I test drove a Z06 recently and when I asked where the spare was stored the salesman handed me a can of "run-flat" in a fancy ABS case with the Corvette logo on it! Swear to god! That made me wonder what my space-saver spare weighs. Hell, our cars are engineered to weigh as little as possible. Then we spend big bucks to shave a few more pounds here and there. I don't even know if my spare would work after 9 years! What do you think it weighs. What do you think about yanking it?

 

Every ounce counts. But I see more people adding weight with sound systems and bigger wheels than I do see them taking pounds out of the car.
The spare tire doesn't bother me so much. It's the weight up front, before the wheel center line, where you really don't want it, that bothers me. Removing all the windshield washer fluid and relocating the battery to the rear are two ways to handle that. Then if you remove your spare tire, you'll be a little closer to the intended balance.

 

Is this a repost...I remember this being posted long ago...

 

No...it's not a repost by me, and I didn't find anything directly on point in a search of "spare tire."

 

The Z06 is not missing a spare due to weight savings. It's missing a spare because where the hell do you put the flat once the spare is on?

 

I took mine out along with the jack, etc. that I could get out. I hardly ever drive it and when I do my friends are always there to ditch me out of any trouble I might have.

 

did that too

 

The spare will work fine after 9 yrs if it has air in it. We used two TII spares (~15 yrs old) on the front of our TII for skinny's. They held up fine with 105mph trap speeds. Speed ratings are due more to heat build up at high speeds so we weren't worried about them blowing out in 13 sec.

I wouldn't remove the spare just to save weight, you'll never notice the 20lbs you save. You'll be left with a big hole and you'll have to fab something up to cover it which will weigh something.

IIRC saving 100lbs will buy you about .1 sec in the 1/4. So saving 20lbs will buy you about .02 sec, not much.

OTOH if your going to do something else with the spare tire well then I'd go ahead and take it out.

Jeff

 

I'm of the camp that every little bit helps...20 lbs is still 20 lbs.

I've heard of some adding weight to the rear to help with launching on the track...like using weight ballast to balance front and rear weight.

 

As I understand it, the Z06 has "self sealing" tires. Run over a nail, it seals it self and you keep driving. YOu don't the fix-a-flat garbage. The new Mini Cooper have the same tires. Dunlops, i believe.

 

the spare saved my *** 2 times

 

Yes, the Vette's have (or used to have at least) "Run-Flat" tires.

I've had to use my spare and jack once before. It's not coming out of my car...

 

and that fix-a-flat crap isnt good for tires. just to let ya'll know

 

I took out my spare tire. Not to save weight, but to keep the similar amount of weight in the rear of the car with my 10" sub and amp.