[lingan]

U.S vs Canadian Spare Tire storage

Hello fellow Canadians.

I know there has been a thread about this before but there does not seem to have been any conclusions.

I would like to know why it is that our full size tire (on U.S. cars) will not fit properly in our spare tire compartment when the Canadian versions will. I would very much like to put a full size spare in my car. The last thing I want is to have a flat when far away from home then having to limp home at 50mph!

Can anyone compare my pics with your Canadian car and see what the differences are?

Here are the pics I took of my car.

 

[Snowride]

I will be glad to make the comparison for you but unfortunately I'm in LA driving a Cavalier rental car. (man this sucks, the car that is) If nobody has responded by this Saturday, I will post my findings.

 

[Boobaba]

huhhhhh??

What's wrong with your MO??

 

[jaak]

Yesterday was crazy busy, otherwise, I'd have already posted pictures.... I'll do it later this morning. The first thing I noticed (and I have to check this) but I suspect the cover is a bit thinner on the Canadian model. Mine doesn't have a USA sticker on it either and I seem to remember a CAN sticker, or something similar, on there.

Later this morning... Pictures.

 

[jaak]

OK, I just had some time to pull all the stuff out of my trunk and take some quick pics...

When the cover's down, it does sit higher than the surrounding areas...

 

[jaak]

Here you can see how high it is, when closed.

You can also see the little cloth loop for pulling up the cover. There is no latch like the US version. Gravity holds it in place.

You can also see how filthy my poor MO is. Nice sunny day today, it deserves to be washed!

 

[jaak]

When it's open, you can see how high the tire sits. I suspect this is identical to the US model. However the Canadian cover has an indentation in the shape of a circle about a foot in diameter that helps the Bose sub wire clear the cover. In this picture you can see a mark from the tire, but it's not an indentation.

Looks like I missed a good shot of the whole cover, but the cord with the hook to hold the cover up, is mounted further to the right as well, to clear the tire.

So it looks like the cover is different.

 

[jaak]

Looking at the dirt just makes me cringe!!! We've had wet weather and there's still junk on the roads from sanding in the winter. I'll be detailing my baby soon, to keep it spotless for the summer!

Other than the cover it looks the same. That sucks that they did that!!!

 

[lingan]

Hey Jaak. I can't really tell from the pics - is your cover also thinner then? Almost seems like an after-thought the way your cover also sit up a little high. Still better than ours.

 

[lingan]

YIKES!!!

Just got off the phone with one of the Nissan dealers in British Columbia. I asked how much the lid/cover will cost and they quoted me a price of $381!! And isn't there another 14% on top of that for taxes???

 

[darrylburke]

From lookling at the pics, it would appear as if the cover has a deeper "recess" cut into it for which the tire will fit in (it may be the lighting)..

has anyone compared the recess (or what ever you call it) that they cut out so the lid will sit lower..?????

 

[jaak]

I haven't had a chance, but looking at your pics and remembering mine, I'd say the Canadian cover is not as thick, so that's where the difference is.

I'll get a pic on when I can, but right now I'm working, and then I'll have to pull out a bunch of equipment. Realistically, not until tomorrow morning.

 

[jaak]

OK, more pictures...

 

[jaak]

I didn't have a ruler or tape measure handy, so I grabbed a quarter to give you an idea of depth...

 

[jaak]

In this picture, the cover is closed, and I pushed the quarter between the cover and the back, as far as it would go in...

 

[jaak]

Here's the placement of the cord and hook to hold the cover open.

 

[jaak]

Here, you can see the indentation to clear the wiring for the woofer. (Seriously, would you call it a sub? I think it's just a woofer!)

 

[jaak]

Here's another shot from an angle. There's a fair bit of room to accomodate the full size spare.

 

[jaak]

Here's the Canadian latch for the cover... (Latch, you call THAT a latch???)

 

[jaak]

The left side...