Spare me the Excuses!

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Spare me the Excuses!

Post by Rope-Pusher »

Flat Lining: One Third of 2015 Vehicles Missing Spare Tire

"While each four-pound kit eliminates approximately 30 pounds of weight, resulting in minimal savings in fuel consumption, the replacement cost is high. With some kits costing up to $300 per use, a tire inflator kit can cost consumers up to 10 times more than a simple tire repair and has a shelf life of only four to eight years."

AAA tested the most common tire inflator kits in today’s vehicles and found that the units worked well in some scenarios, but they are not a substitute for a spare tire. For an inflator kit to work effectively, a tire must be punctured in the tread surface and the object must remain in the tire. Used correctly, the kit then coats the inner wall of the tire with a sealant and a compressor re-inflates the tire. If the puncture-causing object is no longer in the tire, a sidewall is damaged or a blowout occurs, a tire inflator kit cannot remedy the situation and the vehicle will require a tow.

http://newsroom.aaa.com/2015/11/flat-li ... pare-tire/
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Re: Spare me the Excuses!

Post by wannabe »

i *hate* cars without spares. everyone thinks they have one, cuz why not? cars came for YEARS/DECADES/MILLENIA with spares....now they're doing away with it....

everyone except for rich snobby people in fancy cars without spares go "of course i have a spare, why wouldn't i?" Um because they're making cars without them now? to save "weight" and "money"
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Re: Spare me the Excuses!

Post by watkins »

If it ever comes to the point where I buy a vehicle without a spare you can bet the first thing Ill do is get a spare kit for it.
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Re: Spare me the Excuses!

Post by Squint »

Heh, coincidentally, I used my spare tire twice this weekend. The Fiesta had a flat when I walked out from work on Friday evening, so I put on the spare, took it home, filled up the normal tire on Saturday morning, and let it sit overnight. On Sunday morning, it was flat again - so spare went back on, took it over to Goodyear place who told me they fix flats for free.

Turns out they do! It was apparently a leak at the bead that caused slow deflation. My only payment was two signatures and they held onto the wheel for a couple of hours. I was pleasantly surprised.
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Re: Spare me the Excuses!

Post by theholycow »

Wow. I thought free repairs were limited to plugging tread punctures. Did they have to dismount, remount, and balance?
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Re: Spare me the Excuses!

Post by Rope-Pusher »

theholycow wrote:
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Did they have to dismount, remount, and balance?
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Re: Spare me the Excuses!

Post by tankinbeans »

watkins wrote:If it ever comes to the point where I buy a vehicle without a spare you can bet the first thing Ill do is get a spare kit for it.
But but you're going to give up the minimal fuel savings and speed gains for piece of mind? The hell man.
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Re: Spare me the Excuses!

Post by Squint »

theholycow wrote:Wow. I thought free repairs were limited to plugging tread punctures. Did they have to dismount, remount, and balance?
No idea. It seems to drive fine. I literally don't even have paperwork to show for it. Though I guess I could call and get a copy of what they did if I were curious. Also holds air better than it did three days ago...
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Re: Spare me the Excuses!

Post by Tups »

The ST doesn't have a spare tire - there's no space under the trunk. Last summer, when I drove to Norway and back, I took one of my winter tires as a spare just in case.
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Re: Spare me the Excuses!

Post by six »

I specifically ordered my SS with the full-size spare for this exact reason. Now I drive around with peace-of-mind of not having a donut spare in case of an emergency, but a fifth wheel-and-tire-combo complete replacement to use at any time.
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Re: Spare me the Excuses!

Post by theholycow »

six wrote:I specifically ordered my SS with the full-size spare for this exact reason. Now I drive around with peace-of-mind of not having a donut spare in case of an emergency, but a fifth wheel-and-tire-combo complete replacement to use at any time.
Good choice. I assume you have some nice rims...when you've got nice rims it's a good idea to buy a full-size spare when you buy the wheels (or the car they come on). If you should ever damage a wheel then you will have a matching one to put on, rather than struggling to find one. If it's an ultra-common car with an OEM rimjob then you could score one from a junkyard easily enough, but for something less common (SS) or aftermarket rims, not so much.

Then, to mitigate some of the cost, you can add it to your tire rotation schedule so you'll use up the extra tire and extend the life of the other four tires, as well as keeping that spare's wear matched in case you ever destroy and need to replace one. That way you've really only paid for an extra wheel, not an extra tire, over the life of the car.
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Re: Spare me the Excuses!

Post by tankinbeans »

Mrs. Frizzle has a full sized spare on a ghetto steelie. Not the same size as the factory summer rims, but overall diameter is the same.
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Re: Spare me the Excuses!

Post by Rope-Pusher »

Tups wrote:The ST doesn't have a spare tire - there's no space under the trunk. Last summer, when I drove to Norway and back, I took one of my winter tires as a spare just in case.
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Re: Spare me the Excuses!

Post by six »

theholycow wrote:
six wrote:I specifically ordered my SS with the full-size spare for this exact reason. Now I drive around with peace-of-mind of not having a donut spare in case of an emergency, but a fifth wheel-and-tire-combo complete replacement to use at any time.
Good choice. I assume you have some nice rims...when you've got nice rims it's a good idea to buy a full-size spare when you buy the wheels (or the car they come on). If you should ever damage a wheel then you will have a matching one to put on, rather than struggling to find one. If it's an ultra-common car with an OEM rimjob then you could score one from a junkyard easily enough, but for something less common (SS) or aftermarket rims, not so much.

Then, to mitigate some of the cost, you can add it to your tire rotation schedule so you'll use up the extra tire and extend the life of the other four tires, as well as keeping that spare's wear matched in case you ever destroy and need to replace one. That way you've really only paid for an extra wheel, not an extra tire, over the life of the car.
Yes, I do got some nice rims lol. Actually, the option was $500 for an Alcoa forged 19" wheel and 245-profile Bridgestone Potenza RE050A, a $1000+ value. It's almost stupid not to get it. However, I cannot use it in rotation. The tires are directional, and the rear wheels are staggered width hhaha. Hey, look on the bright side, at least I don't have to remember to rotate my tires!! :lol:
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Re: Spare me the Excuses!

Post by potownrob »

six wrote:However, I cannot use it in rotation. The tires are directional, and the rear wheels are staggered width hhaha. Hey, look on the bright side, at least I don't have to remember to rotate my tires!! :lol:
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