The death of the spare tire...

[dbostedo]

In the 11 years I've owned my current car I've had a couple of slow leak problems (like need to put air in every few days) that I had to get patched, and never had a flat. I don't think the donut has been out of its storage spot (though it has been checked for pressure).

 

[cantunamunch]

In the 11 years I've owned my current car I've had a couple of slow leak problems (like need to put air in every few days) that I had to get patched, and never had a flat. I don't think the donut has been out of its storage spot (though it has been checked for pressure).

Yeh, I got all yours, thanks ever so much. I had to swear off driving into both Crystal City and Tysons. Nails? Hah. Structural steel pieces. Steel cable wrap. Slivers of ducting. Glass. Auto parts. Auto parts? Yep. Exposed flashing in garage transitions/seams. Hey I got lucky and found a 12mm deep socket in my parking spot last week. Yay.

 

[wutangclan]

Still curious---how are you getting those inevitable flats? I can't remember my last one. I think it was 1993. The volcanic rock around here is pretty nasty stuff, but I never get a flat. Nails don't seem to faze a good tire. I spent an entire winter driving the perimeter of Mexico, 4 wheeling to remote spots to camp, no flats.

My car has 17" rims, which these days isn't even very low profile. 3 years ago on a ski trip I hit a pot hole at 60 km/h which immediately blew the sidewalls on both driver's side tires (front and rear) ... insert joke about the driver being overweight. Last year I got a nail in another tire, resulting in a not-so-slow leak. I'm just one puncture short of a complete set.

The thing about luck is that it's never evenly distributed, whether good or bad. But everyone eventually has their turn.

 

[Tom K.]

Run flats are another topic. The Toyota Sienna AWD puts the transfer case where the spare goes, so they come with run-flats. Horrible tires with no good winter option. I either went with no spare or a spare in the pack-a-sport box. Never had a flat in 130,000 in that rig. Built two houses, and picked up some nails, never went flat.

Mostly agree, however, to balance your good fortune......immediately upon installing non-run-flat Hakkas on our Sienna I drove to JH and picked up a sliver of metal coming down Teton Pass at 8 PM. I ended up using a kitchen chair and a ski pole to sneak a pump out of the storage cage in the underground parking, and just kept pumping it up every day until I went into town for a proper repair. Put the pump back with a ten-spot taped to it. I wonder if the owner ever figured that one out?!

Now I travel with a little electric compressor AND a floor pump. Neither of which, of course, I've needed since that incident.

...ust like in the movie "U Turn", minus the tryst with J. Lo....

Damn, that was a great movie!

 

[cantunamunch]

Now I travel with a little electric compressor AND a floor pump. Neither of which, of course, I've needed since that incident.
!

Me too - except the compressor has been used, mostly to keep TPMS happy but also to correct slow leaks.

 

[Tom K.]

Me too - except the compressor has been used, mostly to keep TPMS happy but also to correct slow leaks.

I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that mine is still in the shrink-wrapped box it came in. REALLY need to test it out once.......

 

[slowrider]

I've had my share of flats and then some. But to be fair that has been over 4 million miles in commercial vehicles. Best one, blew 3 out of 4 on one side of a loaded trailer at hiway speed. The traffic behind me was bobbin & weaving. Stay away from truck tires.

 

[PinnacleJim]

After decades without a flat, I've had two in the 5 years I've owned my current car (BMW X1). I have swapped the awful OE runflats with regular all-season tires and carry a 12V air compressor and plug kit (no spare). Has worked so far, but obviously major tire damage means waiting for a AAA tow.

 

[Pdub]

My 2015 BMW X3 came with run-flats. The ride was noisy and rough. They stink in snow. They are more prone to flats, and when that happens the dealer recommends replacing all 4 unless they're brand new, because they only last about 20k miles. And the real kicker... they're crazy expensive, more than double the cost of regular tires. The only benefit in my opinion is improved mileage due to weight savings (no spare).

So when I had my first flat at around 15k miles, I replaced them with regular all-season tires. Better performance, price and longevity. I carry a compressor and plug kit, which worked when I had another flat. Worked well enough to get to a tire shop. Using these kits seems to ruin tires, but that's mitigated by choosing a tire that's relatively cheap and easy to replace.

BMWs make nice cars but the run-flats are ridiculous. This especially applies to skiers, who are far more likely to drive on snow (where run-flats suck) and rough roads (where run-flats pop) in remote places (where exotic tires cannot be found). If I ever buy another BMW, I'll replace the run-flats with regular tires and a compressor/plug kit before 15,000 miles, flat or no flat. Run-flats are just a huge liability.

I feel for the Audi Q7 owner but he had crazy unrealistic expectations, and clearly had not done his homework.

 

[cantunamunch]

So...have any of you run-flat-giver-uppers reset the factory camber?

 

[Bill Talbot]

So...have any of you run-flat-giver-uppers reset the factory camber?

I always 'blueprint' the camber to the max negative of the factory spec come alignment time. But if the tires are wearing well I won't touch a thing till that changes!

 

[cantunamunch]

I always 'blueprint' the camber to the max negative of the factory spec come alignment time.

 

[sparty]

I've had two flats in about as many decades of driving.

The first was an older snow tire (bought rims & tires used) that failed while headed down I-89/I-91 to a friend's wedding. Pretty sure I failed to check and adjust the air pressure after reinstalling the snows, and after an hour or more at reasonable interstate speeds, one of the driver's-side tires failed. Fortunately, I had the summer wheels in the car, but changing a driver's-side wheel/tire on the edge of the interstate was an experience I don't hope to repeat.

The second was a cut sidewall on a USFS road outside of Red Lodge, Montana. At least I had a pleasant view and good weather while doing the swap (and, thankfully, trucks still have full-size spares).