Space Saver Spare Tire Size TourX Essence

[FavaBean]

Need to go to Harbor Freight and buy a folding lug wrench

@Charleetho I was at Harbor Freight today. They have a ratcheting breaker bar that looks nice. I may have to replace my current extendable lug wrench with one of these:

1/2 in. Drive 18 in. Ratcheting Breaker Bar

Also, I wouldn't worry about the age of tire. It's likely unused and been out of the elements. Should be fine for the low miles that you hopefully will never travel.

. I read that the spare from a DTS 2005 gen will work. I bought one for $50.......... I installed the rim on the front, dropped the car down, and it rubbed on the caliper.

@Gusl By chance, does your 2005 DTS spare wheel look like this 5 spoke wheel attached? I bought a 2006 DTS wheel and it fits the front. @Charleetho bought a 2009 and it fits. Mine looks like the images in post #179 and not like the below.

 

[Hunter Mike]

A new tire is $70.31 from Tire Rack...if piece of mind is needed. Tire size is 125/70R17...120 would be a motorcycle size.

 

[Charleetho]

@Charleetho I was at Harbor Freight today. They have a ratcheting breaker bar that looks nice. I may have to replace my current extendable lug wrench with one of these:

1/2 in. Drive 18 in. Ratcheting Breaker Bar

Also, I wouldn't worry about the age of tire. It's likely unused and been out of the elements. Should be fine for the low miles that you hopefully will never travel.




@Gusl By chance, does your 2005 DTS spare wheel look like this 5 spoke wheel attached? I bought a 2006 DTS wheel and it fits the front. @Charleetho bought a 2009 and it fits. Mine looks like the images in post #179 and not like the below.

View attachment 22882

It is steel. I did see an alloy wheel with a near bald tire.

 

[94cruiser]

Picked up our "new" spare donut at a local You Pick and Pull used parts yard. Found this in the trunk of a 2009 Caddy DTS. 17" steel rim with a 120/70R17 Continental tire on it. $18 and about a 10 minute search. Test fit on the front and it clears the brake caliper but it does. A short test ride and it seems to work fine. My only worry if the tire is a 2008. 12 year old rubber looks new and shows no signs of cracking. I will look into replacing the tire just for piece of mind. But for $18 I can't complain. Definitely would stick to 50mph or less and would only use it to get to a tire shop.
A tenet of ours left behind a BMW 3 series jack. That works also. Need to go to Harbor Freight and buy a folding lug wrench. I am pretty sure this will all fit in the wheel well. Will know later.
Love a bargain.

Is there a larger (taller) tire that fits in the trunk "spare tire area" or is this the limit of the trunk?

 

[shs92645]

Just installed a spare in my GS. Based on this thread I bought the GM wheel and a tire at Tire Rack. Town Fair Tire mounted the tire gratis as I buy all of my car tires from them. It was a very tight fit getting the spare into the well but it is in along with my tools from my last GS.

 

[Gusl]

@Charleetho I was at Harbor Freight today. They have a ratcheting breaker bar that looks nice. I may have to replace my current extendable lug wrench with one of these:

1/2 in. Drive 18 in. Ratcheting Breaker Bar

Also, I wouldn't worry about the age of tire. It's likely unused and been out of the elements. Should be fine for the low miles that you hopefully will never travel.




@Gusl By chance, does your 2005 DTS spare wheel look like this 5 spoke wheel attached? I bought a 2006 DTS wheel and it fits the front. @Charleetho bought a 2009 and it fits. Mine looks like the images in post #179 and not like the below.

View attachment 22882

It does look like this, except it has just 5 holes. The issue is the offset is to far in, I was thinking of getting an 8-10mm spacer to push it out. But I went with the Equinox spare instead.

 

[Gusl]

Is there a larger (taller) tire that fits in the trunk "spare tire area" or is this the limit of the trunk?

On the tourx the largest tire it will hold is 125/70/17.

 

[Charleetho]

@Charleetho I was at Harbor Freight today. They have a ratcheting breaker bar that looks nice. I may have to replace my current extendable lug wrench with one of these:

1/2 in. Drive 18 in. Ratcheting Breaker Bar

Also, I wouldn't worry about the age of tire. It's likely unused and been out of the elements. Should be fine for the low miles that you hopefully will never travel.

I ended up with this 14 In. Stowable Four-Way Lug Wrench . Wish I saw the breaker bar sooner.

As for the age of the tire. I thought about it. My other 3 vehicles (1998, 2004, and 2011) have the original spares and they are fine. I'm confident any one of those tires as well as this one would get me to a repair shop just fine.

 

[dlbritton]

I will hit some junk yards later this week with my TourX looking for a salvage spare.
Car in the shop tomorrow to get the front left headlight assembly replaced under warranty. After a big rainstorm several days after we bought the car I noticed moisture in the light. Part only took a couple of days to arrive.
The car was brought from another dealer that either didn't notice the headlight or chose to ignore it.

Elsewhere in the thread I saw comments about mounting front or rear and does it affect AWD. I've only had a few flats in many years of driving but I prefer the spare to be on the back of both FWD (Mazda and Acura) and AWD (Subaru Outback).
I have been lucky enough to be near home when I had flats but if I had a flat on the front I would swap off a good rear time and mount the spare on the rear. We have 3 cars for 2 drivers so we have a spare car to drive when 1 is out of commission. My first Subaru had room for a full size spare but came with a space saver. Found a Subaru rim at a junkyard and mounted the same tire as I was running and did a 5 tire rotation pattern.

My Buick dealer is next door to the Mazda dealer (same ownership/separate facilities) and I need an oil change/inspection on my Mazda3 so it will be convenient to drop off the Mazda when I pick up the TourX after the headlight is replaced. Plus both are just a couple of blocks from the ice skating rink I go to several times a week (well did pre covid days).

 

[Hunter Mike]

Your free manual says that a spare with out AWD is no big deal. Page 316

 

[dlbritton]

18" will NOT fit in the spare tire wheel well. The 125/70:17 will fit.

I got mine from a Recycling Center (junk yard) off of a late model 2000's Buick. Also got the jack from the same recycled car. Fits in wheel well upside down including Woofer and jack.

A T155/70R17 110M from my 2008 Subaru WILL NOT fit so the 125/70 is probably as large as can go in the well.

 

[danzig997]

Developed in the UK. AA Multi-fit Wheel. Multi-Fit wheel as an innovative solution for vehicles not normally equipped with a spare wheel. Launched the wheel in 2016 and since then it has had over 185 thousand fitments.







Looks cool but not for highway use....

GUNIWHEEL, based in Alpharetta, Georgia, manufactures a revolutionary new product for collision repair shops, mechanical repair shops, towing companies, and automotive enthusiasts. The GUNIWHEEL 45 is a universal four and five lug bolt pattern transport wheel, with accompanying accessories, that can be used as an alternative method to other cumbersome temporary jack stands or lifts. When a vehicle has damaged or missing wheels, the use of GUNIWHEELS provides a temporary wheel for the vehicle to function, while enabling it to move safely and freely through the repair process.

 

[dlbritton]

Went to a local "Pick your own part" lot today in search of a spare. They had 4 GM vehicles that supposedly had 125/70R17 tires. None of those had a spare inside but I noticed every vehicle on the lot was propped up on 3 or 4 space saver spares.
I asked at the office about spares and they said they don't take them out, that those were left when cars were completely gutted and crushed. I saw a few spares laying around but no 17" of any size. Several 125/80R16 tires near GM vehicles.

I'll try regular salvage lots on Monday.

 

[dlbritton]

A followup to my post just above.

I may know the answer but will a 125/80R16 work? Found a size calculator and diameters are effictively the same, BUT will a 16" rim work with the brakes on a 2019 TourX Preferred?

125/80-R16 vs 125/70-R17 Tire Comparison - Tire Size Calculator | Tacoma World

125/70-R17 tires are 0.02 inches (0.4 mm) larger in diameter than 125/80-R16 tires and the speedometer difference is 0.0%

www.tacomaworld.com

 

[autocomman]

I'm pretty sure it's been covered, but how pissed off is the AWD system with a different size tire? This is a huuuuge nono on say a Subaru as it will damage clutches in the diffs. Last thing I wanna deal with is burned up clutches in the center diff with an odd ball spare.

Is the system smart enough to disable the torque vectoring im the center diff so it remains open when it sees one wheel speed totally wack like it would be with a spare? No speculation, I wanna know this is actually what will happen...

 

[dlbritton]

I'm pretty sure it's been covered, but how pissed off is the AWD system with a different size tire? This is a huuuuge nono on say a Subaru as it will damage clutches in the diffs. Last thing I wanna deal with is burned up clutches in the center diff with an odd ball spare.

Is the system smart enough to disable the torque vectoring im the center diff so it remains open when it sees one wheel speed totally wack like it would be with a spare? No speculation, I wanna know this is actually what will happen...

I have a Subaru and i believe they say if you have to replace a tire the difference in circumference can't be more than 1/2" even if it is the same brand/tire. An unrepairable flat typically means replacing all 4 tires if they have many miles on them.

 

[saab93driver]

I'm pretty sure it's been covered, but how pissed off is the AWD system with a different size tire? This is a huuuuge nono on say a Subaru as it will damage clutches in the diffs. Last thing I wanna deal with is burned up clutches in the center diff with an odd ball spare.

Is the system smart enough to disable the torque vectoring im the center diff so it remains open when it sees one wheel speed totally wack like it would be with a spare? No speculation, I wanna know this is actually what will happen...

Buick doesn't say anything that you can't use a compact spare, in fact on Page 316 of the owner's manual it says "When using a compact spare tire,the AWD (if equipped), ABS, and Traction Control systems may engage until the spare tire is recognized by the vehicle,especially on slippery roads. Adjust driving to reduce possible wheel slip.."

 

[Ghosthawk]

This has been a very educational thread and props to everyone who has been inventive on creating solutions for the spare. Its a real peace of mind to know you have reliable back-up for emergency situations. We are planning an extensive cross-country road trip to the Southwest/Four Corners area and Utah Nat Parks after I get this car. I'm pretty sure for that trip I will sacrifice some load space to carry one of the stock wheels with me ( I plan to have swapped rolling stock before we depart) but having a spare for a daily driver, even if you have AAA I think is still the smart move. Thanks everyone!

 

[dlbritton]

Got a spare today at a local junk yard. $50, but the only other junkyard in the area lists them at $70 + $20 core charge.

Fortunately I did know all the specs, I thought a 2010 Enclave was the same tire but it was a 6 bolt 145/70R17. They had a Cadillac DTS with the correct size. I commented on seeing a bunch of 125/80R16s , which are same diameter, at the pick your part lot but was worried about brake caliper clearance and he said that would probably be an issue.

Put a strip of boat trailer bunk board carpet in the tire well along with a piece of styrofoam to level the tire.

Now to find a storage spot for jumper cables, hitch draw bar, jack and lug wrench.

 

[danzig997]

This OEM Opel Insignia B spare wheel.