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Another spare tire kit out there

12K views 45 replies 22 participants last post by  Dogbreath 
#1 ·
#32 ·
Got the kit in today. For those curious about putting it in the Vwagon spare tire well...

First thing, The bag that had the bolt adapter and wrench had a hole. No big deal. Ductaped at sucker up.
Wheel seems ok, has some gaps and isn't welded all the way. Don't think that's an issue?


The scissor jack it comes with is rated for 1 1/2 tons which doesn't seem like enough so I may need to pick up another one? Anyway....

Proceeded to shove it in the spare tire well... pretty tight.


Didn't quite fit with the adapter on. So I removed the adapter and shoved it in again


A pretty tight fit but goes all the way down.


yay sub fits on top!


tossed the adapter in the upper compartment and called it a day. Shoved the wrench and scissor jack levers with the tire


voila, all neat and done.....


For good measure I packaged that adapter with great care as you can see in the image.

So there you have it. a Good way to add a few pounds to the rear of your V wagon...
 
#33 ·
....excuse me for dragging this thread back up, I'm just not totally convinced that it's
a 100% solid package. Has anyone besides dennych taken delivery on this package,
installed and rolled on it? Is the adapter self-centering? Does the assembly need to
be balanced. I need to either cross this off my list or pull the trigger.Thanks, Eddie.
 
#34 ·
I received my spare tire kit today from PerformanceSpare.com for my 2009 sedan.


I decided to do a run through in my driveway, simulating changing the tire on some boondock road (cue the Deliverance music), instead of waiting for hours for a road service to arrive. That means also carrying a couple pieces of wood to act as a base for the jack and a piece between the jack head and the frame rail. I used one of my Katech jacking pucks in my driveway, but didn't like it. Not as stable as I prefer. And there wasn't enough room to fit wood under the jack, so I left it out and paid for that mistake when I made a depression in my new asphalt driveway. :thepan:

Regarding the scissors jack... like most scissors jacks - they suck! It is a difficult, time consuming process using it, even though you are only jacking the car high enough to get the tire clear of the ground. Hard work!.... given the limited mechanical advantage the jack provides.

Then there are the sockets and breaker bar included with the package. Meh... I didn't like the fit of the Chinese made sockets on the wheel nuts, and I couldn't break loose my wheel nuts, which are torqued to 140 lbs, with the included breaker bar, so I will be carrying my own sockets and breaker bar.



So after finally getting the RF wheel jacked up, the provided spacer attaches securely to the hub with the nuts provided.
I used part of the handle from the jack inserted in the rotor vent slots to prevent the rotor from turning.



The spare wheel/tire fits fine. No clearance issues. I just drove it around the block and never got over 25 mph, so I can't comment on balance issues at this point.



As far as trunk installation, I eliminated the pump and sealant. Personal preference - I would never use it.
The tools fit under the tire.



Hopefully I'll never need to use the spare, or be in an urban area where I can call road service to assist in making the change - using a good jack.
But I do feel more comfortable now knowing that I have a spare tire and there won't be any surprises if I have to install it. I may do some research and look for an alternate jack to replace the scissor type. Maybe a small hydraulic one. I just don't want stuff loose in the tire well rattling. Right now everything is cinched down and no rattles.
 
#36 ·
thanks Old for testing out the mounting. Makes me feel better about the kit. Also agree that in most likely cases I'll just call the AAA guy to jack up the car rather than use that crappy scissor jack.

Just out of curiosity is your jacking puck just a hockey puck? I wonder if the AAA guys use them with their floor jacks (I doubt it). Might be worth tossing a puck in the trunk. Haven't tried jacking up my V yet so I'm not even sure where to tell them to jack it up. I keep on reading conflicting things about how the jacking point diagrams are supposedly covered by V Trim....
 
#37 ·
Just out of curiosity is your jacking puck just a hockey puck? I wonder if the AAA guys use them with their floor jacks (I doubt it). Might be worth tossing a puck in the trunk. Haven't tried jacking up my V yet so I'm not even sure where to tell them to jack it up. I keep on reading conflicting things about how the jacking point diagrams are supposedly covered by V Trim....
In my garage I use this jacking puck from Katech. Insert it into the oblong slots provided on the frame rails. Refer to this thread and photo: http://www.cadillacforums.com/forum.../217898-cts-v-jacking-points.html#post2446715

There are other locations to place a jack or stands depending on what type of work you are doing, but the pucks work well there for most applications.

As far as AAA or other road services, I'll call them out just for their hydraulic jack, but I'll be explaining exactly how to jack it up. Then I'll get frustrated and angry, and tell him to move out of the way while I do it. They 'may' have a block of wood with them, but couldn't imagine they would carry a jacking puck.
 
#39 ·
I just ordered one of these. Did a 600 mile round trip to the poconos Saturday, and for the first time in 9 years of V ownership, was a little nervous about not having a spare.

Problem seemingly solved.

Now I have to decide what to do about my thinning PS2's (15K miles). time to do some searching on the forum for the latest wisdom on that.
 
#40 ·
OK got my kit today. One week from order to delivery. All seems to be as advertised. Nicely done. My only minor issue is that for some reason, my tire doesn't fit in the tub as well as it looks in OldRoadDawg's photo (I have a 2010 sedan). The carpeting and the insulation is pretty thick. I could cut it off inside the tub and there would be plenty of room, but I decided to play with it and I was able to get it to sit low enough so that the cover fits virtually flush. Not perfect, but close enough. In general, very pleased with the purchase. I did not do a "full" installation. I checked to make sure that I could loosen the lug nuts with the breaker bar, and that the nuts and sockets all fit and that the jack works. Maybe I'll do a full dry run (which would be the smart thing to do) over the weekend.
 
#42 ·
yeah, it all works for me pretty much as in OldRoadDawg's photos. The tire just doesn't seem to sit at low in the tub, but it is low enough where the cover rests pretty close to perfectly flat. I could probably force it down more, but then I might not be able to get it out when I need to. It's good....I am quite pleased with the purchase......
 
#44 ·
I received my kit today and installed the spare and drove it around the block. I had the same experience in that I could not get the spare all the way down into the tub on my sedan and didn't want to force it. I was able to get the spare in plenty far enough to store everything in the kit along with it and install the cover just fine. I also struggled with that scissor jack. I had no problem using the lug wrench though. Plenty of torque when extended. I am overall very satisfied with the kit. If I go on a long trip I might just throw my 2 speed scissor jack in the trunk or let the AAA guy use his jack in the event of a flat. For me, this kit eliminates the fear of (1) getting stranded somewhere and (2) damaging wheels and/or car body parts which are much more expensive than this kit.
 
#46 ·
Got mine yesterday. Played with it for a bit to figure out the best way to store it. The jack and tools fit under the tire. I hooked the jaws of the jack on the hold down so that it wouldn't rattle. Put a block of wood under the tire as well. The only issue with the kit (and I called the vendor about it) is that the socket provided doesn't fit the existing lugs well. It is 1 mm too large. A 6 point American socket fixed that.

The trick for getting it to fit in the well is to lift up on the back of the spare some to relieve the friction on the carpet in the front. The tire will then slide all the way down and the cover will fit perfectly - there's probably an inch or so of extra room.
 
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