Do you need a spare tire?

[Rustic23]

We just purchased an Acura MDX. It comes with an pump/sealant kit and no spare tire. I have read several articles and post on this subject. For day to day around the neighborhood, I am ok with the pump/sealant kit. However, we are gong on a long trip. (Houston-Seattle and back). I have been thinking of getting a spare tire kit. We have plenty of room in the car, so I can throw the tire in the back without installing it. Then store it when we get home.

Just wondering what others think.

 

[powerplay]

I would be much more comfortable having the spare tire and wheel. Don't forget to get a jack to go with it.

 

[youbet]

Tires/rims can be damaged far beyond being repaired with a pump/sealant kit. It could be a problem when you bend a rim while driving a remote mountain road in Montana out of cell phone coverage.

 

[meierlde]

We just purchased an Acura MDX. It comes with an pump/sealant kit and no spare tire. I have read several articles and post on this subject. For day to day around the neighborhood, I am ok with the pump/sealant kit. However, we are gong on a long trip. (Houston-Seattle and back). I have been thinking of getting a spare tire kit. We have plenty of room in the car, so I can throw the tire in the back without installing it. Then store it when we get home.

Just wondering what others think.

Consider what would happen if you are outside cell phone coverage and a flat happens. In particular you find this just east of San Angelo (Eden and Brady for example). Also further west. If you stay on interstates it is not a problem as cell coverage is ok there.
BTW accura sells a kit that includes the jack and other features: 2016 Acura MDX | Accessories | Acura.com
It lists for $399, as an add on accessory.

 

[samclem]

Yes, I'd want a spare wheel/tire, jack, and a cross-type lug wrench (and a cheater pipe) for trips. It doesn't need to be anything fancy--a steel rim of the right size in good shape from a junkyard would be fine. Lots of things can happen out there, and it's probably not a great assumption that you'll always be in cell phone range. Plus, while the wheel might look a bit hillbilly, it's not an "emergency repair" like the sealant is, so you could take your time in getting the original tire fixed (i.e. go in at your convenience, during the workweek, or maybe even finish the trip). Even in the best of cases, out in the sticks it can be a long wait for a tow truck if you hit something big and do some sidewall damage or bend your rim. With a spare you could have changed the tire and been on your way in 20 minutes.

 

[Texas Proud]

I like spares....


But.... having a full sized spare is helpful for a long trip... if you have a doughnut you have to reduce your speed... not that the tire cannot take it, but your diff can be damaged with the different wheel speeds...


Also, you can have a flat that a can cannot fix... I had a sawzall saw blade go right through my tire once... it was flat in seconds and had a one inch cut... even though I stopped quickly the tire was already ruined.... not because of the hole but because the rim was pressing down on the flat tire... they showed me all the rubber that had been cut off inside the tire when they took it off...

 

[NW-Bound]

Yes, we all need a spare tire in the trunk. And not around the waist.

I recently saw two utility trailers with a flat tire on the freeway, in two separate incidences, where the drivers kept on going despite knowing about it. The tires had peeled off, and the rims were throwing sparks rolling on asphalt. Too bad I could not snap a photo. Most impressive.

 

[Ronstar]

Get the spare tire. I've had a corvette with no spare for the last 15 years and luckily haven't had a flat tire. I'm a little wary of long trips without a spare.

 

[marko]

I just discovered that I do not have a spare! My new car has the 'ride flat' tires so they told me I don't need one.

Roads here in Mass are worse than some I've driven in India or Africa, so I wonder what I'd do with a bent rim.

 

[REWahoo]

Get the spare tire.

+1

If you get it you will never need it, and if you don't get it you'll have a blowout in a remote location. That's just how life works, right?

 

[Sarah in SC]

Cheap place to get a spare is the local "pick and pull" salvage yard. We have gotten jacks and spares there a few times, when we bought a used car that didn't have them.

 

[Ronstar]

Also - I've read that tire sealant may gum up the tire pressure sensor.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I have been fairly lucky in that my 26 years of driving I have only had 2 flat tires. BUT...both of them was from hitting debris in the road and in both cases, the sidewalls were compromised, so an inflation kit would do no good. For a long distance trip...it's a NO BRAINER...I would definitely have a spare.

 

[travelover]

Cheap place to get a spare is the local "pick and pull" salvage yard. We have gotten jacks and spares there a few times, when we bought a used car that didn't have them.

Great idea, but try to get one that is not too old. There is a date code on the side of the tire.

 

[Bamaman]

So many modern cars have ultra high performance (low profile) tires. Hit a chuck hole or even a railroad crossing, and the tires are easily torn up.

With over 150 sizes of auto/truck tires and dozens of brands of tires, you cannot buy matching tires at the corner tire store. Even with a spare tire, you may have to wait a day or two for such a tire to come in by Fed Ex/UPS.

If you're going on a trip out of town, it's preferred to have a spare tire with you.

I have two cars with ultra high performance tires that simply eat tires. One of them's sitting in the driveway with $1K set of Michelins that didn't last a year. I'm considering selling the car to get rid of the accrued expense of tires.

 

[NW-Bound]

I think that the problem is with the tires rather than the car. High-performance tires are made soft, so that they grip the road better. Hence, they wear out fast. But some cars need tires of a special size that are not available in pedestrian rubber.

A long time ago, I had a car like that. Ended up changing the rims so I could buy ordinary tires. The fancy alum wheels were thrown away as scrap. Nobody wanted them.

 

[aja8888]

30 years in the oilfield in trucks on bad roads (and good ones) convinced me to have an inflated spare tire and a can of tire sealant as a back up (although a crappy one at that).

Make sure you test the jack before the trip. Also, if you have a wheel lug lock, make sure you know where it is. Get a good lug wrench too.

 

[CRLLS]

I think mini spares are rated for something like 50 MPH max and 50 miles max. I added a full size spare (and jack, lug wrench etc) and also carry the tire goop and pump. The best of both worlds. I can choose what method to repair on the spot. With the full sized spare I can drive for hours (days, weeks) at highway speed and not screw up any plans I may have had.

 

[Koolau]

Had a flat recently on a brand new tire (less than 500 miles!) Was so glad my old beater had the mini-spare. Don't leave home without it! Of course, YMMV.

 

[MRG]

Great thread.

I'll say yes get a spare for all the same reasons. However my 2005 Silverado has had two flats in both cases I was unable to release the spare tire from the extra safety device. The first time a six inch spring compressed on my middle finger trapping me under the truck. The EMTS were pretty kind expecially to my bruised ego. Never did get it down as I had another flat a couple months ago just pulled it off and to the tire place with DW'S Jeep. So at this point I've been lucky not to get stranded in BFE without a spare. I should not tempt fate. There is a woman who posted a utube showing how to get around the safety device, need to check it out.

 

[mpeirce]

I haven't had a flat in a long long time (tires truly are so much better than they used to be).

Twice in the last 10+ years the tire pressure monitor system saved us from getting stuck. Both times we had a "nail" in the tire resulting in a slow leak that we could get fixed before it became a problem.

The first time it was on a trip and the system warned us of pressure going down. I pulled over to look and saw a fairly large chunk of metal stuck in the sidewall. We found a tire dealer within an hours drive who had our tire type in stock. We drove there and had it replaced. Killed an afternoon, but saved us from a much worse experience of being stuck out in the boonies in rural Virginia.

 

[NW-Bound]

Class A RV's and even most class C's do not have a spare tire. My class C is unusual in that it has a spare tire. However, no jack is provided and for many good reasons. It's scary jacking up something that heavy and that high off the ground, particularly the rear axle. For a class A, forget about it.

So, the spare tire, if it exists, is there for the technician when the owner calls for road assistance.

 

[RobbieB]

Even a "space saver" is better than nothing. At least it will get you to a tire shop.

 

[FUEGO]

We got stuck in the middle of the Adirondacks in New York State. No cell reception from either cell phone. They had emergency call boxes every few miles (but I didn't know about that at the time). A NY state trooper stopped and made conversation while I pried my rusted in spare out of the trunk spare tire well. Almost couldn't get it and would have had to call a tow truck from the nearest town 50 miles away. It being Saturday night, it's likely I wouldn't have been able to get a new tire till Monday morning (unless the town had a walmart with service on Sunday).

Thank goodness for the spare and my $6 tire inflator from Harbor Freight.

We got all new tires at our convenience a couple days later once we were in Montreal. More expensive than what I would have paid at home, but we were able to drop the car off and relax at our rental home while the tires and alignment were completed.

 

[Car-Guy]

Probably 5 of the last 10 vehicles I've own have had run flats and no spare. One of my newest daily drivers has run flats "and has a full size spare". Regardless, run flats or not, spare or not, I carry a "high quality" tire repair kit and a large can of fix-a-flat (to inflate the tire after repair) with all my vehicles, which I've used successfully many times and without ever removing the tire and wheel from the car. I've used them on run flats and non run flats. I don't trust the can of fix-a-flat by itself but I've found it will inflated a repaired tire well enough to get you to a service station with air. (or I guess you could carry a manual or 12v air pump with you.) It's easier and quick than changing the tire and I consider it a permanent fix. (So far, I've never had a repair I've made fail or leak) YMMV.

It cost me about $50 per vehicle for a good tire repair kit, a large can of fix-a-flat and some needle nose pliers (to remove the nail or whatever). Probably not a solution for everyone (or major tire damage) but it has worked well for me and gives me the confidence to drive anywhere with or without a spare.