Although I used an oem Toyota spare wheel and bought a separate tire to mount on it, there are two suppliers of complete spare tire kits for our cars (spare tire mounted on wheel, plus lugwrench and jack) that look like they’d probably be fine.

(Note: I have no experience with either of them.)

Both show 125/70-18 for the tire size, which is very close in diameter to our tires, just 1/2" short. But I'm sure it would be fine, and would fit easier in the trunk.

HERE ARE TWO SUPPLIERS, ONE USES ALLOY WHEEL, ONE USES STEEL WHEEL. EITHER SHOULD LIKELY WORK.

GR Corolla Spare Tire: Quality and Durability

Get reliable performance with our GR Corolla Spare Tire, crafted to meet exact specifications. Ensure your safety on the road!

valuespare.com

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Fits 2023-2025 GR Corolla - Spare Tire And Complete Accessory Kit Options

GR Corolla spare tire kits. Light alloy, durable long-range spare tire. Space-saver size.. Better than OEM. Search Make/Model/Year

modernspare.com

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BELOW IS THIRD SUPPLIER- NOT RECOMMENDED BY ME: There’s a third supplier, EZ-Spare, but I don’t love their “universal” bolt pattern wheels.
UPDATE: One person tried the ezspare and said the bolts didn't fit properly.
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2023 Toyota GR Corolla Spare Tire

Space saver compact spare tire kit for 2023 Toyota GR Corolla models.

sparetire.com

 

Car and Driver tested how a donut spare affects performance- results actually pretty impressive.
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How Much Does a Donut Spare Tire Limit Performance? We Find Out Using a Ford Mustang

We find out whether spare tires affect performance using a Ford Mustang GT.

www.caranddriver.com

 

worked at an evo shop for a few years & we had a pile of spares that were leftovers (race car conversions etc.) one late night after a few beers the intern/shop assistant kid suggested putting 4 spares from the pile on one of our personal cars. not only did it make for great AWD burnout/donut fun it had a noticable affect on response & power. so much that we strapped it to the dyno to see if if it was something we were imagining or if the car was actually faster on pizza cutters.

tourque did not change much, but the car did make more HP. in the end it was too small of a diffrence to attribute to just the wheels as the same variance could have been produced by temps/tire pressures, dyno strap tightness etc.

personally i think the primary factor was the spares are inflated to 50+ psi, that coupled with the narrow profile lead to reduced rolling friction. (think riding a bike on under vs over inflated tires) the car may not make any more power and was too traction limited to go any faster, but it sure felt faster.

 

Nice!

Maybe someone will come along in the aftermarket making replacement foam for back there with a provision for the donut.

 

Maybe someone will come along in the aftermarket making replacement foam for back there with a provision for the donut.

I'll probably chop up my foam and see if that might work.

 

I’m not super experienced in drivetrain…things. What sort of additional wear could we expect on the GR-Four system while running a spare?

 

If the spare is the same diameter as the other tires, there is absolutely zero affect on the differentials, etc.

 

Diff are torsen so they wont really care much. The center coupling is always slipping anyway prob wont make much difference in wear.

 

Once again, the 135/70-18 donut tire size I am using (and recommend) is virtually the same diameter as the 235/40 and 245/40 oem GR tires

 

Ok, so we would have to get the RAV4 spare wheel and then get and mount a 135/70 tire on it?

 

Read post #2, I rewrote it and included more details.

 

Out of all the worthless and BS stuff dealerships try to sell you for your vehicles, one would think that spare tire kits would be something they'd offer (on vehicles the manufacturer is too cheap or lazy to offer).

 

Awesome, thanks for trying this out and sharing. It’s crazy how much space is under there. Can you show a pic with your spare in there with the trunk floor out flat? TIA.

 

EDIT: I deleted the original old video in this post, see post #25 for the finished installation details and updated video.

Spare tire solution #2: Donut spare

**** UPDATE: See a short overview of BOTH spare tire solutions here: https://www.grcorollaforum.com/threads/the-complete-spare-tire-thread-short-version.2638/ **** OK, I did the thread on using the collapsible spare tire from a Maserati, which works fine, but doesn't fit well in the trunk...

www.grcorollaforum.com

 

Thanks for that. Prime opportunity for a “kit” with spare wheel/tire, tools and a new foam tray of some sort to hold things in place. Subwoofer could still be made just mount it on the right hand side and use the extra space there for volume of the box. An 8“ woofer utilizing the space below the floor that is dead space would be ideal.

Have to wait and see if anyone takes either on.

 

Any issues with clearing the GR bigger brakes?

 

Fits fine over the big front brakes.

About 3/16" between the face of the caliper and the inside surface of the wheel spokes, and maybe 3/8" or more between the caliper and the inside of the rim/barrel.

The Toyota rim I used was from a Rav4 Prime, and originally had a tall 165/90-18 tire on it. It was marked 18x4T 10. (I assume 10 is the offset.)

It looks like that size spare is used on other Toyotas, but I'm not sure if those other cars use the same wheel.

Seems like the easiest and safest thing to do is buy one of the aftermarket kits that include everything and have been tested to fit on the car.
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Getting there. I think the jack, lugwrench, etc., will all fit in a padded bag under the tire.

In the front, the top of the tire is actually a bit lower than the foam, I'll add a wood spacer to raise the tire so it supports the flimsy black cover panel.

Will add a tie-down strap and probably finish up tomorrow- will add more details then.
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Getting there. I think the jack, lugwrench, etc., will all fit in a padded bag under the tire.

In the front, the top of the tire is actually a bit lower than the foam, I'll add a wood spacer to raise the tire so it supports the flimsy black cover panel.

Will add a tie-down strap and probably finish up tomorrow- will add more details then.

Hey Toyota? Do I have your attention? See what this man is doing? That’s how the car should come from the factory. Donut carved into the foam with essential tools to deal with a busted or blown tire, or a damaged wheel.

This no spare fad is infuriating.

 

Now I wish I hadn't bought option #1...

 

Hey, I warned you!

The Maserati collapsible spare is the easiest solution, and works great. I was glad I had it on my recent trip to NC and back.
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Should just be a option you can buy at the counter if they are too cheap to add it or don't want to claim the weight. You can do it on the maverick. My jack came yesterday (thanks @ijuswannaride). wheel/tire next. Our prius has the jack and it will have a spare soon too.

 

OK, finished!

Here’s the 1" foam I used in a couple spots to lift the tire (I'm sure this type of foam is available from other sources, too.) Rockler Foam Organizer Sheet

I used this tie down strap from Amazon. Amazon.com

This is the round bag I'm planning to use to hold the tools under the wheel. Amazon.com

Here's a video of the finished installation with more details.

Edit: Watch this video, but then also see a few updates in post #43.

 

OK, finished!

Here’s the 1" foam I used in a couple spots to lift the tire (I'm sure this type of foam is available from other sources, too.) Rockler Foam Organizer Sheet

I used this tie down strap from Amazon. Amazon.com

This is the round bag I'm planning to use to hold the tools under the wheel. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088NHLWW6

Here's a video of the finished installation with more details.

Really like the cutout design for the spare tire. However I have one question. What happens if you take the car for service one day and a nosy technician decides to take a peek under the trunk floor? Can they void the car’s warranty for this sort of modification? Does Toyota care if you cut the foam that holds the tire repair kit? If so, then I would rather leave the spare on the trunk floor and have it held in place with the child seat hitch on the left and middle seat with a tow hook.

 

Very much appreciated. Thank you.

 

Wow, that looks great, thanks for sharing. Nice work, should have come like that from the factory!

 

Yes, or at least the option of a spare vs goo and a mini compressor

 

Well, I don't know if I'm the first GR to have a flat. Screw, that goodness I was close to home and it was a slow leak (repairable). My spare should arrive in a few days.

 

If you could put the wheel face-down, might be easier to secure the tools inside. (Like a bowl)

 

I think the spokes stick out a bit, but I’ll try that today. Would probably also need to add a rigid panel on top of the “bowl” to support the flimsy trunk panel.

Also found this larger bag, probably will be a better fit.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DDPFFF1

 

OK, I did the thread on using the collapsible spare tire from a Maserati, which works fine, but doesn't fit well in the trunk, and is better stored behind one of the front seats.

Spare tire solution #1: Collapsible spare

**** UPDATE: See a short overview of BOTH spare tire solutions here: https://www.grcorollaforum.com/threads/the-complete-spare-tire-thread-short-version.2638/ **** I've gotta have a spare tire. In my 50+ years of driving, I've had a bunch of flat tires, usually in the middle of nowhere on a...

www.grcorollaforum.com

Longer term, I wanted to use a donut spare that would fit in the trunk. I've bought one, and it seems to fit. Here are the details.

For the wheel, I ended up using an 18" spare wheel from a Rav4 Prime. Of course, the Rav4 tire is too tall, so I replaced it with a 135/70-18 Yokohama- that size is virtually the same height as the GR normal tires.

(Edit: For one-stop-shopping for complete kits that include a spare wheel, tire, jack and lugwrench, see post #2 for two suppliers of complete spare tire kits.)

Seems like the tire fits fine where the foam is now. It's about the same height.

I'll have to build some structure to hold it in place and secure the jack, air pump, and lugwrench, etc.
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Clever ingenious way to store the tire....

 

Great job!

 

Good news- the tire fits with the spokes down as @Snowman suggested- and with the larger round bag I've ordered I think even the jack will pack up and fit in the wheel center.

I'll post details in a day or two.

 

I'm not really a sticker guy, but if I was, I guess I'd have two!
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