Sc430 Spare Tire

[ooo]

I recently got rid of the run-flats for real tires. So much better! Day and night difference.

Question is: Any SC430 owners found a good solution for a spare or what to do in case of a flat?

I was quoted $500 for the spare tire kit by a Lexus dealer. Seems high to me, considering the car should have come with a spare tire in the first place. It came with the jack kit, but no spare.

17" wheel $111

wheel cover $137

motor cycle type tire $167

plate $19

bracket $31

bolt $8

Do I really need all this? Or is there another way to go? Has anyone tried anything different?

Thanks

[OKSC3]

Local salvage yard...

P.S. Never call it a junk yard, they get ticked!! hehe

[AWJ]

Call up lexus corporate and tell them you bought a new SC430. It came with a jack but no spare tire. Ask them what gives in a nice manner without actually saying "Hey, what gives?". Then politely state that for the hefty price you paid for this car it should have come with a spare tire. Tell them you would be much more motivated to purchase another Lexus if they could furnish you with a spare tire kit. Especially considering the investment you feel you have made in their company. Then ask them if they are a publicly held corporation because I'm curious about that. Then come back here and tell me how it worked out. I'm realy curious about that.

It would be like winning the lottery to find a SC430 spare tire kit in a salvage yard. I'm afraid your only real option is to go to the dealer or try the phone call.

[OKSC3]

Yeah, hadn't noticed it was a 430, thanks for pointing that out...

[arnie1]

I would like to know the nameand address of the dealer that supplied the price breakdown on the spare tire kit.

[SeanTX]

Hello everyone!

I recently bought a 2002 SC430 with runflats. The car is pretty much in perfect condition, except that one of the tires has uneven wear and needs to be replaced. I've been debating between replacing all 4 with regular tires (with or without getting the spare) or just putting on another run flat.

I know that performance would be much better without the run flats, however putting the spare tire back there seems to elminate a good portion of the trunk space. I'm also a bit concerned about riding without a spare in the event I do get a flat.

Any advice?

Thanks!

Sean

[Shelley]

To Sean TX

Curious how many miles your 430 has on it. I just bought my 2002 430 w/ 16K, but it had new runflats on it. I'm wondering how many miles I'll be able to get out of them?

[arnie1]

Sean

I'm looking for a compact spare for my SC430. So far the best prices have been about $1000. I don't know how they arrive at this rediculous price, but somehow they did. There must be less expensive versions, but i'm having trouble finding them. Let me know if you have better success.

Arnie

[SeanTX]

Hi Shelley & Arnie!

Sorry for the delay, I haven't been back on this site in a while. My SC430 only had 15,000 miles on it. When I had the car checked out, the folks at the shop said that you can only expect 10-15k miles out of the low profiles. I've heard other assessments from elsewhere, it all apparently depends on (obviously) the type of driving and road conditions/bumps. Unfortunately I live in inner-Houston where there is a ton of construction, so my tires probably won't last long.

I have not yet had any luck with the spare tire concept, although I have had some suggestion to just get regular tires and run without a spare, but instead sign up with AAA or some other service. The negatives of that are the inconvenience of waiting for the service, plus the guys at the previously mentioned shop said I could ruin my rims if I do get a flat since the profile of the tires is so low.

Anyway, let me know if you come up with any ideas either.

Thanks!

Sean

[arnie1]

Hi Shelley and Sean

I've been doing a lot of investigation on the compact spare for the SC430. I discovered that the 2004 Acura TL with the Dynamic Package uses the identical compact spare tire and wheel, namely the T145/70R17, as the SC 430. I was at the local Acura dealer and they had the wheel company on the phone and the wheel company confirmed that the wheel bolt pattern is identical for both cars.

The price that i was quoted was $500 (Canadian), as opposed to the $1,000 (Canadian) from the Lexus dealer. Keep in mind that the Lexus price included a floor mat trimmed to fit around the spare, a bolt to hold it in place, and a cover for the spare.

Check it out and let me know if my infomation is correct.

Arnie