Looking for a spare wheel/tire for a 348
Believe it or not, a space saver spare from a 2004 era Ford Taurus or Mercury Sable has the correct bolt pattern and will fit in the bottom of the front trunk, but you need 1 spacer to clear the front caliper and 2 to clear the rear. Safety - wise I make no guarantee, but it might mean not being stranded in the boonies for hours.
I'll try to remember when I get home tomorrow to measure mine. I seem to recall they are both 1/2" thick, but don't quote me on that.
Thanks, Paul. If it's not too much trouble and you get a free moment, I'd appreciate it. Seriously thinking to get a spare for certain road trips.
My memory was wrong. It takes 1" of spacer to clear the front caliper ( I use two 1/2" spacers stacked. I JB welded them to the wheel so I wouldn't have to fuss with them), and then another 1/2" spacer to clear the rear caliper. I took a thin sheet of plywood, covered it with black carpet, and put that over the spare wheel as a false floor for the front trunk. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Paul, thanks very much for following up on this! I was thinking to do the same thing that you've done and build a plywood floor to cover the spare, so I could keep it in the car when there was room for it, but also remove it for track days or when the entire storage space was needed. What I have not looked into yet is whether or not there's room for the original tire/wheel in the trunk. Have you ever test fitted yours? Otherwise, we'd have to leave either the flat tire/wheel or the passenger on the side of the road. Come to think of it, I have a loose set of stock size tires, so I can do a test fit if you haven't. Also, what jack do you keep in the car and have you tested it? Sorry to be such a pest with questions, but there are probably others interested as well and it's great stuff for the archives. Thanks again for the followup.
The flat goes on the passenger seat and you leave the wife on the side of the road, right? I actually have not tried stuffing a real wheel in the trunk. Give it a shot, but remember the tire would be flat so that helps a bit to stuff it in. I have a sissors jack that works OK. It's thin enough to get under the jack point even with a flat tire
I do believe it will fit my, 18" 355 space saver fits on my 308 and clears my big brembos perfectly. Image Unavailable, Please Login