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For a few years now, Ford has not offered a mini spare tire in some of their cars. According to a recent article, Ford stated that this was only in a few "niche" and performance cars. This trend is currently widespread across the industry in the US and other countries and has been quietly done without a lot of fanfare. After recently purchasing a 2012 V6 coupe, I too found only the "Tire Mobility Kit" which consists of a styrofoam block with a portable air compressor and a can of goo that you are supposed to use to inflate a flat tire and go on down the road to get it fixed.

Well this can leave you with a myriad of problems if your tire has a puncture large enough for the "goo" to seep out. Not to mention that using this stuff will not only fill your damaged tire with stuff that will probably require it to be replaced for inability to rebalance it after repair, it also damages the Tire Monitoring Pressure System (TPMS) sensor that is now required by NHTSA to be used on new cars. These sensors are installed on the back side of the valve stem inside the tire. The TPMS sensor will have to be replaced at a cost of around $200 or so. So, what do you do? Well after some research of various message boards and informational articles, the following information has been gleaned.

One source, after independent investigation, has revealed that there are FOUR different temporary spares that will work on a 2011 V6 Mustang and fit below the trunk floor.
- 2005-2010 GT Spare: T185/60-17 tire on an 17x5" stamped aluminum wheel (25.74" o/a dia. and weighs 28.66 lbs.; also std. on 2011 Canadian V6
- 20??-2010 V6 Spare: T155/70-17 tire on a steel wheel (25.54" o/a dia. and weighs 34 lbs.; Ford switched from a 16" to a 17" temp spare on V6 cars sometime between 2006~2009)
- 2011 GT w/o Brembo Spare: T195/50-18 tire on 18x4" cast aluminum wheel (25.68" o/a dia. and weighs ?? lbs.)
- 2003-2004 Mercury Maurader Spare: T155/80-18 tire on cast aluminum wheel (27.76" o/a dia. and weighs 33 lbs.)

The 1st two can be found on e-bay pretty often. The last two are going to be near impossible to find anywhere other than new from Ford. The factory 2011 V6 tire diameters are:
215/65-17 (std. A/T): 28.00"
225/60-17 (std. M/T): 27.63"
235/50-18 (Pony/MCA): 27.25"
FYI: Unless you actually find a Maurader spare, you really should avoid putting the spare out back as the dissimiar diameters can cause pre-mature wear to the Traction-Lok differential clutch pack. If you get a flat out back, jack up the FRONT end first and mount the spare there, then jack up the back and swap the good front tire for the flat. As far as the Jack Kit, you can use a Jack kit from any 2005-2011 V6 or GT Mustang ... these are on e-bay pretty often.
Make sure you get all the parts,
Jack (17080, $41.08 Ford L/P)
Lug Wrench (17035, $14.12 Ford L/P)
Jack Hold-Down Screw (HB2, $3.42 Ford L/P)
Lug Wrench Pouch (17006, $36.95 Ford L/P)
Instruction sheet (not shown, $7.00 Ford L/P)
Pouch & Instructions aren't mandatory but nice to have.
The tire Hold Down Bolt (HB1), Plate (1424), Wing Nut (1462B), and Floor Support Button (1462A) are the same as used to hold down the inflator kit so you technically don't need these items.

Note: On June 29, I was notified by the Ford Customer Service Department that Ford has issued a parts list to dealers for mini spares for owners who would like to purchase one new from them.

Note: On June 30, Ford's Team Mustang informed the Oklahoma Mustang Club that Ford is in the process of restoring the mini spare tire as a standard feature of the V6 Mustangs.

I hope you find this information helpful and accurate.

Webmaster, Oklahoma Mustang Club