Questions re NC Not a Spare Wheel

[caravanner]

Hello all,

I have just bought an NC and found that it does not have a spare wheel. Instead there is a pump and goo kit.

This is the first time that I have ever had a car without a spare and am uncomfortable about it.

What is the experience of forum members? Have any of you bought a spare? If so from where?

Regards,

Joe

[hks_kansei]

I think the consensus is to buy the spacesaver wheel for a Mazda RX8 (do check, but I think it's the same fitment)

I really don't know why Mazda decided to not include a spare and instead just assume that everybody will only ever have a flat in built up areas and that they have roadside assist

[PAU61L]

Hello caravanner, this question comes up a lot, many of us NC owners have bought a tyre repair kit, which has the tools and plugs to repair a tyre, $10 to 15, Supercheap auto etc. you have to consider when was the last time you had a catastrophic tyre failure, also where do you put the spare, and can you fit a normal wheel and tyre in the boot, I have repaired a tyre with the kit and got back on the road, and used that tyre till it wore out. Paul

[Sailor]

I have a Dynaplug system that fits easily into the bag after you throw away the goo which is probably out of date and a destroyer of tyres.
I used mine just last week after I picked up a tek screw...aren't all punctures these days from tek screws.
Great system, easy to use and no reaming out of the hole required.
Bear in mind that ALL these systems are temporary repairs to get you going again,
the tyre should be removed, checked for internal damage and repaired properly

[Mr Morlock]

anyone doing touring in their car needs a spare. I recently saw an RX8 in an NC and it took up surprisingly little room. To all those posing the unliklihood of destroyed tyres scenario are just off beam. A mate only recently had a tyre destroyed on a late model car on a sealed road - fortunately he had a space saver and that got him home. Over the years I have had many tyre failures- too many to remember and lets also get kill the myth about roadside care. Once you get out of suburbia you can pretty much forget quick service. Tour the country on B roads and you might get the picture- and for a breakdown at night in the country- good luck. Sailors point is valid but much easier to just thrown on a space saver and the get the other tyre repaired or replaced.

[JBT]

Good luck finding a place for the 17" x 7" wheel/tyre you had to remove if you are out "touring" with a passenger, even if the boot is completely empty.



I'm another one that carries a tyre repair kit and a silent prayer before departure . 6 years and 80,000+ km traveling all over SE Australia as far west as Adelaide and no punctures...yet. We've only had one puncture (slow leak) in the last 10 years in all our cars - yep, Tek Screw in our street in the non-MX-5. Pumped up the tyre and took the car to Bob Jane for repair.

[caravanner]

Thank you all for your responses. I will use the plug type repair system until I get to know the car better. I will then make up my mind.

Regards,

Joe

[Mr Morlock]

We have been thru it before- finding a solution for the removed spare is solvable- much better than spending a night perhaps stranded. PS considering when you last had a puncture that destroyed a tyre is not relevant because its not something that can be predicted.

[minipete]

I have a full size spare for my NC in a box in my garage.

I figure if I get stuck somewhere and the goo doesn't work I will get one of my friends to grab it and post it to me. Should only take a day or 2 to get just about anywhere.

Pete

[Okibi]

At the NC launch the question was asked about the missing spare wheel, the rep from Mazda Japan's response was "everyone have mobile", perhaps most markets have way better mobile coverage than we get here in Oz.

Could be worse, some Toyota 86 guys paid for a car with a spare wheel and Toyota decided to screw them over and not provide one as advertised.

[93_Clubman]

I will use the plug type repair system until I get to know the car better. I will then make up my mind.

Once you've had a chance to familiarise yourself, Slowpoke on here bought a Mazda RX8 spacesaver spare wheel for the NC he was going to buy - he might be interested in selling it as he's bought something else instead of an NC. He's also selling four 16" wheels & tyres for an NC:
viewtopic.php?f=44&t=60068

[taminga16]

We have been thru it before- finding a solution for the removed spare is solvable- much better than spending a night perhaps stranded. PS considering when you last had a puncture that destroyed a tyre is not relevant because its not something that can be predicted.

An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered.
G. K. Chesterton.
If we lived with a constant fear of what might happen we would never do anything.
Greg.

[Mr Morlock]

I dont think Mr Chesterton had an MX5 in mind - a little bit of planning and forethought is no bad thing.

[7StringSamurai]

The bottom line is, drivers need to weigh up all of the factors for themselves and make an informed decision.

Some people won't buy a car with no spare. And that's cool.
Some people buy an RX8 space saver, and that's cool too. The only problem with that is that if you need to use the spare, where do you put the full sized rim? It's too big to fit in the boot - even if you took the tyre off the rim. And if you're on a road trip somewhere and have a passenger, forget about putting it on the passenger seat.

If you want to get pedantic about it, think about all of the things on a car that could go wrong. I've had my NC1 for four years, and have never had an actual *flat*. I've had punctures, for sure; in fact, at one point I had seven punctures across three of my tyres, all of which resulted in slow leaks. But nothing that has ever been bad enough to leave me stranded, or need me to break out the can of silicon from the boot.
I HAVE, however, had three spontaneous battery failures, and once the thermostat packed it in. Does that mean that based on my driving history, I should carry around three spare batteries and a thermostat in the boot?
And as cars get older, if you had to carry around spares for every part that could fail, you'd end up having a Dakar-style support truck following you around every time you ducked out for a bottle of milk.
Another example: a few years ago my brother had two flat tyres on his Impreza. Does that mean my brother is now obliged to carry around two spare tyres? Or that Subaru should be held responsible for only supplying one spare?

Personally, I have the silicon and the compressor that came with the car, a DIY plug kit and a set of jumper leads in the boot, and I have roadside assistance. Then it's just a matter of being smart about where I drive the thing.

[hks_kansei]

Last road trip my partner and I attempted we had in thee boot:

3 tonne trolley jack
Full socket set
Metric spanner set
Imperial spanner set
pry bars
assorted screwdrivers
multimetre
fusible tape
rolls of wire
seal puller
picks
jumper leads
water pump
fuel pump
gasket goo
gear puller
hammer
rags
coolant
oil
water
coolant hoses
vaccum hoses
fuel hoses
points
condensor
spark plugs
and some other stuff.


Ended up needing jsut about all of it when the engine decided to chew all the teeth off the timing gear.
of course, we didn't have a timing gear in the boot