[Cligedy]

To those who remove the spare tire and jack at events, has your jack tie-down been damaged? The threaded rod on mine is hard to start the threads because the rod is bent about 1 1/2" up. I didn't think much about it until I parked next to another FiST at an autocross and his was bent in the same way. Just curious if this has happened to others.

 

[madhatter]

i've not encountered that yet. there are 2 holes though. is it possible that yours was threaded into the wrong one, and then the spare tie down was threaded into the other, bending the first? just a WAG of course, but i've not run into this on mine yet, and i've done more than a couple events and had the spare out for weighing, etc more times still.

 

[Couldahadav8]

Mine is bent too.


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[eRic]

mine is also bent. I think it happened when I had the jack positioned wrong when I dropped the spare in and that tweaked the rod.

 

[MLKN]

The jack/tire setup seems poorly thought out.

 

[jimclark]

Mine is bent, and I know of another not mentioned here that also is bent. I don't even bother to try to screw it in; I just place the jack in a more or less acceptable position, knowing I'll need to get the spare tie-down threaded, and try to place the spare in so as not to move it around, and then secure the spare with the jack tie-down bolt.

 

[Cligedy]

Good to know. It's weird that something like this bothers me, but it's good to know that it's not just me being reckless or something like that. Thanks!

 

[Couldahadav8]

The damn spare is hard as hell to get out. Maybe that is what does it.


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[AlanBDahl]

Bent mine too, need to get a new one.

 

[spangenb]

I picked up a donut spare from a pre-'12 Focus from a local yard so I can use all the space under the floor. That caused me to make a new hold down from all-thread rod, a wingnut, and a jam nut. Still not a very tidy setup with how the jack sits in there, but the spare comes out much easier

 

[F1ST]

FYI as it is somewhat related.
I have a set of 17" autocross wheels. I use either a full size autox wheel as a spare or a stock wheel as a spare depending on what is on the car at the time. This way I don't have to carry all 4 wheels to the basement between autox sessions. When I put my full size wheel in as a spare it goes face down, then i just put the jack wrapped in some padding and a quart of oil in the backside of the larger wheel.
To hold the 17" spare down i use the short threaded rod that came holding down the jack with the plastic cone that held the original spare down.

 

[Mightymango]

Mine is not bent but the tire itself is a pain in the ass to remove.

 

[Cligedy]

I wonder if there is an easy way to make the spare tire less of a pain to get in and out? Like maybe a layer of butcher paper or something so it's not metal on rubber. If I'm going to pull the thing out 15- 20 times a year, then easier is definitely better.

 

[WScottCross]

Mine is bent too. Well, it was, as I straightened it once, but it will likely get bent again.

 

[jimclark]

I wonder if there is an easy way to make the spare tire less of a pain to get in and out? Like maybe a layer of butcher paper or something so it's not metal on rubber. If I'm going to pull the thing out 15- 20 times a year, then easier is definitely better.

I like the idea. Led me to think of an old nylon poncho as a possible friction reducer--cutting a swath from that to place between well and spare, with hole for tie-down to pass through. I want something thin so fit isn't further complicated, and that might fit the bill.

 

[Mightymango]

I wonder if there is an easy way to make the spare tire less of a pain to get in and out? Like maybe a layer of butcher paper or something so it's not metal on rubber. If I'm going to pull the thing out 15- 20 times a year, then easier is definitely better.

I'm just about the at the point of not having the spare in there during auto-x season. I tend to have my other wheels in the car with a good jack and an impact most of the time anyway.