Dear i-Club forum members,

I own a 2003 WRX Sedan (all-wheel-drive).

I do a tremendous amount of interstate driving at night, especially on holidays. If I get a flat tire in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night, on a holiday weekend, I’m pretty well out of luck. I can’t wait for the repair shops to open, and I can’t drive hundreds of miles on the donut-spare.

I’d like to carry a full-sized wheel and spare tire with me, instead of the donut-spare. I know that this won’t be a problem provided that:

1. The full-sized spare wheel and the three remaining wheels are all identical in size, type, and manufacturer
2. The full-sized spare tire and the three remaining tires are all identical in size, type, and manufacturer
3. The full-sized spare tire and the three remaining tires are all similarly worn (i.e. they all have similar amounts of tread remaining).

My questions are this:
1. Will using a full-sized spare void my warranty? If yes, why, and will my warranty be similarly voided if I use the brand new OEM donut-spare along with three badly worn regular tires?
2. If I’m using a full-sized spare wheel and tire, should I be cautious of anything in particular? Are there any danger signs that I should be watchful of? Should I drive any differently?
3. What is the acceptable amount of difference in tread wear between the full-sized spare tire and the three remaining tires?

Thanks!
Dan Benway

 

Thanks everyone! This is what Subaru told me...

========
Hello Dan:

No worry, as you just want to do what is best for your WRX. It is ¼ inch circumference.

Thanks for the opportunity to be of assistance. If you need any future assistance, please feel free to contact us.

Best wishes,

John J. Mergen
Subaru of America, Inc.



-----Original Message-----
From: Subaru of America, Inc.
[mailto:SOAMail@sun.subaru1.com]
Sent: Monday, March 01, 2004 9:15 PM
To: e-commerce-cds@subaru.com
Subject: Re: Product Recommendations (E-mail #620053)
The following message was received by SOAMail:
From: Dan-B@Consultant.com

Dear Subaru,

One more thing... is it that the tires must be within 1/4
inch
circumference, or 1/4 inch diameter? Or is it 1/4 inch
radius?


Circumference = Pi x Diameter
Circumference = Pi x 2 x Radius
Diameter = 2 x Radius


Not trying to be a jerk, but I do want to be sure I
understand. I'm very,
very fond of my WRX and I don't want to injure her.


Thanks!
:-)
Dan




At 02:03 PM 3/1/2004, you wrote:
>Dear Mr. Benway:
>
>Thank you for visiting the Subaru Web site and for your inquiries.
>
>1. No, using a full-sized spare tire will not affect the
warranty on your
>2003 WRX Sedan.
>
>2. We would recommend that you only use the spare tire, whether
>donut-sized or full-sized, as a spare tire. As you know, all four tires
>on your WRX must be within 1/4 inch circumference of each other. Using 5
>tires in a tire rotation would make it almost impossible to keep all 4
>tires on your WRX within this circumference. Therefore, you would want to
>use the spare tire as a spare tire and replace it as soon as possible, as
>you would do with a donut-sized spare tire.
>
>3. As it will be used as a spare tire and it will be
replaced as soon as
>possible, the short time of having this smaller tread wear tire on your
>WRX should cause no problem. Again though, if you don't use it just as a
>spare tire, it will cause problems with your WRX.
>
>Thanks for the opportunity to be of assistance. If you
need any future
>assistance, please feel free to contact us.
>
>Best wishes,
>
>John J. Mergen
>Subaru of America, Inc.