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History / OriginalityGot a question about 1982-1992 Camaro or Firebird history? Have a question about original parts, options, RPO codes, when something was available, or how to document your car? Those questions, answers, and much more!
Does anyone have a good breakdown on which spare tire belongs to which car?
The aluminum spare came in two varieties ... the spoked one and the later one solid, and painted black. The later was made to go over the 1LE front rotors and was a 15" rim. Both of these needed the Inflator can.
There were also the non-inflator spares. A 14" and a 15".
Did the inflator spare go away when the 15" spare tire came to be? The 91/92 era is not clear.
I've found a few cars with the donut and no inflator. So if you got the FE1 suspension and 15" tires then you got the donut is my guess. OR maybe if you didn't get G80.
Trying to find out for sure ... would like to find the correct one for my 91 TA (which has G80 and 16" wheels).
Is there a difference between the '83 donut spare and the '92 donut spare? I have both, but would like to go with the newer of the two...
The early one should be on a 14" rim and the later should be a 15" rim to clear the larger front rotors on a 1LE car. All spares in 91-up were 15" rim ... I think.
If you had 16” wheels with posi, you get the inflatable spare. Not sure when you would get the aluminum wheel though. My 91 z28 G80 has the N65 steel wheel inflatable
The larger aluminum spare is to clear the rear disk brakes.
Inflatable spares are necessary with limited slip to keep from damaging the differential. They inflate to the same approximate diameter as the full size tire on the other side.
The larger aluminum spare is to clear the rear disk brakes.
Inflatable spares are necessary with limited slip to keep from damaging the differential. They inflate to the same approximate diameter as the full size tire on the other side.
The inflator makes sense for POSI. Can't find any other reason for it.
The larger Aluminum one ... for me was for the front brakes as it was referenced back in 1988 for Player racing in the spring. Revised spare was due out to the teams after the cars were delivered. I presumed GM updated it for 1989-onward same as they did with the gas tanks. One spare for POSI 16" wheels. I've never tried early/later spare on the PBR rear brakes to see if they will or won't clear. Feels like the fronts would have more of a clearance issue with the PBR calipers hanging out.
If you had 16” wheels with posi, you get the inflatable spare. Not sure when you would get the aluminum wheel though. My 91 z28 G80 has the N65 steel wheel inflatable
The aluminum one looks like the the steel one and is painted black and came with cars with PBR brakes. There is an excellent thread here which goes in greater detail.
The aluminum one looks like the the steel one and is painted black and came with cars with PBR brakes. There is an excellent thread here which goes in greater detail.
Thanks ... had not found it. Must be searching too detailed. Need general terms. :-)
The larger Aluminum one ... for me was for the front brakes as it was referenced back in 1988 for Player racing in the spring. Revised spare was due out to the teams after the cars were delivered. I presumed GM updated it for 1989-onward same as they did with the gas tanks. One spare for POSI 16" wheels. I've never tried early/later spare on the PBR rear brakes to see if they will or won't clear. Feels like the fronts would have more of a clearance issue with the PBR calipers hanging out.
Mark.
But, the aluminum spare was used on every thirdgen with PBR rear brakes, including those with single piston brakes on the front. Hence the rear discs required the larger spare.
But, the aluminum spare was used on every thirdgen with PBR rear brakes, including those with single piston brakes on the front. Hence the rear discs required the larger spare.
In the fourth gen cars, the spare tire for a NON posi 4 wheel disc car was a steel 15" donut spare. It clears the brakes. Hence asking how early GM used the 15" donut spare ... did that exist in the 91 or 92 cars. I have one of these and it fits fine, but not tall enough for a G80 rear.
Like the Gas Tanks, I think GM just revised the standard spare to a 15" rim in 89 (also showed up in late 88 for Players cars). You either got the donut spare, or the inflator spare (if you got G80, J65 or 1LE). I was curious if the donut spare changed to a 15" version like the 4th gen cars.
I'll have to dig through my 1990 parts and illustration catalog ... see what that shows.
Part number 9590925 Stowaway Spare N65 15x4 comes up for 82-90, 91 in my books. No reference for N64. A minor reference that bulletin 87-141 that Alum Spare are serviced through Dealer. No reference to a part number in the parts illustrations
Best I found ... N64 tire (later version) was TIRE & WHEEL, P195/75D15 STOWAWAY SPA BW .. .which is a diameter of 26.5. So this would have to be used for any G80 car with 16" tires.
I'm going to guess the earlier N64 was also the same size tire, only the rim was different. The later allowed more clearance for brakes (front and rear).
What about all the cars with 15" wheels and a posi? No way those spares are 26 inches in diameter...
I don't think the rim size matters at all. 215/65/15, 235/60/15, 245/50/16 and 235/55/16 are all very similar in overall diameter. Non-posi: donut spare. Posi: inflatable spare. Iron caliper/drum brakes: 14" inflatable. Aluminum caliper: 15" inflatable.
There's probably always exceptions to the rule though. Iirc, my '85 Iroc came original with an inflatable 14" spare, despite being non-posi. It's a disc brake car and SHOULD have posi, but it's one of the ones built during an apparent shortage. So even without posi, it still got the inflatable spare.
Although, it's been so long, I'd have to dig through old photos to be certain. I really do not remember a donut spare though.
Some stats from Comp Nine ... (Curious I never thought about a car having a stock rim as a spare!)
1991 Camaros as test case. 89,578 cars in Compnine.
Total N64 cars - 4,929
Total N65 cars - 7,822
Total N65 + N64 = 12,751
Total G80 cars - 12,751
Total G80 cars with N64 - 4,929
Total G80 cars with N65 - 7822
So G80 optioned cars came with N64 or N65.
Total J65 cars 4,881. All J65 had N64. (so this is the fact) All J65 had G80.
Total 1LE cars - 469.
Total 1LE cars with J65 - 469.
Now total cars with 15x7 factory wheels - 44,783!
Total 15x7 (N90) cars with N65 - 194 (These were G80 cars)
Total 15x7 (N90) cars with N64 - 0
So ... there is a missing spare tire option code. Or perhaps a stock rim is used?
The car I used as a test case was a 1991 RS with N90 15x7 wheels and QPH 215/65/15 tires. It came with a Convenience Spare 125/70/D15. This must be the default spare tire ... no option code required.
So spare tires were:
- Convenience Spare 125/70/D15
- N65 Space Saver Spare (Steel)
- N64 Space Saver Spare (Alum)
If you have J65, you need N64 for clearance.
If you have G80, you need either N64 or N65.
There were also two different 14" inflatable spares. A basic steel rim and a spoked aluminum rim. All of my pre-'87 G80 cars came with the 14" steel rim. I had an '88 G80 car that came with the spoked aluminum 14" rim. I have not owned an '87, would that have been the first year for the aluminum version?
N64 - 266, all had G80, LB9, MM5, and 3.08 gears! AND CC1 T-top!
N65 - 1731, 1581 had G80.
Curious ... non of the players cars got the N64. So something tiggered it. Maybe weight savings due to options. Seeing as they all were T-Top cars ... I'd say weight was the reason the 5 spoke Alum space saver was used.
In 1989 ... (gets weird. Have not seen the trigger).
N64 - 795. All had G80. Only 476 had CC1 T-Top. 387 were LB9, 408 were L98. None of the L98 cars had the Alum Drive shaft. But 299 of the LB9 cars had Alum Driveshaft AND N64.
N65 - 446. All had G80. 319 had T-Tops.
All 1LE cars had N64.
Just some stats. In 88 ... appear to be weight savings with T-Top. In 89 ... mixed. Part of 1LE cars. Have not seen the link yet. Too many variations to try out.
In 1990 ... All 1LE cars came with the N64 (469 of them). But only 456 had JG1 Alum Prop shaft. So 13 of them had steel driveshafts. Makes no sense. Maybe ran out.
In 1990 ... All 1LE cars came with the N64 (469 of them). But only 456 had JG1 Alum Prop shaft. So 13 of them had steel driveshafts. Makes no sense. Maybe ran out.
If I spent more time on compnine testing scenarios ... probably can find a link to what options go together. Like 88 ... N64/N65 is pretty clear .. .T-Tops! Who knew.
Just a quick note from what I found when I upgraded to 4th gen LS1 brakes front a rear. I had to use the 4th gen 16" donut spare to clear the front brakes.
My 89 formula 350 came with the steel spare. 3.27 posi pbr disc. Wonder if the steel/ aluminum was a mid year switch like the 2 piece/1piece pbr backing plate.
My 89 formula 350 came with the steel spare. 3.27 posi pbr disc. Wonder if the steel/ aluminum was a mid year switch like the 2 piece/1piece pbr backing plate.
Hmmm, that's interesting. What was the build date?
I did some number mining from Compnine. These are only Camaro numbers. But it shows a trend.
Notes:
- G80 is 95% of the cases got you the N64 or N65. 1987/88 had some odd numbers.
- First occurrence of N64 was 1988. This bach seems tied to a group of 266 CC1, LB9, MM5, GU4, JG1 cars. The Players cars A4U got Steel spares. No relation at all to J65.
- 1989 saw all J65 cars with N64, and JG1 linked to CC1 or 1LE cars.
- 1990 saw all J65 cars with N64, and JG1 was only linked to 1LE cars.
- 1991 saw all JG5 cars with N64. CC1 and 1LE cars got JG1
- 1992 same store. And JG1 linked to CC1 and 1LE cars with J65.
So ... I learned more about JG1 than I did about N64. Seems the Alum Driveshaft showed up more commonly in T Top cars with rear disc brakes, or 1LE cars.
Pontiac ... Compnine has less total for them. I could only find a 1991 to reference. Being that Pontiac weighed more than a Camaro, the numbers are different.
1991 Trans Am
Here we see that J65 is not a directly link. LOTS of JG1 ... which appear tied to CC1.
Best I can conclude is that N64 and JG1 were put on the heavier cars, along with the 1LE cars. N64 was revised in 89 for the larger front/rear brakes.
If you want to find one ... Look for a T-Top pontiac with a posi!
My 1989 Formula 350 has the Large Aluminum spare, there is no inflator, not sure if it came with it or not, but it has it now.
This is from GM Data logs:
What were the differences in CO2 canisters over the years, if any?
I was over at my mother's house last week and I noticed a couple space saver spares sitting behind the garage. I must have put them there decades ago. One of them still had the canister on it and it looks like it had the label on it too, until recently. I feel ashamed for letting that happen.
There were 2 canisters .. .one for a 14" spare and one for a 15" spare. Said on the label. Also the ring that was used to hold them on the rim was different.
There were 2 canisters .. .one for a 14" spare and one for a 15" spare. Said on the label. Also the ring that was used to hold them on the rim was different.
Mark.
Also the length of the plastic standoff or whatever is longer on the painted 1LE spare. Goes on clamp bolt between canister clamp and spare.
Only used my inflator once but it did work. That was back in 1995 on my '91 TA Convertible. Since then, I've carried an air compressor because I never found a place that would refill it even though the label on it says to just return it to a dealer for a refill! The car is a G80 with 16" wheels. Never have used the compressor except to test that it would work.
12-18-2020, 06:51 PM
