Hey all,
I've been following this forum since nov last year and I'm impressed. I plan on getting my 8 this fall and I wanted to know is the spare tyre kit option really required? Or could I do without it?

Thanks,

 

Well if you use the ' fix a flat ' that comes with the 8 you will have to replace the tyre anyway. So getting a spare gives you the option of fixing flats caused by nails. I would not get the spare from the dealer and try and buy one from another member and save some $$$

 

spare tire kit is useless. you will lose trunk space too.

 

The dealer will try to sucker you into buying it for sure. Take expo1's advice. I have the tire and the fix a flat kit, total overkill. I take both out and put em back in for long trips. If you get a flat and call Mazda Roadside Assistance they will take it straight to the dealer no matter what the circumstances are so always keep that in mind.

 

Is that free for a certain period? I don't have a spare and I don't want to ruin a perfectly good tire if it has good tread left by pumping that fix a flat gunk into it.

 

If you drive primarily in town, you're probably good to go without the spare. You'll never be that far from tire shop and the likelihood of a torn/shredded/"blown-out" tire is much less likely than if you do a good deal of highway (read: high-speed) driving. More likely you will get nail or screw holes around construction sites which the fix-a-flat is more likely to work with. Drive it over to the tire shop, pay $40 for them to plug it (normally less than $20 but they hate fix-a-flat) and you're off again.

If you drive a good deal between towns or away from common city services (read, not in a large metro area) then I'd get the spare from a forum member.