I have seen a lot of talk about not having a spare in the trunk..I see al ot of miata owners do not carry one just take a chance that they do not have a flat.
I gave it a lot of thought that yes the odds are good you will not need it
The wife and I went for a fairly long drive some time back and guess it was an omen
We counted at the least 10 cars alongside the roads with flats and either no spare or jack as the car was abandoned with a flat.
In texas on the back of the driver lisc is a number you can call and they will come out and put your spare on.
I decide to keep the spare well good thing the next weekend we are out in the middle of nowhere and I hear this whinning sound and the casr starts fishtailing
I stop and had hit something that cut the tire and then ripped it apart . Hvae no idea what it could have been as we were driving slow and never felt anything
Two weekends ago we are coming down 35 out of oklahoma and right near flower mound we see a miata on the side of the road no one around looked like they had gone as far as they could before stopping .I wondered if they had decided to not keep the spare . That just rejustified me keeping one as it was rather cold

 

I still run my spare. Where I work in South Chicago the roads are pretty nasty. I tend to pick up quite a lot of screws/nails. Which is mostly the reason I run cheap Rota's on my car because if they get screwed up I don't really mind. The oem 17" Racing Hearts got destroyed from potholes etc because of the lower profile tire and less cushion. So I went down to a 16" with 215/40 tire.

Anytime I go to an autox event though I take it all out.

 

I keep a can of fix a flat in the trunk, if the sidewall blows im screwed.

 

Gah I used to do this. But then my cousin who usually puts my tires on and off for me at his shop had me actually do it myself. That stuff is so goddamned messy! Never again...

 

I feel bad for the next person to change the tires on my sisters eclipse, theres fix a flat in all the tires. The bead leaks on all 4 wheels. Like 10psi drop a day before we did that.

 

I don't carry mine, but I usually stay within 50 miles of home, and can just have my wife bring one of my other wheels. I've been lucky so far, and never had a flat. But now that I've said that, I'll get one tonight.

 

better than fix a flat (which I carry) is a portable compressor and a plug kit. I say better in the sense that it's a real repair. If you pop a sidewall or something, you're still screwed.

that said, I put my big brakes on back in feb of 03 or something silly and haven't been able to run a spare since. only once have I had a low tire on the car.

the fix-a-flat can is like 8 years old and still unused.

 

MaZduh is right. Chicago roads are horrible. I bent 4 rims, two on two different cars in one winter three years ago. Potholes the size of miatas!

 

And yes I always carry a spare.

 

I haven't carried a spare in like 5 years.

will the 1.6L space saver even fit over the rear sport brakes? It wont fit on my front.