[erico49]

I am going to buy a full-size spare for my Forester. Tire rack recommends a 17 by 6.5 steel wheel. The book says the Forester has a 17 by 7J. Will the half inch make any difference? The 225/60 R17 tires might fit differently on the 6.5-inch wheel affecting diameter. The tire rack guy said it wouldn't matter for distances of 50 miles or less.

 

[GEORGEROV]

mm

 

[crewzer]

I am going to buy a full-size spare for my Forester. Tire rack recommends a 17 by 6.5 steel wheel. The book says the Forester has a 17 by 7J. Will the half inch make any difference? The 225/60 R17 tires might fit differently on the 6.5-inch wheel affecting diameter. The tire rack guy said it wouldn't matter for distances of 50 miles or less.

Tire Rack's 17 x 6.5 steel wheel w/ 50mm ET and 5x100 bolt pattern plus a 225/60R17 tire will work fine as a full size spare on your 2014 Forester, especially with the manual transmission. It's possible that the f/s spare could be a tight fit in the spare tire well, so you might want to look for a "small" tire (higher revs per mile spec). The 225/60R17 size designation is nominal; they're not all exactly the same size.

Note that the molded tray between the temp donut spare and the cargo area floor will not fit in on top of the f/s spare, so you may need to find something else to use as a floor support spacer. Also, you may need to flip the cup washer on the spare tire retainer hardware.

You may find the following old thread to be helpful, especially page #2: http://www.subaruforester.org/vbulletin/f72/replace-spare-donut-my-14-2-5i-premium-216930/

HTH,
Jim / crewzer

P.S. Welcome to the forum!

 

[Rumrunner]

I have a full size spare I negotiated in my sale. they got an alloy wheel and tires exact same as the rest. it fits fine but had to remove the tray. the cover is about 1/4 higher but I don't even notice. who wants something you can only use for 50 miles at 50 mph? kinda defeats the purpose of a full size spare

 

[erico49]

Thanks

I got my tire and wheel 17 by 7. It fits kinda. The back slid down and back into the well just fine. The front sits up... interestingly at just about the right height to support the floor. I built up the back with a tool bag and the floor is very close to normal. Woohoo! Thanks for the help.