tire question
 

so im out vacationing in Daytona Beach Florida, longest trip ive took im my 06 speed 6, I put new tires all around about a month ago and got them from a local mom & pop tire shop in greensboro nc I have about 1k miles on those tires, today I got a flat on one of my tires, took it to discount tire to see if they could patch or plug it and they couldnt, there is a 2 inch tear starting at the sidewall and going all the way into the tread area, they didnt have any 215/40/18 in stock so they put my original tire in the trunk and gave me a used tire which is a 245/40/18 to get me by, the tire has a decent amount of tread on it, its on the rear passenger side...being a AWD car..is this tire safe to use for the remainder or my stay and trip back about 600 miles so I can get it exchanged under warranty (i hope lol) or should I look at different options?

You should not drive on a different sized tire with an awd car. furthermore that is a huge tire compared to the 215 so i am surprised they even threw that on there.

That being said, IIRC if you engage the ebrake by 1 click (just enough to get the light to come on but not actually provide any braking force) then it will put the car in fwd and you "should" be fine then. I am not positive that a tire that is so different wouldnt mess up your rear diff though. My suggestion is go to a different tire shop and buy the right size tire.

Im gonna be down here for a few more days...I can potentially order a tire and have them install it, I was just trying to save some $$$ since my current tire is more than likely still under warranty..I asked one of the techs onsite about will this work being a AWD car...them saying that the height is the same...i dont really buy that...either way I need to do something asap...AND WHY DOSENT MAZDA INCLUDE A FULLSIZE SPARE WITH THESE FREAKING CARS???

Find a local Discount Tire Company (tires.com) and have one ordered. Sometimes same day.

Diameter/circumference is what you need to be worried about.

IMO, it'd be better for the car for you to drive on the spare (which I'm pretty sure has the same rolling circumference as the OEM tires) than on a tire that has a more appropriate width but inappropriate diameter/circumference (for the sake of your differentials, that is).

...and any tire tech that thinks a 40-series 245-width tire and a 40-series 215 width tire are the same height is worthless.

The sidewall of a 245/40 is ~98 mm tall. The sidewall of a 215/40 is ~86 mm. That's almost a 1/2" difference.

I called the store and had them order me a tire...hopefully it should be in sometime tomorrow morning ...this really sucks.. :worried: