Ok everyone, WHAT am I doing wrong?

I tried putting one of my 18" wheel/rims in my trunk and it won't fit!

The posts here seem to imply that a full 18" wheel fits with no problem.

Am I doing something wrong? Did I need to deflate the tire, remove it from the rim, and put them in the trunk separately?

Help...

 

Have you tried removing your subwoofer cabinet with the two 15's?

Seriously, without anything else in the trunk, (including a spare tire mount) you should be able to angle the tire in, the forward bottom edge angled down, then rotate that edge up as you move the tire in toward the rear seat.

I was able to do this easily before a short trip.

 

Funny. Nothing else in the trunk except that amp unit that hangs down (factory). I don't even have my spare tire kit installed yet... Uh oh, maybe the mounting bar, though. However, even so, that's not what's hitting.

I almost fits, if I can just get the trailing rubber past the near end of the trunk.

Is my tire non-spec or something? The tire itself says 225/45 R18 Potenza R40. I think that's the standard one.

I'll just let out the air and place it in. Strange...

 

A related question... is it possible to get four wheels/tires in the car at once? I'm considering having my wheels swapped at a local garage and am wondering if it will require two trips and or another vehicle.

 

Use your rear seats for that but cover them first!

 

sorry I cant resist
what happened that you need to put it in the trunk

 

In anticipation of having to carry dirty stuff in the back seat, like a tire, one of the first things I put into my RX was a microfiber blanket - in the backseat bin. It's light, warm if I get stranded and will protect the nice black back seats from soiling.

 

Ahh. Maybe the amp is causing interference? I have the base 6sp. model.

The 18" tire/wheel should just slip in without interference if you get the angles right.

Oh, wait - if you try putting it in with the inside of the wheel up will it clear the amp?

Oh yeah, RE: carrying tires and wheels - I was able to put one wheel in the trunk, three stacked on front passenger seat (in boxes) and the four Blizzaks standing vertical, two on each side in the back seats. I'm not small, and it was a claustrophobic drive, about 8 miles to the tire shop.

 

I'll bet you didn't make any fast right turns!

 

No fast right turns, and no lane changes without careful planning!

 

Thanks KKMmaniac... helpful info...

 

The amp might make a difference... Mine has a Bose system. If you don't have the Bose system, I presume no amp? Looking back there the amp doesn't seem to be taking up much room.

I wonder if having the spare tire kit makes the difference? I don't have the spare tire kit - yet - looks like plenty of room inside without it. What I remember of the cars on the lot is that the kits hanging off the top of the trunk took a lot of room. I would have thought that if you need to put the tire in the trunk, you're probably making use of the spare leaving behind plenty of room.

 

Ah, got it! Two things. When I reverse the tire, it fit ok. Thanks for the suggestions.

Second, yes, I have the Bose system and I just noticed this weekend that my amp sits on an offset shelf of some kind. Anyone else?

I unbolted the whole unit (what a pain in freezing weather!) and removed the plate. Put it back and no clearance problems whatsoever!

Anyone else have a squarish 5/8" thick ABS plate standing off their amp? Is removing it BAD? Watch, I'll short out my entire electrical system...

Mikeb - Costco wanted my rim to take a look at the TPMS. After 2 hours of not being able to remove the stem and TPMS device, they replaced the wheel. The TPMS alert promptly went off. So, they took it off again and looked at it again. Almost in apology, they gave me a crappy temporary rim, which they let me keep. So, I needed to put the wheel in my car so that I could drive it to Rosenthal Mazda and "professionally" fix the TPMS, which they did like 5 minutes after the wheel was off. UGH. I love CostCo's prices and tire service for neolithic cars, but anything other than a Flintstone-mobile and they get confused. I was gratified that they did seem like they were trying to learn it though.