For 9 years that I've been driving I've never had to use the spare tire. I've always packed the fix-a-flat and used it to help others with a flat. Newer sports cars don't come with a spare and some BMW's come with with fix-a-flat and a patch kit. Should I remove the spare and jack to decrease total car weight andsave some gas? I've been reading other sites with people doing the same thing. Others keep the spare mainly, because they go off road. Seriously, when will the Fit ever go off-road. What do you guys think?

 

According to Murphy's law:

As soon as you take out your spare, you will end up getting a flat tire that a fix-a-flat can't fix.

J/K

What's ironic is that some of the earlier W211 E55's came with the fix-a-flat and many people were going to the dealer to buy a spare to put in the trunk instead.

 

once i get my '08 FIT, the spare will be coming out and my stereo will go there Im hoping it fits like it did in my Suzuki Aerio

 

Honestly, I be shocked if you saw any measurable gain in fuel economy that could be attributed to getting rid of the spare and jack. I just can't see that much less weight having any impact when you consider the total weight of the car, etc.

 

Thank you for summing up what we were all thinking.

Case closed.

 

I thought I read somewhere on this forum that there is no spare in the '08 Fit to begin with.

Hopefully that isn't the case. Any of us can run over something (like a bent piece of sheet metal) that cuts into the tire in such a way as to make it unusable and impossible to fix.

 

Not the case, mine came w/ a spare but it weighs between 200-300lbs. j/k pokems23!

 

You probaly wouldnt get any better MPG and probaly couldnt really feel the weight loss in everyday driving so mind aswell leave it in..The BMWs that dont have one come standard with RF tires...

 

dont put fixaflat in a tpms rim/ tire youll screw it up

 

LOL

Got me grinning there, furshirr.

 

my '08 has a spare... and its only 199 pounds lol

 

Okay very funny guys. It was just a thought, because in the new Import Tuner magazine there was a section where they talked about increasing horsepower and getting better gas mileage. They stated that removeing ABS and cruise control helped lighten the weight, therefore my curiousty about removing spare and jack etc... You're right I'll keep it in the Fit.

 

With modern tires, I haven't had a just a flat in 15 years. That said, I've had 2 tires lost to road debris that went through both the tread and sidewall together or actually sliced the tread open. In both cases the tire was unusable. Fix-a-flat wouldn't have helped me unless I could fasten the can to the axle with 4 lug nuts!

 

You know what REALLY sucks about spares? When you get a flat, and you put the spare on a highway somewhere, and as soon as you lower the cars weight onto the tires you find out your spare is flat too. This usually happens in older cars.

 

Ok maybe im anal but I actually do check my spare tire pressue from time to time so this exact thing doesnt happen lol. I especially do this before I go on a long road trip. Im not a big fan of the fix a flat things but thats just me.

 

"dont put fixaflat in a tpms rim/ tire youll screw it up"

Mmkay, but the 2009 doesn't have a spare tire.

From
Honda Worldwide | October 18, 2007 "Honda to Begin Sales of the All-New Fit in Japan"
"An emergency tire repair kit is provided instead of a spare tire"

So Will the 2009 have tire pressure monitoring?

 

No differnece in removing spare tire and jack. I could see if it was a full size spare like German cars offer but a skinny Honda spare plus jack you will probably save like 35 pounds....you still won't beat that Corvette! J/K.
But seriously in California...land of flats..not worth the headache over 35 pounds. This is my 2 sense...hope it helps.

FYI...you will save much more weight by stripping your rear down to bare metal like in my Fit.

GD3blaze07'

 

The thing about these articles is that yes by removing any item from the car, it's considered a weight reduction. technically if you lost 1 pound of fat that's a weight reduction. And any reduction in weight of course will improve gas mileage but is the juice really worth the squeeze? Meaning, is there enough measurable difference to justify taking out the abs? cruise control? spare tire?

You also have to think about the practicality and purpose. If import tuner was building a Fit for the track, the sole goal of the car is to get around the track as fast as possible. And removing anything unnecessary is justified whether or not the difference can be measured and it's practical. If you apply the same concept to a daily driven Fit, it unpractical.

T-Bone is right. As soon as you take your spare out, Murphy's Law is out to get ya. lol

 

If I bought a car without a spare, the first thing I would do would be to get one for it.

 

this is like getting a $2 discount when buying a $1000 item