Hello. Thanks for all previous comments. I have a 2002 EX, and just
noticed the space has styrofoam in the middle instead of the "H"
logo. Where can I get the replacement part?

Also, are any of you driving WITHOUT the cover, as appears to be the
current style for some of the competition, or keeping the cover on?
Any negatives to taking cover off, and installing lock nuts?

Regards, JC
Long Island, NY

Hi JC,

I removed the spare tire cover from my '98 EX after I noticed a bunch
of leaves and muck had collected inside. There was even a bit of
corrosion on the alloy wheel.

I don't worry about the UV exposure since all of the other tires are
exposed, and I include the spare when the tires are rotated.

The wheel did look odd without the center cap, so I ordered on from
Honda Parts. Here's a link to the review of the center cap on the
CR-V Information Exchange:
http://www.ptcruiserusa.com/hondasuv/crvix..._painted/spare_
tire_cap.htm

There are only three lug nuts on the spare, but I thought it looked
okay with one missing. I know some people didn't like the empty hole
so they simply found a bolt to fit the nut and used them to fill in
the blank.

Take care.

Karl Johnson
Some CR-V stuff at: http://members.macconnect.com/users/k/karl/karlindex.html



>Hello. Thanks for all previous comments. I have a 2002 EX, and just
>noticed the space has styrofoam in the middle instead of the "H"
>logo. Where can I get the replacement part?
>
>Also, are any of you driving WITHOUT the cover, as appears to be the
>current style for some of the competition, or keeping the cover on?
>Any negatives to taking cover off, and installing lock nuts?
>
>Regards, JC
>Long Island, NY
>
>
>
>
>
>Your use of

If you uncover the spare after a year it still looks & feels like a
brand-new tire BUT not so if it is exposed to the elements.

My opinion,
AB
Long Island

I neglected one thing.

Tire manufacturers include special oil's & additives to the rubber compound
which rise to the surface with wear & protect/condition the tire. This is
similar to exterior house paint having an additive which intentionally
causes some chalking making it self cleaning (in theory). If the tire is
just sitting there, exposed to the elements, this doesn't happen and the
tire starts decomposing/cracking.

AB
Long Island

In the long run it will be a problem. Your spare will fade under the UV
quicker than the rest. I speak from the experience of my old vehicle.

This is only a problem if you do not regularly rotate ALL tires including your spare. As long as you don't hang the same tire off the vehicle for years(as I did with my Volkswagen Westie) your tires will all show the same amount of weathering. I do put a bit more rubber protectant on the tire that happens to be my spare at the time.
 
JRC

I'm keeping the cover ON to protect the spare from UV light, dirt, etc.

If I remember correctly there are only three lug bolts on the spare tire
carrier so it would "Kinda" look funny, no?

AB
Long Island

I grabbed one of the oh-so-stylish hard shell covers (got it for
christmas) and the wife is having it painted to match the body color
(for my birthday). Then I'm gonna slap one-o-them edecals on
it....then I need some mud flaps on the front, then the bike
rack.........and I've been wondering if any one has replaced the
stock CR-V tail lenses w/ some of those clear ones....

This is the place for the
flaps-http://www.hondapartsforyou.com/crv/index-alloy.html

Check EBAY for "Eruo" Tail lights

Ryan
KC8PKZ
RyanPM@...

I do have the cover off....I like the look of the CRV
that way..concerning the UV issue I do not see that as
a problem at all...

Peace

I do not concur. If you rotate the tire a couple of
times a year there is no difference. In fact that
plastic covers cause more damage to the spare
including rotting.

Yep. And by the second or third year I'd bet a million bucks that you
won't want to rotate your spare but once. Before you know it rotating
it once becomes a chore. At least the cover will cover that rotting
tire. I wonder how many V owners will eventually cover their spares
because putting protectant on it becomes a burden.
David
ps I thought when radials are rotated the fronts are exchanged with the
rears only. The spare isn't involved in the rotation schedule.

Hi David,

Thanks for the million bucks! I've had my '98 for 4 years and the spare has
been in the rotation pattern every 7,500 miles for 75,000 miles...10 times.

But I'll let you off the hook since you're a fellow CR-V'er, and because I
don't rotate the tires myself. Tire rotation is part of the scheduled
maintenance, which I have done by the dealership. I just let them know I'd
like the spare included in the rotation...there's no extra charge.

Cover, no cover, include spare, or not, you're free to do whatever you
choose. Hey, whatever floats your boat...but here's why I do what I do...

The OEM Bridgestone H/T's were okay but I knew I would replace them with
something different once they were worn out. At 50,000 I replaced all 5
tires with Bridgestone H/L's. The originals would have probably been good
for a few thousand more miles, but I was getting ready for a 6-week
roadtrip.

I drive quite a bit, so I wasn't too worried about the spare rotting away in
2-3 years. I was more concerned about what would happen when it came time to
replace the tires. I saw no reason to keep an unused "new" tire which
wouldn't match the new tires. I guess if you plan on keeping that original
OEM tire for the life of the car, you should be concerned about it rotting
away and would want to keep it well covered.

In the CR-V Information Exchange, the page about tires states you should
expect about 40,000 miles out of the H/T's. By including the spare, I made
it to 50, 000, although I had to buy 5 tires rather than 4. Of course all of
my tires still match, and if there's a better tire when it's time to replace
these, then I can get another kind and once again have matching tires...and
not have to worry about UV damage to that unused, OEM tire, I've been
hauling around for over 100,000 miles.

For covering the tire, the OEM soft cover does the job, but is a tight fit
and it's easy to rip. If you want to protect the tire, the hard cover looks
like the way to go. I was tempted to get one, but at more than the price of
a new, mounted and balanced tire, I decided to "go naked."

I'm a cyclist...the roof mount bike rack is on the old car. I didn't want to
get those inevitable bike-related paint scratches on the new CR-V (plus the
old car is lower, so it's easier to load up 4 bikes). Sometimes I wanted to
take the CR-V when it was just me, or one other person, or even to drop off
the CR-V somewhere and ride back, so I bought a spare tire mounted bike
rack. Simple, easy, and cheap...however it would ruin any tire cover.
Another reason I don't bother with the cover.

Here's a link to a page on Bridgestone's site discussing tire rotation
patterns including 5-tire rotations:
http://www.bridgestone-usa.com/warranty/warr8.htm#f5tr

They show the spare tire being rotated to the right rear, which is what I'm
reasonably sure my dealership has been doing.

Happy CR-V'ing

Karl

Yep. And by the second or third year I'd bet a million bucks that you
won't want to rotate your spare but once. Before you know it rotating
it once becomes a chore. At least the cover will cover that rotting
tire. I wonder how many V owners will eventually cover their spares
because putting protectant on it becomes a burden.
David
ps I thought when radials are rotated the fronts are exchanged with the
rears only. The spare isn't involved in the rotation schedule.

 ROTATE MY OWN TIRES??? I buy my tires at Costco and they rotate them for free, twice a year. I never get tired of reminding them to rotate the spare.
 
JRC
'98 CRV-EX
 
 

Will you take an IOU?... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Thanks for your perspective on this spare
tire issue Karl. Maybe I was a bit "touchy" on the subject...it's only
the spare tire. It's not like a major engine problem. Oh wait a
minute...it's a Honda. No such word as "engine problem" in the world of
Honda. Right? Enough of the spare tire thing. My '00 came with
Goodrich Euro TAs. Anyone with past experience on BF Goodrich tires?
My old truck had All Terrain TAs. They lasted five years (low mileage).
But I always thought they were a bit soft.
David
ps Just received my front mud guards from Handa Accessories. Boy are
those guys at Handa fast!

I just bought Goodrich Winter Slalom w/studs for my V. Had them on my Toyota X-cab too. Give me lots of good grip!
 
JRC