Poll:Have Air in Your Spare?

[Alan]

A few months ago I bought a new car. This morning I woke up to find a flat tire and this is the first car I've owned with no spare. I couldn't pump any air into it so didn't attempt to use the pressurized foamy gunk that comes instead of a spare. I called the dealer who advised not to waste my time with the gunk if it wasn't a simple puncture that I could see. I called the AA ( = US AAA) who arrived in 10 minutes, jacked up the car and confirmed that an inner side wall had split then put on a temporary spare that they carry around and then followed me to the dealer.

 

[JoeWras]

A few months ago I bought a new car. This morning I woke up to find a flat tire and this is the first car I've owned with no spare. I couldn't pump any air into it so didn't attempt to use the pressurized foamy gunk that comes instead of a spare. I called the dealer who advised not to waste my time with the gunk if it wasn't a simple puncture that I could see. I called the AA ( = US AAA) who arrived in 10 minutes, jacked up the car and confirmed that an inner side wall had split then put on a temporary spare that they carry around and then followed me to the dealer.

Sounds like a manufacturing defect in the tire. It is fine to not have a real spare in the city. But if you are travelling out in the hinterlands, not so good.

Nice that your AA has a spare ready to go! I think the AAA would usually tow in this case. Most AAA calls, even for lockouts or batteries, come with a tow truck ready to go.

 

[kaneohe]

Every 6 mos. or so......find that typical loss during that period is about 4psi for 60psi mini spare.

 

[Alan]

Sounds like a manufacturing defect in the tire. It is fine to not have a real spare in the city. But if you are travelling out in the hinterlands, not so good.

Nice that your AA has a spare ready to go! I think the AAA would usually tow in this case. Most AAA calls, even for lockouts or batteries, come with a tow truck ready to go.

It was my fault as I arrived home in the dark and ran off the drive on one side and dropped a wheel over the edge, then reversed back and scraped the inside of the tire on the lip. It’s a narrow entrance and climbs steeply before widening out. We had already decided to replace, widen and put in a retaining wall to prevent such an event, and have the work booked to start in January

Fortunately the dealership only charged £31 plus £6 labor because the tire is new and insured against idiots like me.

I was impressed at the AA having the spare. He had the wheel plus a selection of adapters to fit it to a variety of wheel sizes.

 

[GalaxyBoy]

Finally checked DW’s spare the other day and sure enough it was at 0 psig. Thanks again for the reminder.

 

[CardsFan]

Finally checked DW’s spare the other day and sure enough it was at 0 psig. Thanks again for the reminder.

Only a current or former technical person would add the "g"

Although, I once worked with a technical salesperson who screwed up the technical specs for a contract because " no one told me the difference between psia and psig". He was over 40 years old and " supposedly" had an engineer degree. Needless to say, he didn't last long

 

[iloveyoga]

I don't think I have one?

 

[audreyh1]

Considered sacrifice the spare (temporarily) as DH wasn't sure our slow leak tire could be repaired. But they were able to repair it, so still have spare.

 

[JoeWras]

I don't think I have one?

You probably don't. It is the current trend. They give you a can of goo you are supposed to put in your tire to "fix" it. Yeah. See how that worked for Alan's split side wall? See how that works when you are in the USA West, 80 miles away from services, and you are enjoying the gorgeous canyons, and kick up a rock that rips your sidewall. Really helpful then.

The reason for this trend has various sources:
- Less weight, greater gas mileage
- Design flexibility without having to find a place to stash that donut
- Better tire technology means fewer flats in general

 

[braumeister]

I'm seriously considering buying a spare wheel and tire for my new car. It will take up a lot of room in the trunk but give me great peace of mind when I take a long road trip.

 

[Car-Guy]

You probably don't. It is the current trend.

Actually my newest vehicle came with both run flats and a full size spare. I added a very large can of fix flat, tire repair kit and a small air compressor to my travel tool bag. I like to travel with a belt, suspenders and rain barrel.

I've had a few flats in the past ~10 years and have been able to fix all of them with the tire repair kit while the tire is still on the car.

The reason for this trend has various sources:
- Less weight, greater gas mileage
- Design flexibility without having to find a place to stash that donut
- Better tire technology means fewer flats in general

And cost.

 

[Ronstar]

I'm seriously considering buying a spare wheel and tire for my new car. It will take up a lot of room in the trunk but give me great peace of mind when I take a long road trip.

I’m considering the same thing for my 2001 corvette. I’d like to drive it cross country but it has no spare.

The discussion on corvette forum recommends against a spare - a GTO spare fits but takes up almost all of the hatchback space. Forum discussion there suggests a plug kit, a mini compressor, AAA and cell phone. That wouldn’t give me much peace of mind in the middle of Utah where there is no cell coverage.

 

[Car-Guy]

I’m considering the same thing for my 2001 corvette. I’d like to drive it cross country but it has no spare.

The discussion on corvette forum recommends against a spare - a GTO spare fits but takes up almost all of the hatchback space. Forum discussion there suggests a plug kit, a mini compressor, AAA and cell phone. That wouldn’t give me much peace of mind in the middle of Utah where there is no cell coverage.

Two of the flats I mentioned earlier were on my Corvettes with run flats. Fixed both of them with a repair (plug) kit with the tire/wheel still on the car. Added a little air with the small portable air compressor and I was on my way.

Note, buy a good tire repair kit (with good tools) since it can take a little strength to push the plugs through steel belt radials, and those cheap kits with the little handles won't work. In this case, size matters.

 

[VanWinkle]

DW had a flat tire on her way to an appointment yesterday. Luckily, we decided to keep our AAA membership, and upon arriving at the scene, the AAA tech found that DW's spare was also flat. The tech was able to fill the spare with air, change the tire, and DW was off on her merry way.

The AAA tech told DW that she should check her spare's air level EVERY TWO MONTHS. He also reminded her that should she have a flat in an area that AAA doesn't service and her spare was flat, she would be SOL (my words). While checking your spare's air every 2 months seems like a great idea in a perfect world, it seemed a bit excessive to me. Wondering what other folks do

Note to self-- Have the DW check the air pressure in the spare tires in both vehicles.

 

[JoeWras]

And cost.

Of course! And they sell it as a "feature", while saving COGs.