I just got done with some fairly long driving trips (to Maryland, Maine, Vermont) with my 1996 Cutlass Supreme and all in all I've decided I'm going to now carry as mandatory equipment, a full size spare tire (along with a suitable jack). The heck with those "trunk space saving tires". In this day and age they just don't cut it. Granted, I have brand new tires on this car, and all 3 of my 79's, that to me means nothing. Safety first, originality/correctness last. I drive 'em, I use 'em, I need to be safe in 'em and those undersized donuts are garbage in today's highway traffic! They are not made for going at what these days needs to be highway speeds. So you get a flat on an Interstate IMHO you should just stay put instead of putting on one of those space savers and then lurch about the highway at 50 to 55 mph with angry Semis on you the whole way. I saw this first hand on the way home from Maine this past weekend.

As we say in the Insurance business, don't risk a lot to save a little. In this case, risking your life to save a little trunk space ? No brainer here!

 

I agree, I just went through this myself with my wifes Mustang. I had put brand new tires on it last year because of a blowout on 12 year old tires, even though they only had 8k miles on them. Had to drive 60 miles on the donut spare over 3 days until the tires came in. This year picked up a long staple in one of those new tires and decided since we take long trips in the car, to just go ahead and buy a full size spare wheel and tire instead of taking chances on the weenie wheel. Peace in mind.

 

My daily driver Kia has a donut spare. I suppose if it went flat I could easily change it on the side of the road, but I'm not going to spend the extra money to buy a full sized wheel and additional tire. If I get a flat I will just call my insurance for road side assistance. If it's a flat on the Olds I can change it since I carry a full sized 235/75 R15 in the trunk. I bought 5 tires to replace all of them on the Olds so it's pretty new.

 

Something about the donut spares that probably 99% of the drivers out there aren't aware of: If the flat is on the front, manufacturer information clearly spells out change the rear tire first to the donut, then put the good full size on the front. This is for better handling and braking. And today's cars are mostly FWD with DB - all of which do the majority of work on the front end.

Many of the automakers have done away with even donut spares as a way to save weight; and those that do have spares apparently charge for the privelege? I guess that's not too far off the mark considering that most of the new drivers haven't got a clue how to do a tire change anyway. They are however very adept at picking up their phone and calling for help. Help mommy, Help daddy I'm too fragile to do anything but sit here and whimper....yeah, can you tell it's something about the new generation (not all of course) that screams of entitlement. Why is the car not starting? Mommy, Daddy didn't you put gas in it??? CRASH!!! Mommy, Daddy I hope you have insurance....

 

Too true. My wife's Kia Soul didn't have a donut spare. There was an extra charge for a "tire inflation kit" (+12 V powered air pump and a bottle of slime).

My wife picked up a nail in the sidewall not too long after buying the car so we put a pair of tires on it. I kept the 1 good tire because it was practically new. It would take up all the cargo room in the back of the Soul so I have it sitting in the shop without a wheel on it.

 

I keep a tire plug kit and an air compressor in all of my cars. I can't count how many times over the years one of the cars picked up a nail or screw in a tire. It's just a lot quicker for me to plug the tire than to bring the car to the tire shop and utilize the "free flat repair" that they offer. I can plug the tire and be on my way in a lot less time than it takes me to drive to the tire shop.

 

Good idea. It's better to pull a nail with a pair of pliers and plug the hole than filling the tire with slime.

 

You guys must drive in really nasty neighborhoods or streets. I usually get the full 10+ years out of tires without so much as them losing more than a few pounds of air over the winter (storage). I was REALLY impressed with my Kelly Radials when I checked them this year after 7 years of storage. Into storage at 30 psi, out of storage at 24 psi. Before you say anything about these 28 yr old tires, they're only rollers but dang they look just like new with no cracking anywhere, although the rubber is slightly hard. I guess cool dry storage really works for them.

My son seems to have the same luck as you guys though, but he's only had 2 screws in the tread during the past 4 years so I've always just let him take my car and I remove his flat and take it for repairs since we have a spare vehicle. And yes, I realize that's a luxury most people just don't have.

I prefer the free flat repairs from the selling garage or manufacturer. IMO they do a better job and will re-balance the tire for free and refill it with nitrogen.

I have a nice 60 gallon compressor, and a small 5 gallon that I can use for around the house. Remember when an 'air compressor' used to look like this?

 

I practically laughed when I saw the new tires I bought for my Jeep were filled with nitrogen. When I go off-road I drop the pressure to 12 psi or so then air back up to 25-28 psi once I get back to the pavement, so whatever nitrogen was in there gets purged every time I go wheeling. And of course the Jeep has a full size spare - there's no way I cold get back to the pavement with a donut tire.

 

Kenneth - Nitrogen was never a good idea for guys like you who off road and for obvious reasons as you stated. I can't imagine an off roader with a donut tire . But if you drive a 737 or are a high speed sky pilot? Those tires have mandatory Nitrogen fills AFAIK. The nitro works for me too but not for everyone.

 

Hey, I'm not opposed to using nitrogen in the tires. I typically fill mine with a 78% mix.

 

By volume, dry air contains 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.04% carbon dioxide. Most people don't know that though....and pay $$$$ for nitrogen fills. I don't pay anything for it. If they wanted to charge me for it I'd decline of course and use my compressor at home as needed.

 

And then again there's the uglier than sin airless tires. Coming soon to a Cadillac, Lexus, BMW, Mercedes dealer near you!!



https://www.michelintweel.com/tweel-SSL-AllTerrain.html

 

I read about those several years ago and recently saw a set on a crane that was lifting an air handler onto the roof at work. And yes, as you said, they were uglier than sin.

 

Our 2010 Dodge Challenger had a donut spare. Our 2017 Challenger, 12 volt pump and slime. At least they put a sub and amp in place of the donut spare😋. We have the extra tire road hazard policy for it. I have full size spare tires in both Olds, Daughter's Tercel and my Dodge Dakota.