I had a flat tire today and took apart the bottom of my trunk to find the spare and all i found was the tools and a jack??? Are there no spares on the 8?? What is the point of having all these tools there and no tire???

 

That dont sound right.

 

HAH. You can get a spare tire with a spare tire kit, if you pay extra. The point is to maintain the vehicles balance. The tool is something that probably should not be used, only in the case of an EXTREME emergency because of how that goo destroys tires.

 

^what he said. I took that so-called "Instant Mobility System" out of the trunk last year. It's useless. It's sitting in my garage collecting dust.

 

Thats a strange coincidence because I also got a flat tire today. I always thought the 8 was not suppossed to come with a spare tire. Mine indeed did have a spare though thank god. Damn flat made me go and buy four new Falken Azenis to replace my stockers. Only had 10,000 miles on em.

Pic of the donut....

 

how much did you spend? I am really tight right now on cash and the timing sucks. I need some cheap decent tires....eh

 

Honestly I only needed one new tire but id rathur not have 3 tires with 70% tread along with one tire with 100%. I was eventually planning on upgrading the tires anyway just not this soon. I paid $171 a tire for the falken azeni rt 615. They were actually cheaper than the stock bridgestones and stock dunlops. Those were close to 240 a tire on tire rack. Unfortunately since we have an 18 inch tire, they arnt going to be cheap by any means compared to most cars. Here is the link to my thread on my flat. The guy there helped me pick out the tire.

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-wheels-tires-brakes-suspension-55/got-flat-today-92109/

 

WTF you bought the car without knowing whether the car comes with a spare or not...

 

be nice

 

stfu thats not really a huge concern

 

When I bought the car, that was one of the first points that the dealer told me...in attempts to of course, have me buy the optional spare. While I do find it redundantly stupid that they didn't include one in the factory design, still I find myself strangely torn on getting one or not...which would then throw off that optimal 50/50 that it's known for. Seems like it should be an obvious decision...but oddly enough, it's not

Decisions decisions decisions...

 

Every Australian RX-8 comes with the spare kit. It's a pain in the coight. I removed my one on day one of ownership.

Keep your tire pressures up. Don't less the tires get too worn. Inspect weekly. Buy a can of tire sealant.

 

Well it's not exactly useless if you don't have a spare. Then your only option is to wait for a tow—and that could take hours. The IMS is a good alternative to waiting—admittedly a very expensive alternative—but if you have to continue on your trip right now, the IMS gives you that option.

 

Apparently, it is.

 

I do feel a bit naked without a spare, but I've had very few flats over the years, and the IMS will do I guess.

 

If you have the TPMS system, don't use tire sealant, it can damage the sensors.

 

he does make a good point.

 

I bought a tire plug repair kit at Pep Boys and a large needlenose pliers. The IMS has the air pump to inflate the tire, if you can find the nail/whatever causing the leak you have two options pump it up and drive straight to a repair shop or pull the tire and plug it to get you to a repair. I decided to stay away from the "goop" and to use it as a last resort due to the TMPS and the fact that once used, most tire shops won't do a patch. Of course a blowout or sidewall damage will mean roadside assistance unless you buy the spare. The spare also eats up a lot of trunk space.

 

I had to use the IMS (tire sealant), and then I bought a new tire. Is there a way to find out if my sensor was damaged? (The TPMS light isn't flashing or beeping or anything. It just comes on for a few seconds when you start the car, like it's supposed to.)

 

When I searched for my 8 on the internet, I found that a lot of the cars came without the spare option. I decided that I would go ahead and purchase an 8 without spare and try to find one on the ebay but I came up empty handed.

I tried the dealer and there were two choices:
#1-spare tire with mounting kit But NO tire (rim only) $350-$400 (Tire was $133 local)
#2-spare tire kit with tire but (NO mounting brackets) $400

I found a member on this forum who sold me his entire spare kit including the mounting brackets for $305.00 with shippping. I had to go this route and I was lucky. I can't afford to wait for roadside assistance, plus what's going to happen if I get towed to a dealer and they're closed or they don't have a stock size tire to replace mine with? At least with a spare I can limp off the road or travel with the spare and deal with the flat later.

 

When I bought my 8, the spare tire kit wasn't part of my criteria. After the dealer had run a locate for me, I wound up getting one with the kit as it had everything else on my list. It takes up a ton of trunk space though and if I decide to install subs, it may be on the way out.

 

I couldn't get my golf bag in the turnk with the spare kit, soooo... I'll live on the edge.

 

comes with our car, mate. only need to buy a new one when you use the one that came with

 

The location they chose for the optional spare tire and kit is pretty idiotic. It completely blocks the pass through. They should have placed it in that front center pit of the trunk that way you could utilize more trunk space without the spare tire blocking the pass through compartment. If the tire could fit in that front pit, you'd be able to put things on top of the spare and still have use for your pass through. Hell you might even be able to fit golf clubs this way.


I just found a pic from an old thread that thew posted where he somehow managed to fit his tire into the cargo tray and seat it into that pit:



I don't know how the hell he managed this because I've attempted this with my spare tire, and it's just too big to fit in the net. Maybe he had a smaller spare or something?

 

I have this incredible ability to only get flats on new tires. Seems once I'm past around seven or eight thousand miles I'm good for the duration. With that in mind, I got the spare tire kit. I agree though, it takes up valuable space in an already tight trunk, however since my golf bag is soft I can get it in the trunk with a good shove.