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EVERY car should have a spare tire. A spare tire is a necessity if you have a flat, blowout, or even a damaged rim. Not only having a spare is important, but having the correct spare is equally important. Spare tires are TEMPORARY tires (hence the designation "T" stamped on the tire). They should be used only for you to drive to a repair as soon as possible. They are also not designed to exceed 55 MPH.

First, the spare must have the proper bolt pattern for the car. All Camaro/Firebirds are 5x4.75" bolt pattern. Next, the spare must clear the brake system. Typically, you need a rim that is 4" larger than the rotor size, so if you have 11" brakes (1997 and older models, except 1989 Turbo Trans Am), you need a 15" spare, if you have 12" brakes (1998 and newer models), you need a 16" spare. Should you ever upgrade your brakes, or increase your rotor size, you should always make sure your current spare fits, and if it doesn't you should hunt one down. The largest factory spare for any Camaro/Firebird is 16", luckily, the 1989 and later Corvette spares are 17" and fit Camaro/Firebirds should you have 13" aftermarket brakes installed. Ontop of that, if you have a limited-slip differential (aka "Posi"), you will need either the inflatable spare, or normal size spare. You should avoid the "mini" spare whenever possible with a limited slip differential. Typically, on a limited slip differential, both rear wheels spin at the same time, if you use a spare tire on the rear axle of a limited slip differential, the smaller diameter tire (the spare), will spin faster than the larger diameter tire (your stock tire), which causes the differential unit/clutches to slip, thus wearing them prematurely. On vehicles with non-offset front and rear rims, whenever possible, you should move the front rim to the rear, and place the spare on the front to prevent damage to the differential. On vehicles with offset front and rear rims, such as 1985-1992 IROC-Z, Z28, Trans Am, GTA 16" wheels, you should use the inflatable spare (which inflates to a full size rim) to prevent any differential damage. If you do have an inflatable spare, you should ensure you have an inflatable air cartridge, or an aftermarket tire inflator in the vehicle.