I have this little box of tire repair kit in the trunk but I want to get a REAL spare tire. Trunk space is not too much of a problem for me. Read a few threads in this forum. Here are some options:

1. A spare tire kit that apparently has a real spare tire mounted in the trunk somewhere. Is this available in Canada? How much if I order from a local dealer? Does it have a jack and wrench?

2. Find a spare tire and just leave it in the trunk. (Read some issue with that.) Anyone know where to pick one up locally & how much?

3. Get a full size spare. I just found out Walmart now carries 17" steel rim for $69 that fit RX8. I will then get the narrowest & lightest (cheapest) 17" tire that matches the height of the original. Keep it in the trunk.

Still need a jack and a wrench.

Thoughts anyone?

 

You have a jack and wrench in your trunck. The spare tire kit is available in Canada but if I remember correctly, it is nor cheap.

 

Thx, rotten42. Really, I didn't know I have jack & wrench in the trunk. I just assumed since Mazda only gave us a repair kit that there was no need for jack & wrench, that Mazda didn't provide. Some logic to figure out - no spare tire but jack & wrench, hmm... I better go home to check out the trunk.

I read somewhere it is between $500-600. Some thread also provided details of the content. I wonder if you can order only the spare tire and not the kit?

 

Really? Where's that hiding? Or am I blind?

 

Open the trunk; look straight down; jack handle is recessed in the rear panel and there is plastic panel on trunk floor below jack handle, that hinges into trunk. See section 7-3 and 7-4 of owners manual. The dealer offered the temorary spare and hardware at $674.00 as a dealer installed option; purchasing the parts should be a lot less.

 

I bought the kit and never installed the brackets. I only had it in the trunk once during a trip to Nova Scotia, it moved around a bit but all in all it's nice to have. The kit also comes with a tire cosy which is handy if you don't want to muck everything up.

It doesn't hurt to ask if you can just buy the tire, I have my doubts though since the tire, brakets and tire cosy all come packaged together.

 

Just called Avante Mazda North York parts dept. Spare tire kit is $595 + taxes. They don't sell just the spare tire itself. Then I asked about the 16" stock alum rim avail in the US - $308 Cdn + taxes. Cheaper getting the 16" and a tire than the spare tire kit - what justice! Or the Walmart 17" steel @ $69 + a tire?

 

There have been some posts regarding 16 inch rims not fitting the Canadian model under the winter tires discussions.

I had debated the same thing regarding the spare tire kit vs. a full sized tire. In the end it came down to space. Sure I would have loved to cheap-out and get a full sized tire for a cheaper price but would have ended up with a lot less trunk space.

My question was and still is, why would a car that costs us this much not come with a spare tire? Oh but wait, the $42K car doesn't come with a spare tire but if you fork out another 700 smakers you can get one! Mazda really got us by the ***** on this one.

 

At least you can fit a full size tire in the trunk. I hear if you have a Porsche with the wide rear tires; you have to ditch the passenger to carry the rear tire for repair, if you use the space saver spare, as it won't fit in the trunk or back seat area.

 

Will do more research on whether the US stock 16" rim will fit a Cdn spec RX8. Worry whether the 17" walmart steel rim is for US spec or Cdn spec. But I will go with an "almost" full size spare (16"/17"). Anyone know what is the smallest 16" and 17" tires I can use? (want smallest & narrowest->lighter & save space in the trunk) What is the spec of the spare tire?

 

Beware some 17" steel rims will not clear the brake calipers, ckeck before you buy; one that I know that does clear are 6 1/2" wide as opposed to 7" wide for most alloys. You require a 17" rim to clear the calipers as all Canadian RX-8's (both AT and 6 M) have the larger brakes as standard. You should run a tire close to the diameter of the tires you have on the car; smaller diameter could cause problems with the limited slip diff/DSC when mounted on the rear.