For a relative’s 2003 Toyota Corolla CE, I am preparing to replace four nine-year-old tires currently mounted, plus the 18-year-old compact spare in the trunk. Is there a straightforward way to look up whether the trunk’s storage area for the spare can hold a full-size spare?
My approach (for my car) is to use a full-size spare. I replace the old spare with the best one of the four mounted tires when I buy a new set of four tires.
Try with one of the regular tires and see, my thought.
That is the way I checked my wife;s car.
When you get the new tires just ask the shop to see if one will fit in the spare tire well . And after the person does that give him a couple of dollars for the extra effort . And why would you trust a 9 year old tire as a spare anyway. You can buy new temporary spare tires and they are not that expensive.
You do realize that once a car is a few model years old, it is easy to find OEM wheels for it at a junkyard. Also, since the outer diameter of the “donut spare” must be the same as a regular wheel, the spare tire well in the trunk must necessarily be wide enough to hold a full spare, though it may be too tall and “lift up” the bottom of the trunk.
The stock wheel and tire size does fit in the spare tire well according to toyotanation members who’ve tried.
Following up: the full-size spare did fit in the trunk. However, with that car as well as my own 1988 Chevrolet Nova, the tricky part is to hold down the spare, as the original bolt is either just-barely or not-quite long enough to reach through a full-size spare and get some purchase on the threaded hole underneath.
A welding shop can cut the bolt and weld a rod between the 2 parts and make it the correct length.
I’ve “converted” all but one of my cars to full sized spares and faced the bolt issue each time. Just figure out what the threads are, go to a hardware store, and find a bolt of the appropriate length. You might also need something like a giant washer, depending.
Yes and also for a couple bucks you can get a junction at the hardware store. I had to modify my harbor freight tire changer with a smaller shaft. Not that hard but not as useful as I thought. More work needed.