Just an FYI - in conversing with a Firestone service writer he recommended replacing the spare tire if it is over 10 years old - even if it had never been used. This was in reference to the full size spare on my Ram that gets no direct sunlight exposure, but is exposed to all other elements since it is stored underneath the bed just behind the rear bumper and hitch assembly.
The Spare Tire Thread
This thread is to be all about spare tires. Given the age of many of our cars, our spares are probably due for replacement. What have you done, or how have you addressed this? Can be anything from, "I had to add a spare to my SRT car that didn't come with one," to, "I had to buy a new T125/90-18 to replace the old one," or anything else relevant...
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That is excellent advice. Dry rot is an almost invisible tire issue that will inevitably surface at the most inopportune time. The time factor was what led me to discover the difficulties in maintaining large truck spares. Also many years ago I had a very disappointing experience learning the hard lesson about old spares.Doug D said:...a Firestone service writer he recommended replacing the spare tire if it is over 10 years old - even if it had never been used.
I was a younger man in the military home on leave, preparing to embark on a cross country road trip with my old '70 New Yorker. I stored it at my father's house for about nine years. I did meticulous storage preparations on the car before going overseas nine years earlier to include draining, flushing and/or replacing all the fluids, treating the fuel lines, blocking it up, removed battery and last but not least: new tires. Bad idea. Halfway across Kansas on a particularly hot day they started to blow. No biggies, I thought. I was prepared with THREE spares in the trunk. Of course they were all older than the "new" old ones. Twenty miles later - BOOM-WHOOSH! Another blowout. Then another. And before I had gone a hundred miles since the first blowout I was on the side of I-70 with another flat and 3 flat tires in the trunk.
Never again. As they say - hard lessons are well learned.
So, you are saying that the "new" tires were installed before you stored it?
Yes, that's what happened. It needed tires at the time, and I did not then know how long I was going to be away. I certainly did not expect it to be nine years, but that's how it turned out. Traveling around overseas in the military can be fairly unpredictable.
Heh. The salesman tried to tell me, when I bought my seventeen-year-old car with original tires, that he would just drive it until there was a problem.
HA. Friggin' idiot.
Needless to say, before I took it on the freeway after buying it I put tires on it. Around town for a couple days while the tires were ordered was one thing, but I was not going to be going anywhere with distance or speed like that.
HA. Friggin' idiot.
Needless to say, before I took it on the freeway after buying it I put tires on it. Around town for a couple days while the tires were ordered was one thing, but I was not going to be going anywhere with distance or speed like that.
After a lifetime of driving, going spare-less is dumb and thinking this wont bite you is dumber. I have had blowouts at speed, and flats due to: The valve stem rubber letting go. The tire leisurely deflating itself due to a crack in the sidewall while the car was parked. A bulge in the tread that thumped the car all the way home. A spiral shanked nail nailing the sidewall,
etc etc...
While the skinny donuts are way better than nothing, I like a full size spare, the same wheel and tire as the other 4. That way you can even due an old school 5 tire rotation.
etc etc...
While the skinny donuts are way better than nothing, I like a full size spare, the same wheel and tire as the other 4. That way you can even due an old school 5 tire rotation.
I love the 5 tire rotation on the minivan. My girlfriend bought a Saturn with 6 year old tires from a little old lady that barely drove the car and the tread looked great. My g/f started complaining about a vibration about a month after buying the car, turned out the rubber treads were disintegrating while she drove and a chunk was missing from the drivers tire. Pull out the spare and its original and cracked up and down the thing. She ended up getting 5 new tires after that.
Ha ha. Sounds like my '74 Valiant. Except I only had two original tires and it came with two spares. Two of the tires were snows from the early 1980s. It's one of those that died on its trip to my house from where I bought it.
Well, I am happy to report that I was able to fit the spare tire kit of my Challenger 392 into the back of my 300 SRT.
It fits perfectly, and the best part is I didn't have to remove any subwoofers this time...
It fits perfectly, and the best part is I didn't have to remove any subwoofers this time...
I think ultimately "run-flat" is the way to go. More and more cars are coming equipped with them these days and it is just a matter of time before the concept of the old "spare tire" becomes a thing of the past.
Aren't those just as susceptible to being sliced open too though?acewiza said:I think ultimately "run-flat" is the way to go. More and more cars are coming equipped with them these days and it is just a matter of time before the concept of the old "spare tire" becomes a thing of the past.
Except on Jeeps.acewiza said:I think ultimately "run-flat" is the way to go. More and more cars are coming equipped with them these days and it is just a matter of time before the concept of the old "spare tire" becomes a thing of the past.
Sure. You just don't need a spare to make it home or to the nearest tire store.UN4GTBL said:Aren't those just as susceptible to being sliced open too though?
You do when home is 200 miles away and the tire stores are all closed 'cause it's Sunday.acewiza said:Sure. You just don't need a spare to make it home or to the nearest tire store.
And run-flats have their own issues.
I have never owned a set, but from what others have told me they have a harsher ride.
There is also the availability issue... when it is time to replace them, can you get them? in your size? what are your options? what do they cost?
I have never owned a set, but from what others have told me they have a harsher ride.
There is also the availability issue... when it is time to replace them, can you get them? in your size? what are your options? what do they cost?
Then they have these things called tow trucks...ptschett said:You do when home is 200 miles away and the tire stores are all closed 'cause it's Sunday.
They are more common than you think. We have them on my wife's car and I cannot tell any difference in the way they ride and handle. They are about $30 more per tire than the same conventional model.Jeff2KPatriotBlue said:There is also the availability issue... when it is time to replace them, can you get them? in your size? what are your options? what do they cost?
I didn't read the whole thread here, but how about those upcoming urethane(?) no-air-pressure jobs? I wonder if the wear/reliability profiles of those will render spares/mini-spares/sealant cans/pressure gauges/etc. near-obsolete?! Whoa Nelly!
...because waiting a few hours for a tow truck, then paying them for 3-4 hours of towing for a single flat tire, then dropping the car off at the nearest tire store to one's home, is an efficient use of time and resources?acewiza said:Then they have these things called tow trucks...
I have no interest in living in that world.
I have AAA!ptschett said:I have no interest in living in that world.
Does AAA get the truck there any faster?
In over a million kilometers of driving, I have had only 2 flats... and both times I was on my way within 20 minutes.
In 2005 it took 3 days to get a replacement tire in to the small town I lived in... and that took some calling around.
In over a million kilometers of driving, I have had only 2 flats... and both times I was on my way within 20 minutes.
In 2005 it took 3 days to get a replacement tire in to the small town I lived in... and that took some calling around.
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