No Spare Tire?

You never notice a contingency plan unless you have an emergency, then you're glad for it. My last flat was some 20 years ago, on a cold and light snow morning on the way to work. Glad I had a spare tire. I frequently drive to bicycle paths a significant distance from home. Having a spare tire [donut] is comforting in event my car gets a flat enroute, or returning home. Whenever I buy my next car, spare tire will be a factor in the decision process.
 
I regularly drive trough. section of north Georgia that has no cell service. My son got a flat there few years ago an got to (successfully) test his skill at changing a flat on the side of the road. None of my cars came with a spare. I have purchased smaller spares for all of them. Take a look at modern spare.com
 
Not as good as a spare but the tire mobility kits will get you going for most flats and probably get you back on the road faster since all you're doing is adding air (with the sealant cannister attached) to the tire. One drawback is that you're likely to need a new tire since most places won't patch a tire that has the sealant inside.
 
Not having a spare tire isn't just a convenience issue, it's a safety issue. Do you really want to be sitting along the side of the road waiting for a tow when you could swap it out yourself with a spare in under 10 minutes? An older person sitting along the side if the road in a disabled vehicle in unfamiliar territory is a license to steal or worse for all of the unscrupulous characters out there.
 
My 2023 Charger doesn't have a spare. I think that's a travesty...a $50K+ car, and no spare! There's a local junkyard that specializes in Mopar, and I thought about going there and seeing if I could find a wrecked one with a spare. But, I probably should just get a new one from the dealer.

I actually have a few rims and tires sitting around, but damn if they didn't change the bolt pattern! For what seemed like eons, most Mopars used a 5-on-4.5 inch bolt pattern. My '57 DeSoto uses that. So did my 2000 Intrepid. I think that comes out to 114.3mm. Well, the Charger is 115mm. But, probably for the better. I have a temporary spare, never been used. But it's from a 1979 New Yorker, so even if it did fit, trying to use something that old is probably a crap shoot.
 
Our Miata MX5 had no spare, only a bottle of goop & a compressor. On one of the forums I discovered a certain year RX7 spare would work. Maybe there's similar solutions for other brands.

_B
 
Trooper said:
Even if they were donut tires?
Click to expand...
For me the point is to have a plan B backup and a donut tire fills that need. If you have a full size spare do you get a 4 or 5 tire rotation? I worry about the spare tire holding air but I only check it once per year or less. Checking the underbody mounted spare would be a pain.
 
It would be a deal breaker for me primarily because the OP stated that this is intended to be the vehicle for trips. If it was a soccer mom/grocery/around town vehicle, I'd still want a spare, but it wouldn't be a deal breaker if I really liked the vehicle. Around town, you can always get a tow on a flat bed. In this case, I also would not want to use my cargo space for an after market spare. Again, it's for traveling and I'd want that space for my stuff. If I couldn't get it attached somehow on the outer part of the vehicle, I'd pass.
 
You would be surprised how many vehicles do not come with a spare now, even gas cars. BTW, if they don't give you a spare, they don't give you a jack or lug wrench, either, so you have to account for those as well.

There is even a company that has sprung up to sell donut spares, jacks and lug wrench kits for vehicles that don't have them. $500! Keep that in mind the next time you buy a new car.

Modern Spare | Best Name In Spare Tires For Modern Cars
 
I have a Hyundai Santa Fe hybrid that doesn't come with a spare but you can install a Hyundai OEM tire hoist that mounts the tire underneath. The guy who did a video showing the install said it only takes 15 minutes to install. I'm pretty sure you could also install one on the Palisade hybrid.
 
My BMW 540 has run flat tires where one was utterly destroyed by a Pennsylvania pothole. DW was able to pull it into a parking lot and had it towed to the nearby dealer. A few months later I had a flat where I was able to drive to a nearby tire shop to replace it. DW’s new BMW doesn’t have a spare and doesn’t have run flats. We bought her a donut spare to keep in her trunk, but doesn’t leave much room for baggage. We do keep a repair kit and inflator in the car too.
 
When we bought our 2024 Chevy Trax LS two years ago, I was surprised to lift up the rear floor and see this:

Chevrolet_Trax_cargo_test_spare_tire_717.jpg


Underneath that tire is a Styrofoam block containing the jack as well as the funnel required to get gas-can (or additives) fluids into the fuel tank. There's actually quite a bit of room under that floor for blankets, tow-straps, jumper-cables, etc.

I was actually kind of impressed considering this was the least expensive Chevrolet you could buy in 2024.
 
Yes... one of the problems is that they do not have a space for the spare... even if you buy one aftermarket...

Our PHEV has electronics where a spare can go if you buy the ICE version, but it does not have one... there was a video where someone moved all that stuff so he could fit the spare in that space...

I looked at ours and was surprised to see the plastic that is formed to fit all the 'stuff' like jack and lug wrench, but no room for a tire...

But think about the savings... say $200 per vehicle and they sell 17 to 20 million a year... way over $3 billion.. now, I know a lot still come with spares but they are going away just like a tape player and even DVD player...
 
My neighbor’s 3/4 ton pickup had a flat right in the middle of the block in the only cleared lane during a snowstorm. I helped him change it. I WISH it had a donut tire. It was an underbed mounted full size spare.
 
disneysteve said:
I'm fine with a donut spare. I am not okay with no spare. That would be a deal breaker for me. I've had way too many flat tires over the years to ever risk driving around without a spare.
Click to expand...
I totally agree! I HAVE been in a situation where I had a tire blow out in the middle of nowhere at 1AM. Boy, was I glad to put on my donut spare and hobble on to the next town! Would have preferred a full-sized spare, but was able to get by with the donut. Tire sealant and inflator won't do much for a 5 inch gash.....
 
Get a donut spare and just take it on the long road trips? Sort of compromise from full size, but less space taken away from luggage and other stuff.
 
The last blowout I had was probably 25 years ago driving through construction. Must have hit something since the tire was destroyed by the time I got off the road.
But I've gotten a few nails or screws which cause a slow leak. I carry a small air compressor with tire plugs and the tools to install them. But the last one I needed a hammer to push the tool with plug through the tire thread. There are newer styles plugs that are like a screw that you screw into the hole, not sure if they work better but would be easier to install.
 
Depends on the tire on the vehicle. My 2005 Mazda3 Hatchback had semi-low profile tires that completely shredded when they went flat. And they went flat several times over the 18 years I had the car.

For me no spare is a deal breaker. I've gravitated to vehicles that have full size spares and no donuts.
 
With roadside service for relatively cheap these days, I'm fine without a spare tire. Our chevy bolt doesn't have a spare. If you regularly drive an unpopulated route with no cell coverage, then a spare might be prudent.
 
I’d rather have a spare, and would gladly pay extra for it but:
  • They’re not even an option on most cars these days, and there’s no place for one in most. More likely on trucks still it seems, but I don’t need/want a truck.
  • And I’ve only had to change a flat tire once in 53 years of driving, and it was over 30 years ago.
So I guess I’m accepting the risk. I do have goop and a compressor. I also have a plug kit, but I’m not sure I’d use any of it unless stranded - IOW I’d probably call for a rollback.

I’ve looked at the Modern spare but it takes up too much space.

I do monitor tire pressure and tread depth closely plus I replace tires more proactively than I did when spares were standard, especially on DW’s car…

It would be nice if they perfect airless tires, but that seems a long ways off and costly.

I know carmakers claim they’ve eliminated spares to save weight and improve fuel economy, that’s BS, it’s all to reduce cost. However, they also claim most drivers can’t or won’t change a tire these days, that’s probably very true.
 
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