C U IN REARVEIW

looking to get a spare wheel in case I have a flat (non run flats) and can't get it home with plug kit. Is it ok to run an 18" wheel on the rear to limp the car home?

ErnieN85

not nice, but it will get you home.

gsflyer2011

Why not? I have. Not only i drove home in comfort, it was at least a 1000 miles before i could get it properly patched. Get a good set like a stop & go pocket plug set. They Are mushroom plugs and do not leak. If you run over a bolt and have a huge hole, than all bets are off.

C U IN REARVEIW

I'm more concerned with the diameter difference and the differential

87SAM

What's your plan for securing it in the cargo area?

C U IN REARVEIW

I rarely leave the area with the car! so I would just leave it in my garage and get it when I need it. I have a plug kit/compressor in the rear cubby hole in the car if I'm somewhere far from home.....plus with Hagerty insurance I get free flatbed service as well.

ErnieN85

you won't want to drive it far enough for that to be a problem, It will pull to the side with the smaller tire not fun to drive that way ( I have done it)

owc6

Gearhead Jim

Good thinking.
I've heard stories of people who destroyed the differential pretty quickly with mismatched wheels on the rear, the clutches will be slipping constantly due to the diameter difference.
However, those stories did not involve Corvettes.

I had to drive a 1998 Camaro Z28 about 50 miles with the little donut spare on the back, kept it for ~40k miles after that and no problems.

EVRose

If you have room in the garage for a spare you must be able to find enough room for one of each size, right?

ErnieN85

Good point I usually have a second set, it lets me get more wear out of my tires. the only drawback is more money invested.
I have used the second set as spare only once since 1995 when I bent two wheels

C U IN REARVEIW

Absolutely, hate clutter though. I have been looking for a front and rear from [part out] threads....but not much luck.....and I don't want a complete set. I have been efforting going with a square setup 8x10.5 all around.....this may be the way to go

timd38

I bought a set of wheels (take offs) on the Forum for next to nothing a few years ago and put my old tires on them when I got new ones for exactly the same reason.

C U IN REARVEIW

Ok....new option! I am looking at buying 2 18x10.5 wheels to put drag radials on.....also have 2 spares??

ls1121

I keep a 19" mounted up in the garage just for those times, the worst it will do is pull a little to one side if I need to put it on the front.

HOXXOH

I had a road trip where I blew out a tire and had to get towed, buy a new tire, and be delayed several hours. So the wife wanted a spare for the next road trip. I bought a GTO spare (17" donut size) and carried a jack and tools. It took up so much room that little was left for luggage, etc. The following trip, she decided that cash, credit cards, and a cell phone was a better deal. That was 90K miles ago and never even a slow leak since then.

If I'm close enough to home to have someone bring me a tire, I'm also close enough to get the bad one repaired or replaced.

jesse82nc

A drag pack front wheel is basically a donut. If you could find 2 of them, and get the correct diameter tires on them, you could have a small spare for the front and back. I'm thinking like some 185 tires or something maybe. Or just split the difference, and use one that is slightly closer to the rear diameter. It would probably cause less issues.

I've never actually looked into this, but might be worth exploring to see if it was possible.

Gearhead Jim

Modern runflats (Michelin Super Sport and PS2) are worlds better than the Goodyear runcraps that came on the car.
Just sayin'...

cclive

Having rear tires that are significantly different in diameter will cause wear on the diff. I might limp home a few miles but no more than that. And those few miles can just be driven on the runflats with no air.

cclive

This is a better idea since the difference in diameters is really only important on the rear of the car. Mismatched tires on the front are not correct, but they won't cause differential damage. They might trip active handling though.