Don't you have tire-repair stuff in the dirt-bike tool kit? Throw a tube (er, maybe two) in that Subaru tire, wrap it in safety wire, and you should be able to make the race..
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The death of the spare tire...
- Thread starter Bill Talbot
- Start date
Don't you have tire-repair stuff in the dirt-bike tool kit? Throw a tube (er, maybe two) in that Subaru tire, wrap it in safety wire, and you should be able to make the race..
Yes. My episode at the Basin, while not in NE was in the MgCl belt of CO. The hardest part was getting the jack handle/spare tire handle to properly seat in the receiver hole to crank the tire down. No amount of lubrication would help that. I couldn't say whether the tire pressure was correct, but it was serviceable and got me the 20 mile drive home and then 10 miles to the garage. It was an '02 and never utilized until '17.
Toyota rules.
The spare on my Dodge Carryvan is hiding under the center of the chassis. I don't even know what kind it is. I've never tried to unpack it to see, and I hope I never have to. It looks like a big hassle to do it. I've had a couple of tires develop a leak, but I fixed them with a plug kit that I carry around. One was a shoulder leak, which they say you're not supposed to try to fix, but i did anyway, and drove the tire another 10k miles before it needed to be replaced due to wearing out.
Tire replacement is super straightforward and probably the most important thing for car maintenance... IDK but I get tons of flats, probably averaging about 1 per year. Almost all of them are from nails picked up in construction zones. I have never actually made a tire go bald in 20 years of driving. They end up with a sidewall puncture (nail) and get replaced before reaching 50k miles on the tire.
50 miles and 50 mph on a donut is what the engineer writes on there... you can definitely go further or faster. I wouldn't recommend exceeding both for too long.
My wife's old car had runflats - BMW X5 from 2007. Serious pain in the ass and basically useless. Ridiculously expensive to replace and always had issues with the sensors in them. Made sure to get the next car without those and a donut.
50 miles and 50 mph on a donut is what the engineer writes on there... you can definitely go further or faster. I wouldn't recommend exceeding both for too long.
My wife's old car had runflats - BMW X5 from 2007. Serious pain in the ass and basically useless. Ridiculously expensive to replace and always had issues with the sensors in them. Made sure to get the next car without those and a donut.
Exactly. With Bilstein 5100s all round and a rear ARB, they actually handle pretty well.
The full-size spare on F150s though is normally an 18 inch version, even when, like mine, the truck has 20 inch wheels. My previous generation F150 was the same, 18 inch spare with 20 inch wheels
Yep, I'm basically reading this thread and scratching my head "where DO you no-flats people drive?". We drive about 25K/y and easily average 1 tire a year.
I think most sedans (especially smaller or sporty ones) and some of the sportier SUVs (i.e. something you would never offroad) tend to have donuts these days, or have run flat tires. Basically, anything with minimal trunk space tends to either lack a spare (run flats) or has an undersize one (donut).
Hmm... you know where I drive. I can remember maybe 4 slow leaks (which resulted in tire replacements for 3, and a wheel replacement for one), and only two real flats I've had in 25 years.
One was on a drive to Blacksburg from DC, and a slow leak turned into a fast leak just as I was heading for the garage to get it looked at... by the time I went inside to get someone and walked back out it had ruptured and the tire was completely flat. Lucky that I made it! The other was in a parking lot, and is the only time I've changed a tire on my car (a VW Jetta that actually came with a full sized spare).
This season's 'score' was on Mass Avenue headed to the DC REI. If I hadn't been down at the back bumper hooking on the kayak straps I almost wouldn't have noticed -two sheetmetal screws clean in between tread blocks. Every time I think of driving that through the 395 access tunnel it gives me the heebie jeebies.
Last season's score was a gashed sidewall on 29 coming back from Charlottesville.
Year before that, Crystal City on the waterpark side, just after the Armed Forces ride. I actually saw the piece of metal flashing that did it.
Year before that was on the 401 near Cobourg. I'm betting it was plow or crash debris covered over by fresh snow. Managed to roll into Northumbria mall at 6mph on the flat- and not get killed by speeders from behind - and actually find a tire shop open - paid 3x the online price and was happy.
Year before that was first week December, on NY 7 between Vermont and Troy. I put the compact spare on but one thing they don't tell you is that a compact spare will cause sideways slide in slippery conditions; snow was getting about 2 inches deep on downtown streets. I had really nice Contis on that year but the shop couldn't find anything in that size with matching tread - oh hey, try these much-cheaper Kumhos. Good thing too, as it saved me money during all the above *rolleyes*. Oh and the Kumhos were flipping deadly in WVa - both getting up the condo access road at Tline and headed back north on 219 - which is why herself's yellow VW with the nice Contis on it got pulled into ski car duty for the rest of the season.
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I've had only 2 flats since we got a 2009 Honda. One was a broken side wall from a curb hit, the other was a leaking TPMS monitor. Before that, I can remember at least 15, including 4 from the nails picked up in the same construction zone. That was a hard week.
I never had a flat that ruined a powder day or disrupted a vacation or even made me late for happy hour.
dm
I never had a flat that ruined a powder day or disrupted a vacation or even made me late for happy hour.
dm
Misery loves company...I will - but only after you flat
2 flats this last summer. 05 Ford 500 has real tire. Kids 01 Civic "ricer", donut. That tire didn't do much good if the kid doesn't have a jack and wrench in the car.
Also cost him about $500 in new tires and springs.
Also cost him about $500 in new tires and springs.
I don't know whether to be mad or thankful about this thread. After reading this thread, I checked my tires. Now, I'm terrified. I have one tire that has weird wear that threatens the integrity of the tire. The spare might be rusted frozen in its mount. I was planning to get new tires for snow season. It looks like I might have to buy tires early.
New tires are the best defense against needing a spare. Still, with my lake several miles in on a dirt road, tires don't last. I flat frequently.
Eric
New tires are the best defense against needing a spare. Still, with my lake several miles in on a dirt road, tires don't last. I flat frequently.
Eric
My 2014 BMW X1 came with run-flats. No donut tire. Not even a jack or lug wrench. I hated the harsh ride of the run flats. One thing they don't tell you is after you drive it the 50 miles at no more than 50 mph, the tire is toast and needs to be replaced. I now have normal tires and carry a 12V compressor and a plug kit.
Maybe spares aren't useful anymore. After checking the Focus truck more carefully, I decided to run to Marysville for new tires (none in stock in Truckee in my size). So I put the spare on. Fortunately I used plenty of anti seize on the spare mount so it did come off.
Aside, when the Focus truck isn't in the salty snow of Tahoe, it lives in the salt blast at the beach in San Diego unless it is driving on the dirt road to the lake by the Salton Sea. There's a recurring theme here, salt. The car is subject to massive corrosion. But it's a 2013 - not an old beater. Even if it is abused.
Several pounds of salty dust filled the spare, cough cough. The jack actually turned (anti seize!) but I used the nice floor jack in the garage. Despite the anti seize on the lugnuts, I still had to use a breaker bar on the fancy socket set to get the lugnuts loose. No breaker bars in the roadside tool kit. Then the wheel was rusted on to the axle. No luck with a hammer or little wonderbar. The giant pry bar and some famous words got the wheel off. I didn't see a big prybar in the car toolkit. The spare wouldn't seat properly until I wire brushed the axle and the spare to get rid of the rust. Honestly, this was not a possible roadside activity.
Stay ahead of your tires so you never need a spare.
Eric
Aside, when the Focus truck isn't in the salty snow of Tahoe, it lives in the salt blast at the beach in San Diego unless it is driving on the dirt road to the lake by the Salton Sea. There's a recurring theme here, salt. The car is subject to massive corrosion. But it's a 2013 - not an old beater. Even if it is abused.
Several pounds of salty dust filled the spare, cough cough. The jack actually turned (anti seize!) but I used the nice floor jack in the garage. Despite the anti seize on the lugnuts, I still had to use a breaker bar on the fancy socket set to get the lugnuts loose. No breaker bars in the roadside tool kit. Then the wheel was rusted on to the axle. No luck with a hammer or little wonderbar. The giant pry bar and some famous words got the wheel off. I didn't see a big prybar in the car toolkit. The spare wouldn't seat properly until I wire brushed the axle and the spare to get rid of the rust. Honestly, this was not a possible roadside activity.
Stay ahead of your tires so you never need a spare.
Eric
Thread Starter
TS
We know about corrosion issues up here too! If you are regularly rotating your summer tires and taking them on and off for winter tires you should be ahead of the curve there. I also always check the spare and its pressure anytime the other tires are touched. Underside spares are a whole other problem that I am very glad I don't have to deal with but more frequent inspection would have prevented what you had to go through and allowed for 'roadside use'.
"You can pay now or you will pay later"
Removing tires so I can remove tires just doesn't make sense to me.
New tires got me some peace of mind. Made the trip down to Marysville on the donut safely. Made the trip home to San Diego on the new tires. Now I need to fix the suspension so the weird wear doesn't happen. And get stainless carriage bolts for the spare. More anti seize!
Eric
New tires got me some peace of mind. Made the trip down to Marysville on the donut safely. Made the trip home to San Diego on the new tires. Now I need to fix the suspension so the weird wear doesn't happen. And get stainless carriage bolts for the spare. More anti seize!
Eric