Where's the Spare?

[nissangirl74]

That's a question some new car owners could be asking if they ever have a flat tire. In response to regulators trying to make our newer cars get better mileage, automakers make come up some ingenious weight reduction measures. One of those is omitting a spare tire from the trunk. Some cars are coming with fix-a-flat kits but what if you have a complete blow-out and you are many, many miles from civilization? Then what?
Just a heads up for anyone who is thinking about buying a new car; you might want to double-check.


http://www.thecarconnection.com/news/10 ... nomy-rules

[Bubba1]

That's a question some new car owners could be asking if they ever have a flat tire. In response to regulators trying to make our newer cars get better mileage, automakers make come up some ingenious weight reduction measures. One of those is omitting a spare tire from the trunk. Some cars are coming with fix-a-flat kits but what if you have a complete blow-out and you are many, many miles from civilization? Then what?
Just a heads up for anyone who is thinking about buying a new car; you might want to double-check.


http://www.thecarconnection.com/news/10 ... nomy-rules

Good point. Some manufacturers also delete spare tires when the model comes originally equipped with runflat tires.

[Heavy]

why do i need a spare when i have TREES!


but on a serious note... this might not make any sense to some but why not offer the spare tire as a "free option"? Does the goverment require all cars to be loaded to the heaviest as possible with all options to get the ratings, or do they just base it off the lowest trim available?

[frapjap]

Sometimes I wonder why I even keep the spares in my cars.

For instance, the space-saver spare in the T/A has never been used and still has its original can of propellant- which is great for car shows and associated originality points. The chances that it'll still work are pretty good, however we're talking about OEM equipment that is 24 years old! Is it really worth attempting to use in an emergency? Its better than nothing, right?

On the other hand, the spare will stay in the Miata. Its never been used, and despite being 21 years old, looks to be in excellent shape. Its so light that its worth holding onto and what little space I'll gain in the trunk isn't really worth removing it.

The car that should have a spare the most, the Corolla, had a crappy spare that I took out after it wouldn't hold air after an initial test.

I suppose what this argument comes down to is- is it worth keeping the old-a** spare in your old-a** car with all of the options available today? Now we've got cell phones, AAA, insurance related road side assistance, fix-a-flat etc which makes us less dependent on ourselves. I'm ashamed to think that most kids around driving age from here on out will never know how to change a flat tire. "Oh, I've got AAA for that, hahaha." Thats cool, go ahead and wait 45 minutes for those guys to show up- I'm going to be on my way in 10 minutes.

[Rev_D21]

Hyundai does offer spare tire kits as an add-on if a customer wants. It comes with everything minus the tire itself, let the customer chose their own spare tire to keep costs down.

[ricebike]

what if you have TPMS as well?

i'm hearing mixed results about damaging them if you use this stuff...

We state at our website fixaflat.com that the product
is "Tire Sensor Safe!" Should a problem arise from the use of the
Fix-A-Flat product a claim may be filed with our Feedback and Issue
Department at: 800-237-8645 option 8.
Product Technical Service

and many shops don't like that slime; can't do a proper repair until all of that crap is cleaned off (additional labor & cleaners will now be up-charged to the customer)

i'd rather use a tire plug kit instead & the plug-in air compressor

[300ZXttZMAN]

Yea I am in the salvage business and you would be surprised how many wheels we sell to be used as full sized spares since a compact spare was not even optional.

[alms24sebring]

I drove in the 240 for 5 years without a spare. Thankfully I never got a flat even tho the tires were showing all the cords at one point :gapteeth

First, fix-a-flat is crap. Ive never seen it work and it destroys TPMS sensors. What if you do have a blowout to where it looks like your tire was shot with a shotgun? A spare is important almost like jumper cables, who cares if its not full size. MB have neat spare tires that fold in on themselves when deflated and it saves a ton of space.

[300ZXttZMAN]

NA Z32's came with a steel spare and the blue can.
TT Z32's came with aluminum spare and the blue can.

I still ahve my aluminum spare and the blue can!! The spare has never been used.

[Razi]

I had to ditch my 4 lug spare when I went 5 lug.
Too lazy to put in a replacement. :P

[300ZXttZMAN]

I had to ditch my 4 lug spare when I went 5 lug.
Too lazy to put in a replacement. :P

[MinisterofDOOM]

I think the proper solution to the problem of fix-a-flat ruining TPMS sensors is to get rid of the useless effing TPMS sensors. If you need a sensor to tell you your tires are low on air, you're doing it wrong. I can easily feel a 2-lb variance in tire pressure. The average person should be able to tell if their tires are dangerously low on air without a big exclamation point on the dash lighting up. Probably if your car is pulling left you should check the left side tires. Or maybe you should just GTFO the road and leave the driving to people with functioning synapses.

As far as spares...
I've only ever used a spare tire once, and that was with my Ranger. No risk of weight savings eliminating under-bed spares on trucks.

[Dattebayo]

No risk of weight savings eliminating under-bed spares on trucks.

Unless your name happens to be Anthony and happen to be racing your truck, that is...

[4cefed]

I've had to swap out three flats on my 240 since I've owned it. None of them would have been helped by fix-a-flat. The first time I tried using the 23 year old compact spare, which lasted 5 minutes. But it got me to a tire shop while being slowly destroyed. I now carry a full size spare in the trunk, it doesn't fit in the well, so there's no room for anything else in there.

In fact, I've never had a flat that would have been helped by anything other than a spare.

Kudos to whoever designed that jack for the 92 s13, that thing is awesome!

[alms24sebring]

I think the proper solution to the problem of fix-a-flat ruining TPMS sensors is to get rid of the useless effing TPMS sensors. If you need a sensor to tell you your tires are low on air, you're doing it wrong. I can easily feel a 2-lb variance in tire pressure. The average person should be able to tell if their tires are dangerously low on air without a big exclamation point on the dash lighting up. Probably if your car is pulling left you should check the left side tires. Or maybe you should just GTFO the road and leave the driving to people with functioning synapses.

Unfortunately I think car companies know that some people are stupid about cars. If you turn key, it starts. R means reverse and D means drive. Turn the wheel left, car turns left. Have a weird light that looks like a ribbed bowl with a giant exclamation point in the middle, take it to the shop because its a critical issue. My ex did that like 3 times... Just yesterday I saw this work truck pull onto the main road with an almost completely flat tire. I bet its still that way too.

[Mr1der]

s***, I'm fine with an extra 20-40lbs. Especially if it's a full size spare.

the little donuts should've never been made.

[C-Kwik]

Last time I needed my spare, I didn't have a jack. The only reason the spare was there was to hold up the floor of the trunk.