Experiences with spare tire(less) cars when you have a flat

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Tonight, I was rather pisssssed off.
That car my wife bought.... That new car with the fancy wheels and no spare tire- had a flat.

I didn't need a lesson in how inane the backup plan was- a can of factory fix a flat, a 12v flea powered tire pump, and call your (insert pompous car name here...in this case VOLVO) would be.. but damn I sure got one. it could have been my 997. It could have been BMW... etc... etc...


One exploded can of factory fix a flat on my slacks, two hours of wait for AAA later, the car is back at the house.


My BP meds have run out. I need an entire bottle.


What they don't tell you is this. You knew the lame ass pump wasn't worth a darn... You knew that. But what they don't tell you is that the self priming fix a flat clogs the WHOLE pumping system before it can patch the tire (or fill the tire with air). It also didn't state that the entire nozzle would burst on your work clothes, ruining a good set of wool pants.

In the future, not only will I have a spare, I will have a set of expendable dragon a$$ jeans in the trunk to deal with such crap. (no offense to Tabs....)

The point is this... you CAN be a man of "Wealth and taste"- and still get screwed just as bad as if you were driving the lifelong list of crapheaps I've known and driven...

I was mad... more so because I was unable to fix the issue because of lack of stuff to fix it. I told the first cop, the second cop, about 20 passerby's, and then the AAA tow truck- I literally could have pulled an engine out of a car (911- but I didn't tell them that... ) faster than it took to deal with this one dumb arse tire.....


It's the truth. And in the weeks to come my wife's car will have systems (such as expendable dragon ass jeans) to prevent such a situation from unfolding again.
Venting over....unfarkinfuriating!!!!!!!!

[pwd72s]

Another thing they didn't tell you is that even if the tire goo works, once it's inside the wheel, you have destroyed any tire pressure sensor you may have.

Ford's excuse for not giving a spare to the '08-'09 Bullitt Mustang was that the 18x8.5" stock wheel wouldn't fit inside the stock well for the spare.

I went to a local wrecked-em yard, got the 17" donut spare, jack, lug wrench, etc. from a '09 GT Mustang. $100 total. I'm well aware that if I ran a 17" spare on the back, I could damage the limited slip. So, if I get a flat on the back I might be changing two wheels. Still better than no spare. Never have used it, but that $100 bought some peace of mind...

Oh..I also keep a pair of cheap cotton gloves atop the spare.

Better late than never to remedy things.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

I was secretly denying that issue.
Thanks for the confirmation!

Funny you mention the smaller sized tires... I really wanted to get home to get my spare tires. I would have had to take the rear off the back, put the spare on that, then the good rear on the bad front- bit it would have worked. arghhh.....

[pwd72s]

Not familiar with Volvos, but I hope there is somewhere you can add a spare, maybe a scissors jack, etc. Yeah, take your blood pressure med, pour yourself a drink, and try to relax. This too shall pass...

[masraum]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Another thing they didn't tell you is that even if the tire goo works, once it's inside the wheel, you have destroyed any tire pressure sensor you may have.

Ford's excuse for not giving a spare to the '08-'09 Bullitt Mustang was that the 18x8.5" stock wheel wouldn't fit inside the stock well for the spare.

I went to a local wrecked-em yard, got the 17" donut spare, jack, lug wrench, etc. from a '09 GT Mustang. $100 total. I'm well aware that if I ran a 17" spare on the back, I could damage the limited slip. So, if I get a flat on the back I might be changing two wheels. Still better than no spare. Never have used it, but that $100 bought some peace of mind...

Oh..I also keep a pair of cheap cotton gloves atop the spare.

Better late than never to remedy things.

Interesting. I have a couple pairs of nitrile gloves, but a pair of cotton gloves to go with the nitrile might be good too.

My boxster came with a lug wrench, and a tool to hold/align the wheel while I put the lug bolts in. It did not however come with a jack. It also didn't come with a spare, but it did come with a compressor that runs off of the cigarette lighter. It also came with some goo for pitting inside the tire. After you put the goo in, you can use the compressor. The compressor that came with my boxster is actually pretty good. When one of my tires is low, I used the compressor to top up the tires. It's surprisingly speedy, has a decently long hose and a very long cable. The only downside is that it's LOUD.

Still, it would be nice to have a jack and spare. I have considered, and probably will eventually get a spare and jack from an earlier boxster. I think the 987s just a little older than mine came with them. I just need to confirm that they would clear my brakes.

[rusnak]

^ check that you also have a valve core removal tool.

I sort of suspect that the tire goo was being used improperly, but that's neither here nor there.

I found that no matter what, you won't have a car emergency right in front of an auto parts store. So in the car I carry a VI Air compressor and in the truck I have the big Superflow compressor at all times. The Cayman carries two bottles of the factory tire goo. But I noticed that they say it's only good for 4 years. So I think I'll replace them with a bottle of green Slime. I also have a factory scissor jack, which is small and will raise the car.

Now, because I'm paranoid and have had all manner of tire problems, I have a full extra tire and wheel (not space saver, an actual tire/ wheel) balanced and ready to go for all of my vehicles and trailers back at the shop. If need be, I can get a ride to pick up the full sized tire and floor jack and tools.

[87maniac]

BMW M COUPE. Driving my girl to Monterey, ca for a romantic dinner.

While on hiway 17 (two lane high-speed mountain highway over Santa Cruz mountains with NO MEDIANS.
Blow out on inside right rear tire. No way tire goo can fix that!

Now I'm blocking the right lane, no where to pull off road.
Backing up traffic big time. Everyones PISSED OFF!. Call AAA and flat-bedded home to Campbell.
With flat, now too low for low clearance Floor jack. ARRRRH!

Found some lumber, drove flat wheel up on sticks, now the jack fits.
Take off wheel. Take to tire store. Drive home with new tire on wheel, install.
Drive back to tire store to buy matching tires for other wheels.

Never again will I buy a car without a spare.

[Nickshu]

Very common today. Wife's 2015 Volvo S60R has no spare. There is no "well" designed into the trunk floor. They do have one you can buy as an accessory which raises the trunk floor by about 8-10" which makes the trunk useless for a suitcase. Stupid.

Those of us on this forum are not the average driver. Unfortunately the average driver who cars are sold to wouldn't change a tire anyway.

[Steve Carlton]

The spare kit on the S60R raises the floor 4.5". Sucks. I did it on mine, though.

What year and model is your car, Leaky?

[red-beard]

Is there space for a spare?

I bought a 2011 X5 and it didn't have a spare. After way too many nails ruining very expensive run flat tires, I switched to standard tires and bought a spare tire kit. The X5 has the spot in the hatch area for the spare.

[widebody911]

Same with my E46 M3; I can't even retrofit a spare, as there is no place to put one if I wanted to! I got a flat a few months ago - nicked the curb just right (wrong) while pulling into a restaurant a couple miles from home. I could hear it hissing (front right) when I got out of the car, so I immediately headed back home. I had my wife sit in the back left to counterbalance the weight, and I crept home without any real problems or damage to the wheel. The tire was toast, but I already knew that.

I really like the car other that that, but this will be a consideration next time.

[LakeCleElum]

Goo rarely works.....A plug is a much better roadside repair. Have done it on a motorcycle and come clear across the country to get home.

[manbridge 74]

Haven't run with a spare for 20 years.

Blanket
Gloves
Plug kit
Some sort of better compressor than can be found at most FLAPS
Aluminum scissor jack (from junkedMaxima) to raise body up off tire some. I don't remove wheel
Biceps/triceps

[JackDidley]

I carry this in the Cayman. Hope to never need it. In the 1.5 years before I got new tires I got 4 punctures.

Dynaplug Pro Aluminum Tire Repair Kit | 714-636 | J&P Cycles

[pwd72s]

Bought a new Camry for Cindy as a grocery getter...yes, it's boring as hell to drive. Yes, it came with a standard spare. Just offered as food for thought.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Bought a new Camry for Cindy as a grocery getter...yes, it's boring as hell to drive. Yes, it came with a standard spare. Just offered as food for thought.

I'd rather have no spare...

[GH85Carrera]

Go get a pair of the Tyvek painters overalls. They are in a plastic bag and don't take up much room. Easy to put on over whatever you are wearing. I have a tire plug set for holes. Fix a Flat as a backup and a decent air pump.

I have been lucky with my 911. In the 22 years I have owned it I have only had one slow leak flat and that was the week I bought it. On my daily driver the El Camino I have a spare tire. I also have a spare, spare tire. I keep hanging in the storage building at home. It is a pain to get the tire out and back into the little storage space so it is easier to get a spare rim and put an a tire from the old set when I buy new tires. For a while I drove through a construction area on the way to work and home. I had a flat every few months. Every single time I noticed the low tire I was at home in the garage. It is almost cheating to change a tire in my garage with an impact wrench and a scissor lift with the refrigerator full of cold beer.

[id10t]

Got a flat, spare was flat as well. Called AAA, hour later I was on the tow truck headed to the tire store.

Got 2 flats at once ... Called AAA, hour later I was on the tow truck headed to the tire store.

[froggert]

Just got a flat tire on the way to work this morning. Chevy Volt didn't come with a spare and the tire was too damaged for goo. Luckily, I'd picked up a spare tire and jack on Ebay for $75 just in case something like this happened. Changing tires on the side of I-95 sucks, but it beats waiting for hours.

[Don Ro]

No spare at all in my 2013 Fiat Abarth...just a crumby scissors jack and a can of fix-it under the driver's seat.
I Googled the OEM wheel and found a mint unit in a salvage yard in Michigan.
Asked for and rec'd photos, bought it for $125 shipped (compared to $350 dealer price), Discount Tire slapped on an inexpensive matching tire, it's now strapped behind the passenger's seat - upright. Oh, prior to that I removed the rear seats and fabbed a padded floor to create a mini SUV.
I also carry a couple of cans of Fix-It goop.
.
I bought a sturdy AC Delco 2 ton scissors jack from Amazon and a couple of those poly hockey pucks (lifting pads) off eBay.
I'm ready for a flat.
.