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Khatsalano
Member
I have no interest in carrying a spare thing that is heavy and bulky in the minimal chance that it may be needed. I can make a phone call instead and the problem is fixed!
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mknox
Well-Known Member
You are, of course, correct in your analysis of likelihood vs. severity of situation. I mentioned that I probably average a flat once every 2 years (not counting slow leaks which can be dealt with usually at one's leisure). But I have had "catastrophic" flats by things like wire bands taking an 8" slice through the sidewall and such. In that sense, it is silly carrying a spare all the time. But what if I was on a vacation road trip and had a flat? With a spare (mounted either by me or roadside assistance) I could be on my way in an hour and deal with getting the flat fixed later. With no spare, that could be a day gone out of my trip.
I think my compromise would be to carry a spare on situations like my road trip example, but not at other times. Haven't actually done so yet... just thinking out loud.
EDIT: I'm not sure my Cadillac dealer threw in the spare as a "goodwill" gesture. The owners manual sure seemed to suggest they put them in where they had to, and put compressor kits in where they didn't. The confusion is why Cadillac thought they were required here and Tesla didn't.
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dgpcolorado
high altitude member
I'm leaning toward that plan. I had a flat tire on my ICEV on a long trip in May and the tire was destroyed because I was at freeway speed. I was very glad to have a full size spare so I could change the tire and continue my trip (I got way off the freeway to be safe). In that case a plug kit wouldn't have helped and I was in a remote area of eastern Oregon. And what happens if it is a Sunday and all the repair shops are closed? So, a plug kit, pliers, and a small compressor for easy flats in local driving and a spare tire to carry on long trips seems like a good solution.
For those who have said that they have never had a flat tire, all I can say is "lucky you". I've changed numerous flat tires over the years; it happens. And if you don't live near a big city, just calling for a tow or roadside service isn't all that practical.
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While I've haven't used my plug kit yet, my understanding is that one should take the tire to a repair place to have a patch put on the inside over the plug to make the repair more robust.
Cyclone
Cyclonic Member ((.oO))
My 9 year old 4Runner (bought new) has a full size spare tire. In 86k miles, I've had to use it zero times. My previous 4Runner was 9 years old (but bought when it was 3) when it was replaced by the one I just replaced. It also had a full size spare and I think I also had near 90k on it when I sold it. While it had the OEM Firestone tires, I used the spare maybe 4-5 times in two years. When I replaced those OEMs with Michelins, I used the spare a total of once when Hurricane Wilma through sharp debris at my car and blew out one tire. That said, it wouldn't have mattered. The downed trees in the road meant I wasn't going anywhere.
I've never driven a car with a spare, nor do I intend to. I haven't needed one, and given that I'll never drive someplace without cell service, I'm not worried about being stranded.
Now I could be totally wrong on this, but I imagine that the money spent in keeping a well-conditioned spare around costs a lot more than if you, in a very rare situation like that, would instead just rent a car while it's being repaired or the tire changed out.
I find it similar to the whole "why an EV, you can't drive it in every situation!" argument with my econo-EV. In the rare times I need to go further, I'll just rent a car. Every month that goes by pays for a good 1-2 days of renting a vehicle if needed. I still have not needed to rent a vehicle, though.
Now I could be totally wrong on this, but I imagine that the money spent in keeping a well-conditioned spare around costs a lot more than if you, in a very rare situation like that, would instead just rent a car while it's being repaired or the tire changed out.
I find it similar to the whole "why an EV, you can't drive it in every situation!" argument with my econo-EV. In the rare times I need to go further, I'll just rent a car. Every month that goes by pays for a good 1-2 days of renting a vehicle if needed. I still have not needed to rent a vehicle, though.
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Canuck
Well-Known Member
I'm not ticket off since I knew it didn't have one when I bought it.
Since I bought a Tahoe Hybrid in 2008 I've also driven without a spare for 7 years now. But unlike you, I drive both my Tahoe and S out of cell phone coverage, and on remote gravel backroads (mostly this one):
Google Maps
I think my luck must be wearing thin but I'm knocking wood here.
Since I bought a Tahoe Hybrid in 2008 I've also driven without a spare for 7 years now. But unlike you, I drive both my Tahoe and S out of cell phone coverage, and on remote gravel backroads (mostly this one):
Google Maps
I think my luck must be wearing thin but I'm knocking wood here.
To me the spare tire was a con from day one ... manufacturer thought, "ok, we have 50 million tires on the road, how do we up that by 20%? Right! Add a spare."
After all, all cars have spare engines, gas tanks, radiators, etc.
I've driven without for 3 years and have had one flat ... luckily in my garage. And yes, I drive around with the Tesla issued motor and gunk.
After all, all cars have spare engines, gas tanks, radiators, etc.
I've driven without for 3 years and have had one flat ... luckily in my garage. And yes, I drive around with the Tesla issued motor and gunk.
We've had one flat and from now on we carry a full size spare in the frunk. It fits perfectly there. We drive a lot in rural areas where it can take a long time to get a tow truck to us. It's worth it to us. We only used the frunk minimally anyhow and you can easily make up the increased energy consumption by going 1-2mph slower. In our case we wouldn't leave home without the spare.
over 400k miles and I've had about 5 or 6 flats in 17 yrs of driving. and that's with *regular* tires (not low profile). all of which I changed myself on the side of the road with a spare. one of the times was with the MS and the tire repair kit helped me get back to a tire shop.
I've had a flat, and realized that I've never used the spare in the car, jack up the car, replace the wheel with the slim spare, throw the regular wheel in the trunk, start driving maybe 20 feet, and realize that something is wrong, come out and turns out the spare was flat too... lol, that was fun.
jgs
Active Member
I've driven close to 250,000 miles and never had a flat myself. I was a passenger in a rental car that did get a flat when we were dodging potholes and chickens on the top of an old volcano in Hawaii. That's the only time I've ever had to help change a tire and luckily there was no traffic. There were lots of mother hens and baby chicks which came by to supervise the tire change. 
I had a major sidewall blowout on my BMW (inside wear that I didn't realize - so this was all my fault). Found out I didn't have a lug wrench. Called AAA, but a highway patrol stopped by first. Borrowed his lug wrench and completed the tire change... Only to find the spare was flat.
10pm at night. On the side of an interstate. Kids screaming in the car asking if we were going to be ok the whole time.
Memories!
jgs
Active Member
Not from day one. In the very bad old days (before my time, mind) of inner tubes, pre-radial, tires were vastly less reliable. You could almost count on needing to change at least one flat if you took a road trip. Times have changed, but once people get used to having something "for safety" it's hard to get them un-used to it, even if the reason for the thing no longer exists. So if I had to guess, I guess this was less of a manufacturer con and more consumer inertia, or simply a case of nobody questioning "what everybody knows".
For a long time (and maybe still) having a full size spare was considered a premium feature, and so people got it in their minds that a better car should have one. Thats the kind of thing that is extremely difficult to change peoples mind about. I remeber in my last BMW it had a full size spare and being extremely irritated that I paid to have a ~$400 wheel and a ~$200 tire take up a huge amount of space in my trunk.
mknox
Well-Known Member
My recollection is somewhat different. I remember when all cars came with full-size spares, and when those compact units came out it was perceived as the manufacturers being "cheap". Maybe we're saying the same thing, but from a different perspective.
And storage space has never really been a concern for me. Our past mini-vans and SUVs always had them on the "outside", either under the rear end or on the tailgate, and our sedans have had them in a seemingly well thought out cavity below the trunk floor board. Sure, I suppose that little cavity could have been used to store something else, but having adequate cargo/storage space was never even remotely a concern.
Funny/true story: When I cleaned out my old car before trading it in, I had a number of items in the door storage pockets, center console and seatback pockets. Since the Model S has almost no interior storage, those items are in a tupperware box under the trunk floor where a spare tire might have been. So, yes I'm using the space a spare tire may have gone, but only because items now can't be stored in the cabin like they were before.
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