I noticed in my trunk the spare tire has the normal rod thru the middle that holds in in place, however nothing screws down to keep the tire tight.

** Correction, After looking at it again the tire is held down by a screw down plastic nut.
The crowbar however only has a loose push on thing at the top holding it down.

Was wondering if this normal.

 

I'll prolly take mine out unless I'm on a trip.

 

Had to use mine, now I can't seem to fit everything back the way it came :bang:

Yes thats normal btw.

 

The little bracket on the floor of the trunk in mine is bent. It's almost like when they tightened it they went a bit too far. I'm debating how I want to remedy this problem. I'm thinking I'll just cut the top 1" of the bolt off.

 

Does anyone know what tires size max one could fit in that spare tire bay?

 

Are you saying you'll take the tire out unless you're on a trip? If you do that you are opening yourself up for potential disaster if you get rear-ended. The tire is a significant part of the rear crash safety structure. Take it out and things get left unprotected. Like the gas tank to name one.

Just something to think about.

 

If that's true why doesn't the GT500 have a spare tire?

 

The gas tank isn't in the rear anymore. Which is why the mufflers are in the back unlike the previous model stangs that had the mufflers in the center of the car. I seriously doubt a spare is a "significant" part of the crash safety feature.

 

yah, what about the gt500 then?

 

I'm guessing that it doesn't need the spare because the performance tires are run flats and so the less weight the better.

 

In answering the original question... Yes, it's normal

 

It is true, in fact I took out my drivers seat and I now use the spare tire to sit on for even more safety, it beats those pesky side air bags, also being in a convertible it helps to be sitting on rubber in case of a lightning strike.

 

yeah the GT500, GT-H, and Shelby GT only have a tire inflation kit instead of the spare tire, i want to buy this kit though, anyone know where they sell it, i saw a picture once and it looked awesome with the SVT logo on it

 

Is there anything in the spare well of the GT500? Our old '05 Escape had styrofoam where the spare used to be because they moved the spare to the underside of the vehicle. Ford's official take on why the styrofoam was inserted was for crash safety or lack thereof with no spare in place. You could also opt for a hard plastic cargo bit with lid too. Comparitively, the Honda CR-V's picnic table was a part of the rear crash structure too.

Ever hear of the Crown Vic police interceptors that were catching on fire in high speed rear end collisions? All of the copies that caught on fire had no spare and the cops were storing other things in the well like crow bars and tire irons. Those were the real culprits and Ford did come out with some kind of kit that allowed them to put that stuff in the well safely and securely.

I know the Mustang's gas tank isn't where it used to be and IIRC it's now on the other side of the spare well which IMO makes it a no brainer to keep the spare in it's place. All I'm saying is that you are better off with the tire in that well if you are in a crash. If any of you want to take it out, I don't really care. I'm keeping mine in.

 

The stock 17x8 won't quite fit in. I had to deflate the tire quite a bit and even so height (or width from another perspective)-wise it wouldn't fit all the way

 

Styrofoam for crash safety?!?!?!?! Are you kidding me with this stuff?? Have you seen what a car does to the steal structure of a car in a crash?!?!?!

I can crush styrofoam with my bare hands. I can't imagine that it would add any crash safety whatsoever. Except maybe that if might keep you from putting a tire iron in there that could be pushed into peircing the gas tank.

But you'll never get me to believe that a spare tire well filled with styrofoam is any safer than an empty spare tire well.

I could probably be convinced that the spare tire might add a little more crush resistance but if that were true:
1) there would be warnings telling not to remove it
2) Ford has opened itself up for a lawsuit on the models that don't provide a spare

 

You can crush a small piece of styrofoam with your bare hands but try compressing a piece that's about 4ft wide by 4ft long by 6in thick. The actual reason the spare was moved in the Escape was to make room for the Hybrid's battery. Something then had to fill that now larger well to A. keep the safety ratings up, and B. deaden some road noise. Hence the styrofoam.

A Mustang most likely isn't going to fall apart in a rear collision without the spare in the well (which is probably why Ford has no warning for removing it) but common sense should tell you that you're better off with it in there. Without it in the well you only have air which last time I checked is less likely to prevent excess damage to whatever is beyond the spare well than a piece of styrofoam or roughly 20 inches of rubber and steel. Maybe "significant part of the structure" wasn't the best choice of words on my part but it's easy to understand that it does help. Ford says you don't need it in there so the choice is up to you. Come to think of it, why wouldn't they? No spare potentially leads to more damage which leads to you needing a new ride if it's totalled.

I ride my two small boys in the back of my GT and I'll take all the protection I can get back there over .002 seconds off my quarter mile time.

 

If you look under the liner in your motorcycle or race helmet, styrofoam is what you find in one form or another!

 

Yes, and it's not your typical packing styrofoam either. The stuff used in helmets, car bumpers, etc is more dense or something. It's not near as easily destroyed as the packing stuff.

 

I don't think I'd expect to survive getting in the head by a speeding car. The helmet is meant to protect your head when it hits something. Your head has signifigantly less mass (and thus less momentum) than 2 tons of speeding car.

My biggest problem with his post was the implication that some styrofoam would be the difference between a busted gas tank or not. I find that pretty hard to believe.

As to whether the spare tire would make a difference. I could see that as a possibility, but my guess is the difference is so slight that it does not concern Ford either way.