Alternative For Carrying A Spare Tire

[kings1527]

I was at a class the other day that dealt with electric and hybrid cars and apparently a lot of manufacturers are considering not using spare tires anymore, whether a full-size spare or the reduced size. A lot of it has to do with sacrificing weight and space.

As an alternative, some manufacturers (such as Chevy with the Volt) have included a small air compressor along with tire sealant. Simply fill the tire with the sealant and then inflate the tire again. Barring a catastropic failure in the first place with your tire, it should be enough for you to make it where you need to go.

So I started rooting around Sears the other day and for $20 they have this kit available:

IMG_4309.jpg

It has everything you need for $20 and I haven't exactly heard anything bad about it (yet). My spare tire on my DeLorean is original and of course the tire itself is over 31 years old, so there's no way it'd be a good idea to use it when the time comes. So away to storage it goes. Less weight and a little more space. I might even tuck in my amplifier in the spare tire storage instead.

Alex
6575

[Dangermouse]

I noted this a couple of weeks ago too

http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?55...highlight=soul

[David T]

Don't forget your AAA card too. It would seem to be the way of the future. Corvettes don't have spares anymore. I just got a GMC hybred and it doesn't have a spare, just the compressor and the tire sealant. I remember when you got a spacer saver doughnut and a heavy bottle of high pressure air to fill it. The bottom line, if you don't hit anything that can destroy your tire (like a curb or a big piece of metal) and you run on tires less than 7 years old, you should be OK. Check your tire pressure regularly. If you have a slow leak you probably have a nail in it. Getting those tire repair kits where you stick a piece of "rope" into the hole can also be cheap insurance.
David Teitelbaum

[ccurzio]

Barring a catastropic failure in the first place with your tire, it should be enough for you to make it where you need to go.

See, this right here is why eliminating a real spare tire is a horrible idea. A spare will cover you in minor and major tire blowouts, whereas a sealant kit will only cover minor issues. Why would you DOWNGRADE your emergency repair solution? That's retarded.

I might even tuck in my amplifier in the spare tire storage instead.

You're going to want to insulate/seal the compartment if you do this.

[DMCMW Dave]

Why would you DOWNGRADE your emergency repair solution? That's retarded.

Apparently so are most current car companies then, since many new cars don't have spares and more are being designed like this to save weight and space. Cell phones have more or less made them obsolete, as well as the fact that 95% (made-up statistic based on observations) of drivers nowadays wouldn't know how (or want to) to change a tire if their life depended on it. If you are running the original DMC spare tire as a spare you may as well leave it at home anyway. If it's even holding air, it won't drive on the car for very long.

Disclaimer - I still have one in my car. I have no idea whether or not there is air in it.

Here's an open question (maybe someone should setup a survey - How many years have you been driving? How many times have you actually used a spare to move your car after a flat tire? In my case - about 40 years, and I can think of one time. Way back when I was buying used tires. . .

[jackb]

I've owned well over 10 cars in the last 15 years and only used a spare once (sort of twice).
About 4 1/2 years ago, i was in a hurry (my own dumb fault) cut a corner too sharp and ripped the sidewall of my tire open on a sharp corner of a sewer grate. My truck at the time had a full size spare, so I changed it and was on my way.
I was still driving on the spare a week later when I was in an accident and the truck was totaled.
That accident blew out another tire, so I picked up a bald used garbage tire for a few bucks to thrown on the truck so I could push it around (eventually sold the wreck later)

In both of those cases, sealant would have been worthless. I'd definitely rather have an actual tire, for the same reason I wear a seatbelt- when you need it, nothing else will do.

[Jeff K]

Ive been driving for over 30 years , Ive used a spare many times. I lived in a new development (at the time y2000) new construction and their was a lot of road debris for number of years. I had a new car too at the time. Changed it at least 4 times.

But progress is progress I guess

[ccurzio]

How many years have you been driving? How many times have you actually used a spare to move your car after a flat tire? In my case - about 40 years, and I can think of one time. Way back when I was buying used tires. . .

Disclaimer: I always buy new tires, and I don't skimp on brand/quality.

I've been driving for 18 years, and I've needed a spare tire four times over that time period (that I can remember). Out of those four instances, two of them would not have been helped by sealant and air compressor. They were catastrophic enough to be unpatchable and require a full replacement. The most recent instance was one of those massive failures, and I was very happy that Audi includes a full-size spare. (It was a rainy day and the tire blew on the interstate and my girlfriend and I really needed to get home.)

With cars being as fuel efficient as they are these days and as powerful as they are, the whole notion of not including a spare "to save weight" is ridiculous. The weight added to a car by a spare tire is negligible compared to cargo, or even passengers. Automobile manufacturers aren't doing it to save weight, they're doing it to save money. Cellphone coverage isn't available everywhere (I'm currently taking a road trip across the country and I can vouch for this in LOTS of places), and even if there was coverage I could easily change a tire in a fraction of the time it would take to call for a tow, have them show up, tow me to a shop and have THEM change my tire. (And as for the people who don't know how to change a tire? They need to learn. Simple.)

Even if you've gone 50 years without ever needing a spare tire, it's as simple as this: I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. I will never ever buy a car that did not include a spare tire.

[Dangermouse]

In the past 20 years I have had two occurrences where a tire has needed changed, one at the side of an interstate in AL in pre-cellphone days and one here in ATL 3 years ago (that was the bad one as it was my wife who had the car - she had to get a "Manuel" at the gas station to change it for her)

Recently, I had two nails-in-tires that were discovered by the TPMS before they deflated. TPMS may be a large part of why spares are disappearing.

Here's another twist - My 2010 Grand Caravan supposedly has a spare tire. Whether is is full size or donut, I do not know. Whether it has air or not, I do not know. Hell, whether it is even present, I do not know. Why - because to allow the presence of the flip down Stow and Go seating, the spare is located in a cavity under the car, midway between the driver's and front passenger's seats. There is a hex bolt head in the floor and you use a long socket type wrench to lower the wheel to the ground and then a shepherds crook type thing to pull it out from underneath.

You need a lift to check the air in the spare and two men to put the spare back in place.

So honestly, will I (or more importantly, my wife) ever use this damn thing. I think not. 1-800-AAA will be called. But if, as Chris points out, if I am in a dead zone, I guess I'll have to and hope it is still functional.

[Exolis]

Apparently so are most current car companies then, since many new cars don't have spares and more are being designed like this to save weight and space. Cell phones have more or less made them obsolete, as well as the fact that 95% (made-up statistic based on observations) of drivers nowadays wouldn't know how (or want to) to change a tire if their life depended on it. If you are running the original DMC spare tire as a spare you may as well leave it at home anyway. If it's even holding air, it won't drive on the car for very long.

Disclaimer - I still have one in my car. I have no idea whether or not there is air in it.

Here's an open question (maybe someone should setup a survey - How many years have you been driving? How many times have you actually used a spare to move your car after a flat tire? In my case - about 40 years, and I can think of one time. Way back when I was buying used tires. . .

Agreed, they are doing this more for Fuel Efficient Vehicles. I doubt we'll see Spares being taken off of Trucks and SUVs anytime soon since companies know they are used in rougher conditions and really popular out in the country, so it would be silly not to have a spare. While stuff like the Volt is not designed for Off Roading and reducing any unnesccary weight will improve mileage, so it makes sense to do the fix-a-flat thing instead.