Vredstein Space Master Spare from Maserati Gran Tourismo - Alternative to Toyota Spare

Discussion in 'Gen 5 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by otatrant, Apr 7, 2024.

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  1. otatrant

    otatrant Active Member

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    Was looking into options for spare tires for prime and since we don't have enough room under the deck to store a Toyota spare I was looking to see what else was out there that may work. Came across a youtube video from Alex on Autos on Audi using a collapsible spare tire. After a lot of search I found one car that has a spare tire/wheel combo. I haven't gone through all the spare tire/wheels that Maserati has offered but only a couple of their models.

    The Maserati Gran Turismo uses an 18x6+20Et 5x114.3 wheel with a 175/55R18 tire. I have found them on eBay used for around $200 to $300 like this one for $290. One concern is that the outside diameter and circumference are 4% smaller than stock 195/50R19 tires but only 1.2% smaller than the 205/55R17 tires I currently have on my car.

    The wheel looks to be an alloy wheel and I have read that the tires are impossible to remove in one piece due to the sidewalls tearing because they are so thin. The spare still likely would not fit under the deck in the rear due in part to the wheel being 6" wide.

    I am posting to see if anyone has looked into using one of these or have experience with these spare wheel/tire combos which I believe are in much wider use in the UK and Europe and a lot of the European imports to the North America.

    Any thoughts?
     
    #1 otatrant, Apr 7, 2024
  2. HacksawMark

    HacksawMark Active Member

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    Don't forget about the $163.58 shipping charge in addition to the $290 for the wheel. Makes it a bit pricy to even consider.
     
    #2 HacksawMark, Apr 7, 2024
    otatrant likes this.
  3. Approximate Pseudonym

    Approximate Pseudonym Member

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    This sounds like the real dealbreaker for most alternative spare wheels for the Prime. 6 inches is nearly the width of the stock wheel, so I can't imagine this fitting underneath the floor without risking hitting the battery or wiring, or without losing the flat loading floor.

    Maybe it's possible to modify by cutting a wheel-sized hole in the plastic holding up the floor, but I imagine that a mod like that might not fit this wide of a wheel. And if it can, will the floor hold up, and are there downsides like noise and vibration by removing that much of the floor?

    Regardless of the floor issue, for this kind of money, I would consider one of these before a Maserati spare:

    2023-'24 Toyota Prius Prime Spare, Light Alloy, Long-Range | Modern Spare

    A 4 inch wheel on a 135/70R18 seems like it would actually fit in the car somehow, although the underfloor storage might still be difficult. The 4%+ diameter difference for the 19 inch stock wheels is also concerning in this case as well.

    I would definitely prefer a 135/80R18 which does appear to exist as well. That size on an 18x4.5 (like 18" Spare Wheel and Tire: Your Reliable Flat Tire Solution– EZ Spare Wheel) might almost be worth taking in the car, but who knows if there is a good place to put it. All of these options sound like $500+ solutions, which is not ideal.
     
    #3 Approximate Pseudonym, Apr 8, 2024
    Yvrdriver and otatrant like this.
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