x 7" wide forged aluminum Porsche wheel, welded up & redrilles to the Pantera/Ford bolt pattern, and another from a late Thunderrbird that used a 16"x 4" wide high-pressure tire (the guy never picked it up- I still have it.). This last fit in the front trunk only if your car has the clutch hydraulic line re-routed AND the brake vacuum line on the fender side of the booster. Both 16" wheels clear big aftermarket brakes. I had a rear Campi go porus on a trip 15 yra ago, and inflated & drove 50 miles home on the stock spare. You really WANT to go 50 or less since the limited slip will get warm from the mismatched diameters, but no permanent damage resulted (to date) except to the spare. The tread was totally gone after 50 miles. I currently use a wrecking-yard BFG collapsible spare on an aluminum 14x 6" dragrace-only wheel that clears stock brakes- the assembly weighs only 15 lbs. Note- with 16 or 17" wheels, the taken-off assembly will not fit anywhere inside the car except the passenger seat, so if you must change a tire on the road, carry a bungee cord to hold the trunklid closed on the drive home.

The issue you guys have brought up are what I have been thinking about. I am not totally sold on the space saver. A good spare at home would not be a big deal until I took a long road trip. I think If I got a space saver for a long road trip it would be more for getting me off the road to a location I could get a tire, park it or get other transportation.
Gary

On LONG trips, I will bring the collapsable spare. Because I will have installed the trunk liner to carry it. Also, I will carry a "Tubeless tire repair kit" a 12 Volt compressor, and a can of fix a flat.(Remember! That the Boss Wrench warned against keeping a can of fix-a-flat in a Very HOT trunk, as they have been known to blow the lid off!!). And as others have suggested, I plan to mount and use one of my 7" Campys as a spare.(ofcourse, you can't do this if you have mounted larger brakes.) And don't forget the bungy cord. You can use most any (narrow) wheel with a Ford pattern, but the lug nuts must be 12 MM 1.5 Pitch (if you still have the STOCK wheel studs. Good-Luck with it, Marlin.

Thanks, It is good to get other peoples ideas. I do not mean to sound un-educated but what is a crampy? Is that just a standard rim?

Gary

For a cheap source of spare lugnuts I use Taurus/Sable or Escort nuts. There are probably quite a few other current Ford models using 12mm X 1.5 pitch nuts.

Crampy or Campy? Campy is short for Campognello, the stock wheels for the pantera.

quote:

---

Originally posted by gow589:
Thanks, It is good to get other peoples ideas. I do not mean to sound un-educated but what is a crampy? Is that just a standard rim?

Gary

---

"Campy" is the Campgnolo magnesium wheel that originally came on the car.

Excelent!,

Thanks!

Gary