For you Happy 2002 - 2005 T-bird owners out there , here is another Ford Better Idea that went south. Your T185/60 R17" spare you have in the trunk. I had a bad tire on my 2002 Bird, so I told the tire shop to put the spare on. When I removed the cover for my spare, I was suprised to find that the tire casing had literally come apart in the spare tire well. (This tire had never been used.) It did have the firestone recommended air pressure in it also. Well it seems that the tire is no longer available and no one makes it.

I've had bad luck with Firestone tires in the past , But I was able to get a few miles out of them before they came apart. I asked Ford if a full size tire would fit in the well and got the usual run around with no answers. The best I could come up with is I had bought an additional t-bird 50 series rim. I went to my local tire dealer with both rims and we spent about 3 hours trying different tires for fit in the well. I settled with A P215/45/ R17 on my standard t-bird rim. It fits in the well but the cover does not sit totally flush in the trunk with the 50 series rim. At least I have A Spare.