[Allpar News System]

According to an Allpar Insider, the Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans are going on a diet. In order to shed some weight to meet Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, the minivans are literally going to lose their spare tires next month. The temporary compact spare will be replaced by a portable tire inflation kit with a compressor and foam tire sealant. The weight difference between the spare and the kit is said to be about 28 pounds. Ram Cargo Vans and vehicles built for fleet sales are not included in the change. A "corporate miscalculation" is said to be the driving force behind the change which affects about 70% of the vehicles built at the Windsor Assembly Plant. Fines for failure to meet the standards can bring hefty fines from the federal government. As the full-size spare was deleted to save weight in the..

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[Jeff2KPatriotBlue]

Dealer installed options don`t count against CAFE.

 

[Stratuscaster]

Interesting. I see two ways that could go.

One, just have the dealers install the temp spare upon delivery.

Two, the temp spare now becomes a profit item for the dealer.

 

[MoparDanno]

Interesting. I see two ways that could go.

One, just have the dealers install the temp spare upon delivery.

Two, the temp spare now becomes a profit item for the dealer.

Or 3, AAA membership level rise dramatically.

 

[Jeff2KPatriotBlue]

About a year ago, my brother-in-law bought a KIA. The dealer offered him the sealant kit, or a temp spare for an up-charge. Some quick smart phone searching told him that the up-charge was more than a tire and wheel from an on-line vender, but I don't think he ever ordered one.

 

[Mopar392]

What I don't understand is, if you are losing you spare tire you should be on fun-flats. The repair kit is usually associate with the run-flat tires..

 

[valiant67]

Or 3, AAA membership level rise dramatically.

I think AAA's road service only includes the installation of your own spare tire so if there's no spare to put on it's still gonna cost a AAA member.

 

[Doug D]

So I guess if you don't have a spare, I'd guess you'd end up getting it towed.

FWIW, it's been a long, long time since I've had a flat. Guess I have been very fortunate.

 

[MoparNorm]

What I don't understand is, if you are losing you spare tire you should be on fun-flats. The repair kit is usually associate with the run-flat tires..

Reading between the lines, this is an emergency measure to avoid a fine from the EPA.
Look for dealer installed options, at the time of purchase.

 

[AutoTechnician]

What I don't understand is, if you are losing you spare tire you should be on fun-flats. The repair kit is usually associate with the run-flat tires..

Runflat tires do not nee to be repaired - hence run flat. Their sidewalls/tread are designed extra stiff. The inflation kits are for standard tires. They come with a little tube of tire sealant and a 12V compressor.

 

[Dave Z]

Generally I don't think these are a good idea ... I wonder about the veracity of the story and yes I know where it's posted...

 

[Tomguy]

Hm, my clicking the story took me to the post in the minivan forum, I'll echo it here as well:
I'd rather have a full-size spare than a donut or no tire, even if it meant losing a whole MPG or two. And I can't imagine 28lbs for the donut costing even a single MPG.

All of my vehicles have a full-size spare. I've had to use too many spare tires in my life (thanks, NE PA roads) to NOT do so.

Norm, I understand the "Emergency" to avoid a fine but I fail to see how a 28lb spare tire nets any appreciable CAFE gain for the company. I know it's a large fleet of vehicles. But at the same time, curb weight of the lightest Grand Caravan (SE) is 4,321 lbs. 28 lbs is 0.6% weight loss. I fail to see how it'd net even a half a tenth MPG in the best scenario.

 

[MoparNorm]

Norm, I understand the "Emergency" to avoid a fine but I fail to see how a 28lb spare tire nets any appreciable CAFE gain for the company. I know it's a large fleet of vehicles. But at the same time, curb weight of the lightest Grand Caravan (SE) is 4,321 lbs. 28 lbs is 0.6% weight loss. I fail to see how it'd net even a half a tenth MPG in the best scenario.

And you've been a fuel economy engineer for how long?
Seriously, you can assume they have looked long and hard at this and maybe a tenth is all they need...or the savings will pay for the fine. There is a lot going on here, you can be sure.
Besides if you read all of the posts you'll see that no one is going without a spare, they can be added at the dealership.

 

[CudaPete]

Back in the 80's Ford made a very nice light weight Aluminum temporary spare tire wheel to reduce weight. Fox body Mustang drag racers used to scour the junkyards to find 2 of these wheels to put up front with skinny tires.

 

[Mike V.]

What I don't understand is, if you are losing you spare tire you should be on fun-flats. The repair kit is usually associate with the run-flat tires..

Lots if cars come with the tire inflator kit and non run flat tires.

My Challenger came that way.

Mike

 

[Cdnautowrkr444]

Only Town and Country minivans will come with the inflation kit and even then 30 percent will still have a spare tire

 

[Stratuscaster]

Odd. That would almost imply that a huge number of minivans are part of the "fleet sales exception."

 

[Dave Z]

Or that they are doing it to just enough minivans to get away with it, or only to certain minivan configurations. I wonder if this really is about CAFE or something else entirely. There should be easier ways to boost CAFE numbers, like a month of “$2,000 off Dart Aero!”

 

[Cdnautowrkr444]

It is all about CAFE. The RU is currently on a major weight loss program also

 

[aldo90731]

Sounds like the wrong thing to do. Those few customers still interested in a minivan segment tend to have very traditional, family-oriented values, want predictability and assurance, and are looking for safety for their families, dependability, trusted quality, crash safety, practicality, safe designs, and piece-of-mind for the families....trust, safe, trust, safe, trust, safe...

Taking out the spare tire is moving in the wrong direction.