2022 WRX Spare Tire USA

1903 Views 35 Replies 12 Participants Last post by WRX2023WRX, 8 d ago

bsevic

Discussion Starter · 2 mo ago

8

As many of you know WRX’s sold in the United States don’t ship with a spare tire. He’s some information on my process of resolving it.

PARTS

1.) Spare Tire C25WT (Modern Spare) $418.75
2.) Spare Tire Bolt 901720002 (Subaru) $7.50
3.) Spare Tire Washer 97047FG000 (Subaru) $3
4.) Some Spare Form/Small Bag

PROCESS

1.The tire fits in the spare tire perfectly (need to face it upside down). Secure with above parts.
Also since this is a universal rim I marked the holes on the rim so I know which ones are the correct ones. Don’t want to be figuring that out at night on a busy highway.

2. Score the black styrofoam filler so it will fit on top of the tire (see pictures). After scoring it I used a sharp fillet knife to separate the top portion.

3. I placed the tire jack in a black bag that fits between the tire and rim. And then with some extra form a filled the void.

No issues with clearing the calipers and it can be used on the front or back. Car seems a little quieter and maybe a little more balanced with the extra 40 pounds back there. It’s a little costly but I like having the piece of mind that there’s a real spare with me in my travels.

Hope this helps.

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bbuckis

· #21 · 19 d ago

ir22WRX said:
You can order the wheel and buy your own tire. 205/50R17 is the spare tire spec per the owners manual. Here is what I ordered from Subaru. Noting that you will also need the spare tire screw in holder. I already had a spare one of those sitting in a parts drawer (See OP for part numbers on those).

28151VC000
Wheel (Spare 17X7J, 17X7J, Black)
95086FL02A
Spacer Floor, Center. (Rear)
97035FJ050
Jack Holder.

The foam (floor spacer) was not the right one (looked like it would fit a donut not the almost full size spare), so I had to cut chunks of it off to get it to fit. Not as clean as I wanted to but it turned out ok.

Using tiresize.com shows that using a 205/50 R17 tire on anything other than a Base WRX would be a bad idea.

The ModernSpare.com tire 135/70 R18 looks to be much better match for the Premium, Limited and GT models

Product Font Rectangle Material property Screenshot

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ir22WRX

· #22 · 19 d ago

bbuckis said:
Using tiresize.com shows that using a 205/50 R17 tire on anything other than a Base WRX would be a bad idea.

I am going to trust Subaru on the spare tire spec. Below is from the WRX Owner's Manual.

Rectangle Font Parallel Music Number

I opted for this spare tire setup since it is specified by Subaru and it is the setup that Canadian WRX's have from the factory. Noting that use of the tire should be considered temporary. I expect the modernspare is also perfectly serviceable for the application. In either case, it is a spare tire and Subaru AWD does not like mismatched tire diameters.

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ir22WRX

· #23 · 18 d ago

2

ProZach626 said:
Will you please post some pictures and a description of where you cut?

I do not have before photos, but I had to cut out quite a bit of foam. Not much for description since it has been a month or so since I cut it. I definitely had to cut out most of the center section. Bottom is mostly flat and the edges of the front compartment (that are cut through) show roughly the depth of the cuts.

Grille Automotive tire Hood Automotive lighting Automotive design

Automotive tire Automotive lighting Hood Motor vehicle Grille

The gray felt you see where the foam is cut through is just a piece of felt I put over the spare to clean up the appearance a little.

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ProZach626

· #24 · 13 d ago

Thanks man.

WRX2023WRX

· #25 · 12 d ago

PDawgsWRX said:
I ordered these from Discount Tire direct. Well under $200 shipped and mounted. They even included the Centering rings that I wanted. This is a regular tire, not a space saver or limited use. A factory steel wheel and labor was not worth the extra $100. Should be here in a few days and I'll do a test fit.
View attachment 335116

Thanks PDawg, couldn't beat it for the price. All the tools, Jack etc fit with no problem. Just need to cut some plywood to make the trunck liner mount flush. Even gained an inch of depth in the trunk.

Automotive tire Hood Automotive design Motor vehicle Trunk

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ir22WRX

· #26 · 11 d ago

As an update the foam hack job is no longer needed. Canadian foam is now available through US dealers. Subaru WRX Spacer Floor, Center. (Rear). TRUNK, TRIM, ROOM, Interior - 95086FL210 - Genuine Subaru Part

I ordered one earlier today.

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WRX2023WRX

· #27 · 11 d ago

ir22WRX said:
I am going to trust Subaru on the spare tire spec. Below is from the WRX Owner's Manual.

View attachment 335274

I opted for this spare tire setup since it is specified by Subaru and it is the setup that Canadian WRX's have from the factory. Noting that use of the tire should be considered temporary. I expect the modernspare is also perfectly serviceable for the application. In either case, it is a spare tire and Subaru AWD does not like mismatched tire diameters.

Notice it is speced for 36 PSI, which likely makes it the same diameter as a 235/45/17 or 245 40/18 tire inflated to 33f or 32 rear. Thanks for posting this, I inflated to 38 PSI but it was just a guess.

bbuckis

· #28 · 11 d ago

That 205/45 R17 spare is going to severely damage your drivetrain if used on anything other than a Base model WRX. If you do have to use it, I'd only put it on the back of the car, and let it rip up your rear differential instead of your transmission. Even on the back it might still damage the transmission.

silver_scooby

· #29 · 11 d ago

bbuckis said:
That 205/45 R17 spare is going to severely damage your drivetrain if used on anything other than a Base model WRX. If you do have to use it, I'd only put it on the back of the car, and let it rip up your rear differential instead of your transmission. Even on the back it might still damage the transmission.

205/50 R17 is the factory size for spare. Not ideal but ok from off-ramp to tire shop.

Rear diff has never been the issue, it can tolerate mismatched tires for a while. Center diff has viscous coupling which engages & heats up with speed difference between axles. Eventually it will fail, usually open which just degrades cornering performance. In very rare cases, the fluid degrades enough to solidify & that's when you have to replace it.

Edit: The dramatic videos of smoke pouring from transmission are not from a 1-2% diameter difference, they are from stupid shit like burnouts or towing with one axle on the ground.

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ir22WRX

· #30 · 11 d ago

silver_scooby said:
205/50 R17 is the factory size for spare. Not ideal but ok from off-ramp to tire shop.

This exactly. It is a spare tire and should be used as a spare (short distances and lower speeds). Ultimately this is for temporary use and it matches factory spec (photo above showing spec is from my US market Limited owners manual). I definitely did not buy mine to leave it on for hundreds of miles at a time, so I am not concerned about ruining the drivetrain if I need to use the spare.

As a comparison point, Subaru includes a temporary spare with the Outback that is something like -6% diameter difference from the factory 18" tire. If it was going to instantly cause catastrophic failure, they would only include full size spares (or at least full diameter) or inflation kits in all markets.

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WRX2023WRX

· #31 · 10 d ago

bbuckis said:
That 205/45 R17 spare is going to severely damage your drivetrain if used on anything other than a Base model WRX. If you do have to use it, I'd only put it on the back of the car, and let it rip up your rear differential instead of your transmission. Even on the back it might still damage the transmission.

It's a 205/50/17, which is .8% smaller than the stock 17s, If you have 18s a 215/50/17 would be appropriate. Notice the psi for the spare is 3-4 psi higher than the regular tires, this likely is the increase necessary to make up that .8% smaller size since the regular tires take 33f and 32 rear. We.ve owned 10 Subarus, 8 came with mini spares much smaller than stock and only a 2003 Forester came with a full sized spare. Mounting in the rear is the right way, but no rear differentials will get ripped up. If they were that sensitive everyone that had a leaky tire would've ruined their diff from running a few PSI low (smaller effective diameter) . Even the guys who insist on using the same psi front and rear get away with it,, even though it negatively effects the AWD engagement.

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derache123

· #32 · 9 d ago

If anyone's looking to order the Canadian foam spacer (95086FL210) from parts.subaru.com, I'd suggest not putting your car's VIN in the order form. I put my VIN in the order form out of habit, and the dealership had the audacity to cancel my order because it is "not the right part for my car", and told me to order the US part number instead. Seems like dealerships never cease to find new ways to piss me off.

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derache123

· #33 · 9 d ago

I placed the order again after explicitly telling the dealership that this is the part that I wanted. The dealer ended up calling me back saying that SoA would not let them order the part because it's a Canadian part. Anyone else experience this problem? Going to try another local dealer near me but this is very frustrating because I had just cancelled the order I placed last month with a Canadian dealer.

ir22WRX

· #34 · 9 d ago

derache123 said:
I placed the order again after explicitly telling the dealership that this is the part that I wanted. The dealer ended up calling me back saying that SoA would not let them order the part because it's a Canadian part. Anyone else experience this problem? Going to try another local dealer near me but this is very frustrating because I had just cancelled the order I placed last month with a Canadian dealer.

Ordered from local dealers website. Status is Order Received and has the part listed as On Order.

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derache123

· #35 · 9 d ago

ir22WRX said:
Ordered from local dealers website. Status is Order Received and has the part listed as On Order.

Awesome, that gives me some hope. Gonna try a different dealer a bit further away.

WRX2023WRX

· #36 · 8 d ago

I was thinking of making a panel to fit over the tire, this would make the truck floor about an inch lower after removing the foam side panels. Every little bit helps.

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