spare wheel/ tire

Hi everyone,
Looking for a spare wheel/ tire that fits in the front of the car under the hood...I have a USA spec 308....

 

Unless you have very deep pockets pick up a cheap 14 in XWX or 390 mm TRX rather than the thin spare

Or in last week's 308/328 spare thread someone had one for sale in Germany I think

 

Yes, a 328 sparewheel. It's a "little bit!" different from the 308 sparewheel, which looks like a Dino-Wheel
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What would make the most sense to me would be to buy another front rim, etc. that matches the ones you already have. What size rims do you have now; there were some options available.

Again, were it my car and I (regrettably) had the 390 mm rims I'd get rid of them and go for the 16" rims, for which you would have a wide variety of tire makes available; not only better ones- such as the current Michelin Pilot Sports, then the now uberpriced weird-sized older Michelins but far less expensive as well. 205/55 16 A/S 3 front, 225/50 16 A/S 3 rear. $448 for a set of 4.

Cheers,
Rich

 

I know someone who has one of this 328 spare wheel for sale if interested let me know.

 

USA spec 308's came with full size spares. If you want originality, I suggest getting a full size wheel that matches what you have on the ground (front wheel if you have 16's, or you could pick up a Superperformance repro). If you're not worried about matching what's on the ground, the 14's are the cheapest wheel/tire combo.

Of course, the Euro 308 and 328 lightweight spares are a good 10 pounds lighter than a full size wheel and tire, which is nice when it comes to lifting it over the fender. But the last I heard, no one had identified a source for decent space saver size tires, so you are talking very old rubber.
I had a low front tire when I went in my garage Saturday; big nails will do that. I have a 308 space saver spare and briefly debated putting it in the car. After looking at the rubber, I dug out a 14" wheel with not-as-old tire instead. Then rewarded myself with a drive.

If you go with a full size wheel, give some thought to what tire you want. Ideally you want to match what's on the ground. But if you don't put that many miles on the car, going top of the line for the spare means you're just spending extra money on a tire that will probably grow old before it's used. Unless you actually plan to rotate wheels and tires, including the spare.

Just my 2 cents.

 

They will sell you a single front wheel if you call them. That's what I have for a spare. But real Ferrari front wheels in 14" aren't super expensive and come up on eBay regularly. Put a low profile 14" tire on it and call it a space saver!

 

There is one option for a newer space saver spare wheel and tire - Volvo uses the same 5x108 bolt pattern. I picked up a 5 or 6 year old S80 spare wheel and tire off ebay a few months back, iirc it cost around $75. I did have to grind the center bore slightly larger to clear the Ferrari brake disk center hub, other than that it bolts right up and is the same diameter as the stock tires.

My Euro 84 QV came to me with an ancient TRX wheel/tire as a spare, I think the previous owner bought the car with no spare (7 years prior) and picked up that TRX just to have something. Here's a few photos showing the Volvo space saver next to the TRX and in the front well.

Oh, just remembered - I also bought 5 new SHORT lug bolts to use with the spare! Because the original Ferrari wheels have much thicker center sections, the lug bolts are too long to tighten on the thinner steel Volvo spare wheel.
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Thanks for the info everyone...sounds like if I want to keep it origional, I should go with what is on the ground since I have a US spec car....

 

I have a thin 328 spare if you are interested in it.

 

Be aware that the center is different front and rear (rear is bigger), also the bolt length is different. Just to make sure you modify a spare wheel to fit both ends of the vehicle. A number of other european cars have the same pattern: e.g ALFA 166,Citroen C5

 

True. The simplest thing to do is set up the space saver spare to fit the front, and get a set of short bolts to use with it on the front, as mentioned. If you have a flat at the rear, move the front wheel/tire on the same side of the car to the rear and put the spare on the front.

 

+1

 

I bought a 328 "thin" spare rim only a couple years ago. The spare is 18" x 3.5" No one made a tire for it...so it was just garage art. I considered looking for a motorcycle tire to have mounted on it, but none could safely handle the weight.

Tire rack now sells a 125/80-18, Continental I think. This fits perfectly. The original temporary spare was, I believe, 105/90-18.

I'll post a pic soon...

 

That's great news, hanknum!
Have you actually tried it in the spare tire wheel well to make sure it fits?
Doing the math, I get a diameter of 25.87 inches for that tire.
For comparison, a 205x70/14 has a 25.30 inch diameter. Just over 1/2 inch difference.
A 225x50/16 has a 24.86 inch diameter.
My 308 space saver has a 105R/18 Michelin on it; it may or may not be the original, but it sure looks old enough to be. I can't find the 90 ( or whatever) anywhere on the tire, but it has a little over a 25 inch roll radius (within my ability to measure it). A 90 series works out to 25.44 inches on paper, so that does sound right. I don't care about the 125 having a slightly larger diameter -- it's a spare, after all -- as long as it stores OK.

Edit: I checked Tire Rack, you're right, it's a Conti. It's a 125x70-18, so a 24.89 inch diameter. Pulled the trigger.
Thanks, hanknum!

 

You're right...I missed quoted the size. The 125/70-18 is a perfect match. I was going that route, but then found an unused temporary spare (off of a VW Tiguan, I think) that was half the price and just had it dismounted and installed on my rim. I don't think I'll ever use it, but sure will be nice to have it there...just in case.