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I'm thinking about taking the spare tire and jack out of my trunk to save weight. My wife's car has no spare. It came with a compressor and a fancy can of Fix a Flat (different brand, but equivalent). I just googled and learned that about a third of new cars don't have spare tires.
I probably drive 40,000 miles per year, and I haven't had a flat tire since the early 2000's. It's been 600,000 to 800,000 miles since I had my last flat tire. I pay for roadside assistance (AAA), so if I do have have flat, they'll tow me for free. If I put a small air pump and a can of Fix a Flat in the tire compartment, that should take care of a flat tire most of the time.
Thoughts? Has anyone else on the forum removed their spare?
I'm thinking of just removing it for my normal driving in the local area. If I take a road trip I can always put the spare back in the car.
One of the most important things you can carry with you is a roll of cling wrap, so you can wrap that filthy wheel, even place it in the back seat if you have to.
Sean in the middle of the Texas Desert on way to Big Bend National Park gets flat. Puts on spare tire. Loudly gloats that he replaced those worthless POS lug nuts with Toyota ones AND remembered the put the correct size lug wrench in with the spare.
"Well, I got to get this tire to a shop. Saw a town 100 miles back. It will take a few days for them to get a replacement tire."
Wife replies - "Where are you going to put it genius? There's no room. I knew we should have taken my car"
"You mean the one with no spare?", he quips.
Sean removes carry on from trunk and opens it. Pulls one of wife's dresses out of carry on.
"What are you doing? She asks.
"Watch this." he says Sean carefully tears the dress along the seems and proceeds to wrap it around the tire.
"Are you out of your damn mind?" she screams.
"Honey, it will be ok. I can replace the dress."
Sean proceeds to place the tire in the passenger seat, taking care not to mar the headliner.
Where am I supposed to sit idiot? his wife barks...
Sean gets in the drivers seat and hands his wife a bottle of water. "I should be back in about 5 hours. I'll leave the carry on with you. Stay near the road and don't wander into the desert. It'll be dark soon."
Three weeks have passed and the police still have no leads. Foul play is suspected but Sean's body hasn't been located. Only a blood stained crow bar with "Toyota" stamped on it's side. Possibly a road rage incident.
Sean's grieving wife is in a bit of a fog. Looking to pass time, she gets in the Jaguar and heads to Nordstoms. "Maybe a new dress will help" she mutters to herself.
After her new purchase, she opens the trunk and then lifts the spare wheel compartment. There she finds a dusty spare wheel and a shiny new lug wrench. She smiles softly.
"That was a great road trip"
Three days after you remove the spare, you will need it.
Seriously though, does the thirty pounds you'll save really matter that much? Heck, just don't fill up the fuel tank, that'll save you sixty pounds.
The air pump and can of Fix-a-flat will rattle around in all that space and drive you crazy.
The .02 mpg increase ain't worth it.
Save the garage space far a rake.
I just googled and learned that about a third of new cars don't have spare tires.
I'm rather cynical, but I think it has to do with about 2/3rds of drivers wouldn't have a clue how to put the spare on anyway. Even if they had a catastrophic blowout, most would continue driving on the metal rim all the way to the first tire shop they encounter. The rest would call AAA or whatever roadside assistance plan they have with insurance company and that's fine, I have AAA too. However, I can change the flat tire and be on my way in about the length of time I'd be put on hold. Now back when I was doing autocross, I'd unload everything from the car and leave it all in a little pile while I raced. That's the only time I ever worried about a few pounds and even then, I don't think it helped much since I didn't really how to drive fast anyway.
One hundred pounds equals about one-tenth-second in a 1/4 mile, so that thirty pounds will save you about two-one-hundredths of one second.
I'd say don't fill the fuel tank. That'll save you 4/100 seconds.
I had three flats within 2 months last fall after going more than 5 years with out a flat tire. Having said that, why don't you try it and see how much acceleration you gain (if any)? Then put the spare and jack back in and be safe.
If the weight is what your concerned about. Start removing every spare part that you don't need, lose 30 pounds, wear less clothing, cut your hair really close, empty your bowels and bladder and you should be good. I would be more inclined to remove it to gain storage space on a long trip, but taking a long trip is when you would like to have a spare.
The Wifey gets a bit upset when I leave her at the curb so that the Jag is faster! But it needs to happen...
I have used my spare once, made a fast turn into a gas station and BAM, big *** mega-pothole pounded my front tire. I have AAA but went ahead and changed it out myself, was 8 pm and didn't feel like waiting an hour or longer. Gave the store manager a piece of my mind about their driveway having a massive hole, the business was in a dispute with the county/city on who owned that chunk of asphalt, believe they are still fighting it out.
Didn't matter anyway as I have a tire hazard plan and they bought me a new tire from dealer with no deductible. Having that spare to get me home and later to the dealer was a real time saver.
A puncture can usually be repaired unless it's in the sidewall. The sealant alternative is a "get you home" solution BUT once you use the sealant it almost guarantees a replacement tyre will be required. Here in the UK, tyre depots will NOT clean and repair a tyre which has had sealant used on it. US may be different?
My XK has no spare. Rather than relying on the supplied sealant kit, I carry a mushroom plug kit and an inflator. There two types of plug:
1. STRING
2. MUSHROOM
The string is a temporary solution until a proper repair can be done. The mushroom can be permament.
A puncture can usually be repaired unless it's in the sidewall. The sealant alternative is a "get you home" solution BUT once you use the sealant it almost guarantees a replacement tyre will be required. Here in the UK, tyre depots will NOT clean and repair a tyre which has had sealant used on it. US may be different?
My XK has no spare. Rather than relying on the supplied sealant kit, I carry a mushroom plug kit and an inflator. There two types of plug:
2. MUSHROOM
The string is a temporary solution until a proper repair can be done. The mushroom can be permament.
Graham
That's another 23 quid this forum has cost me! LOL. Just ordered this from Amazon. I don't carry a spare in my XKR - I have the Airman compressor and sealant kit. I figured that since the last three brand new cars I have had haven't even offered me the chance of a proper spare tyre, and I did tens of thousands of miles in those cars without ever once worrying about what would happen if I got a flat, I might as well do without one in the XKR. It isn't to save weight (I agree with all of the above comments about that). It is, in my case, to release the fairly large space under the boot/trunk floor for other things. For example, this new tyre repair kit I guess that with my Airman kit and this new kit I am covered. Anything these can't do and it's a call to the AA. Thanks for the heads-up on this.
I'm not too worried when driving in the UK because vehicle recovery and a tyre depot are never far away. The reason I looked at an alternative was for fast overnight trips across France and Spain. In both countries you don't check your watch when needing assistance, you check the calendar.
If going this route of not having spare... I would also add a pair of end cutting pliers that would be good for pulling potential nail or screw from tire before using plug kit...
I keep my spare. hit too many nails, potholes and other crap driving in NY. Long Island roads are crappy, considering Long Island pays the highest property taxes in the nation along w Cali. but aside from that...the removal of spare and trade off of weight vs. speed/time etc isn't measurable to daily driving.
if were racing and needed an edge in competition in the 1/4 mile or 1/8 mile, then ok. but are you really giving a crap about edging out the guy next to you at a traffic light?
sure it's fun, but this isn't the late 80's and we're not driving IROC-Zs.
sorry if sounded sarcastic, but I tend not to put sugar on sh*t. lol.
I'm thinking about taking the spare tire and jack out of my trunk to save weight. My wife's car has no spare. It came with a compressor and a fancy can of Fix a Flat (different brand, but equivalent). I just googled and learned that about a third of new cars don't have spare tires.
I probably drive 40,000 miles per year, and I haven't had a flat tire since the early 2000's. It's been 600,000 to 800,000 miles since I had my last flat tire. I pay for roadside assistance (AAA), so if I do have have flat, they'll tow me for free. If I put a small air pump and a can of Fix a Flat in the tire compartment, that should take care of a flat tire most of the time.
Thoughts? Has anyone else on the forum removed their spare?
I'm thinking of just removing it for my normal driving in the local area. If I take a road trip I can always put the spare back in the car.
LOL, I for one will NEVER buy/lease/rent/drive ANY car that does not have a spare kit. That was the first question I asked the sellers when I was looking for the XKR. And those run-flats are rubbish also.
LOL, I for one will NEVER buy/lease/rent/drive ANY car that does not have a spare kit. That was the first question I asked the sellers when I was looking for the XKR.
You may not have a choice in the not too distant future. This is one of the changes car manufacturers make to meet mileage/ emissions standards. So while you may have a choice purchasing used, new or rentals can and eventually all, will be spare tire free.
Should I ditch the spare tire?
I guess that with my Airman kit and this new kit I am covered. Anything these can't do and it's a call to the AA. Thanks for the heads-up on this.
