Alternative For Carrying A Spare Tire

[Bill Robertson's Sock Puppet #1]

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?

I personally rode in a DeLorean that in 2010 sliced one of its rear sidewalls on a piece of jagged concrete pavement while traveling away from home. Fortunately the owner carried a full size radial spare, not a donut spare, because he had to drive all over an unfamiliar city to find an in stock 235/60-15 tire. Fix-a-Flat would have been useless in this case. AAA would have towed him to the first tire shop and left him there, irrespective of a suitable tire being in stock. Had this incident happened after hours, the owner would have been stuck overnight.

[kings1527]

I noted this a couple of weeks ago too

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

Thanks for that link. I must've missed it. There was great conversation there.

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 see what you're saying about downgrading, but I actually think there's been some good research and thought behind it. I'd venture a guess and say that car companies findings have been that the majority of people don't suffer catastrophic damage and are relatively a short distance to a qualified repair/replacement center. So all that they would need is something to keep them going and get them there. Also include modern cars with tire sensors that'll throw a light when the pressure is too low. That could help save someone from running on a flat and destroying their tire. Not to mention, run-flat tires which are being discussed right now in this thread. So I think modern technology has also helped tire sealant become a viable option.

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

Thanks for that! I think I'd also rest it on washers to keep it somewhat elevated in the event of a leak.

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. . .

I've been driving for nearly 20 years and out of maybe 7-8 times I've had tire problems, only about twice I can think of where I had to put a spare on. And only once it was something catastrophic that I did not cause and tire sealant wouldn't have helped. Everything else was either easily repairable, very slow leak to where I had a matter of days to take care of it, or my negligence from being young and driving too far on a really flat tire. I think preventive maintance and regularly checking your tires for damage and wear problems is huge.

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.

Totally agree with that. People who have SUVs and Trucks could care less about the weight. They need performance and don't want to get stuck without a spare when they're 30 miles deep in the backwoods.

Alex
6575

[Shep]

Here's what I don't get: they're replacing the spare with this fix-a-flat crap to save on costs, right? Yet they are openly inviting a lawsuit against them for someone with major tire damage who uses it and attempts to drive off in it. If a tire's sidewall is slashed, this isn't going to fix it, but you know some idiot will try it anyways. And when he does, guess who's lawyering up? Even a settlement more than offsets the costs savings from omitting the spare. In this corporate America, where anyone can sue for the most idiotic reasons, they're actually making it easier for the suing party. At some point they're going to learn this the hard way, and frankly, considering how long they've been doing this, I'm amazed it hasn't happened yet.

Why am I the one coming up with this crap when it's the idiots who excel at low-level creativity such as this?

That's retarded.

Please don't use that word in that manner. Nothing against you personally, but it really irks me any time I see that offensive term used lightheartedly like that.

[Chris4099]

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.

This! TPMS is required on all new cars now and will give you warning to a tire running low on pressure (the most frequent cause of a random total blowout). I accomplish the same thing with a D by simply checking the pressure on a regular basis. Between that and run-flats becoming more common, the spare tire is as obsolete as ignition points. Sure, some like to point out that a compressor, fix-a-flat and cell phone aren't 100% reliable, but neither is a spare. How many people that rely on spares can't use them because they are too old (like the ones in most DeLoreans), out of air (very common from not getting frequent checking/maintenance), or somehow had multiple blowouts?

A compressor is fast and way quicker then putting on a spare, so I'll keep doing that and has been all I've needed in about 8-10 flats I've had in the last 12 years.

[ccurzio]

Please don't use that word in that manner. Nothing against you personally, but it really irks me any time I see that offensive term used lightheartedly like that.

It's not an offensive term. It's English, and wholly appropriate:

retard [ ri-tahrd, for 1–3, 5; ree-tahrd for 4 ]

verb (used with object)
1. to make slow; delay the development or progress of (an action, process, etc.); hinder or impede.

verb (used without object)
1. to be delayed.

noun
1. a slowing down, diminution, or hindrance, as in a machine.

It's only offensive if you want it to be, and there is a world of difference between "you're retarded" and "that's retarded". One is a derogatory insult. The other is not. Just because a word means something in one context doesn't mean that's always what it means in all contexts.

A downgraded emergency repair solution is a hindrance. Retarded.

This! TPMS is required on all new cars now and will give you warning to a tire running low on pressure (the most frequent cause of a random total blowout). I accomplish the same thing with a D by simply checking the pressure on a regular basis. Between that and run-flats becoming more common, the spare tire is as obsolete as ignition points. Sure, some like to point out that a compressor, fix-a-flat and cell phone aren't 100% reliable, but neither is a spare. How many people that rely on spares can't use them because they are too old (like the ones in most DeLoreans), out of air (very common from not getting frequent checking/maintenance), or somehow had multiple blowouts?

A compressor is fast and way quicker then putting on a spare, so I'll keep doing that and has been all I've needed in about 8-10 flats I've had in the last 12 years.

Again, it's still a matter of needing and not having versus not needing and having. Nothing is 100% reliable, but a spare tire is still more reliable than the fix-a-flat solution. Me, I carry both - a spare tire, as well as a can of fix-a-flat as part of my emergency kit.

And spare tires ARE supposed to be maintained, just like the rest of them. Forgetting to maintain it isn't the spare tire's fault or a flaw in having it. You're pointing out the unreliability aspects of having a spare as being a lack of maintenance. So it stands to reason that maintaining a spare (again, as should be done anyway) makes it a perfectly reliable solution. Exactly my point.

Though now I'm pondering what would be involved in designing a pressure warning system for my D.

[Shep]

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.

It's not an offensive term. It's English, and wholly appropriate:

[definition]

It's only offensive if you want it to be, and there is a world of difference between "you're retarded" and "that's retarded". One is a derogatory insult. The other is not. Just because a word means something in one context doesn't mean that's always what it means in all contexts.

A downgraded emergency repair solution is a hindrance. Retarded.

That doesn't even remotely begin to fit in with the context that you used it in, and neither does your explanation. Here is how Google defines "retarded":

Less advanced, esp. mentally, than is usual for one's age

Princeton:

mentally retarded: people collectively who are mentally retarded; "he started a school for the retarded"

relatively slow in mental or emotional or physical development; "providing a secure and sometimes happy life for the retarded"

Dictoinary.com:

characterized by retardation: a retarded child.

The context you used it in referred to these definitions. You don't see people using the "N" word to describe the color of a tire, and in case you haven't noticed, the word "retarded" has pretty much dropped out of everyone's vocabulary. There's a reason for that. I would greatly appreciate it if you could stop being such a dick about it and just stop using its slang definition.

[DMC5180]

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

I'm sure your spare has AIR in it. I'm also sure it's Low on AIR PRESSURE.

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. . .

30 yrs driving.

5 actual driving flat tire events. 5 different vehicles 2 were "Courtesy cars" no charge but use at "own risk". 4 events relied on using the Full Size Spare. All Spares were low on pressure but had enough to allow me to drive SLOWLY to a nearby service station or farmers air compressor)

One was a Hidden Road Hazard DOUBLE Blowout during a Snow Storm in Eau Claire WI. Winter of 07 or 08. Both Driver side tires got slashed by Steel angle legs/feet protruding from a construction Zone Barricade turned side ways on the road shoulder. 8 inches of unplowed snow covered them. Needles to say that was an adventure. The good thing was that it happened near an exit in front of the Eau Claire Mall Sears tire center (After hours). I was able to hobble the car into their Unplowed parking lot. A nice fellow stopped to offer assistance ( I accepted) and took me to local motel a a half mile away. The Next day I got 2 new tires and was on my way home.

[ccurzio]

"Mentally retarded" is not the same thing as "retarded" so stop trying to imply that I said something I didn't. I'm sorry you're offended, but you're getting bent out of shape for absolutely no reason. That's like getting mad at someone for using the term "niggardly".

P.S.: if you've ever used the terms "dumb" or "stupid" (you have) you should hate yourself for the same reason you hate me because while "retard" is a generic word to mean "impede progress", "dumb" and "stupid" are SPECIFIC terms that directly reference mental disabilities.

Needles to say that was an adventure.

[DMC5180]

DOH! You got me on that one.

[Ron]

Oh Oh...The Off Topic Gauge:
Discussion Gauge.jpg