RE: Blow out! The modern tyre dilemma
Discussion
Muncher said:
Turbobanana said:
Cars should carry a spare and the means to change it.
I bought one from a breaker's yard for my 2011 S-Max (in fact bought for the preceding 2006 S-Max) and always carry it, strapped into the boot (except about three times a year when the car is in 7 seat mode). I made sure to buy one rated for an MPV and a suitable jack as well. Cost me £50 including delivery, for an undamaged steel wheel and perfectly legal winter tyre. Additionally the car still has its can of goo and compressor which I keep in case the puncture, when it comes, needs to be dealt with on a dark, rainy night aside the M1.
I drove just over 900 miles during the Christmas break and almost every stranded car I saw on the M1, M6, M54 and A55 was because of a puncture, putting more strain on the AA, RAC etc.
Anyone not carrying a spare is gambling. Apologies if that's boring
Just where would you put a spare on something like a Lotus Elise or a 911? I bought one from a breaker's yard for my 2011 S-Max (in fact bought for the preceding 2006 S-Max) and always carry it, strapped into the boot (except about three times a year when the car is in 7 seat mode). I made sure to buy one rated for an MPV and a suitable jack as well. Cost me £50 including delivery, for an undamaged steel wheel and perfectly legal winter tyre. Additionally the car still has its can of goo and compressor which I keep in case the puncture, when it comes, needs to be dealt with on a dark, rainy night aside the M1.
I drove just over 900 miles during the Christmas break and almost every stranded car I saw on the M1, M6, M54 and A55 was because of a puncture, putting more strain on the AA, RAC etc.
Anyone not carrying a spare is gambling. Apologies if that's boring
Muncher said:
Just where would you put a spare on something like a Lotus Elise or a 911?
https://youtu.be/GjFnCOI7NUQ?t=61Seriously, though, the problem's more one of "where do you put the one that comes off?"
Muncher said:
Just where would you put a spare on something like a Lotus Elise or a 911?
Back when wheels were a sensible size you could fit them in the front of a 911. My NSX has a 'collapsible' space-saver in the front (or did have...20 year old rubber now and no-one does replacement rubber).Mfrs have got rid of spare wheels because of a combination of packaging (can claim more boot space if no spare) and styling (the move from 14"s to 15"s to 17"s to 18"s to 20"s...with corresponding increases in width also).
Continuously getting punctures thanks to the idiots in the unit across the road that occasionally decide to break up a wooden packing crate in their front car park and sweep the debris out onto the street.
The car park at Rockingham is also a cracker, I've had to deal with more punctures there than the sum total of the rest of the punctures I've had put together.
At two extremes, I ended up stranded in the Cayenne after a left rear popped on the A34 (must have driven over a screw on my way out of the car park) and the bottle of squirty foam was as much use as a cock flavoured lolly.
On the other end of the scale I nearly gave myself a hernia lifting the full size 22" spare out of my old man's Range Rover before I realised it had a lifting crane strap that clipped onto the rear tailgate. A bloody crane it was that heavy!! And it still had one of those poxy hand cranked scissor jacks!
The car park at Rockingham is also a cracker, I've had to deal with more punctures there than the sum total of the rest of the punctures I've had put together.
At two extremes, I ended up stranded in the Cayenne after a left rear popped on the A34 (must have driven over a screw on my way out of the car park) and the bottle of squirty foam was as much use as a cock flavoured lolly.
On the other end of the scale I nearly gave myself a hernia lifting the full size 22" spare out of my old man's Range Rover before I realised it had a lifting crane strap that clipped onto the rear tailgate. A bloody crane it was that heavy!! And it still had one of those poxy hand cranked scissor jacks!
Always make sure I buy our cars that have some form of spare (+ req'd tools), wifes Astra has a space save, my Jeep a full sized alloy. As per my username, we live in an are sometimes lacking in mobile coverage, light, or even other passing motorists. 12v compressor, hi viz jackets, wee torches, lamps and warning triangles also in the boot of each car, along with knowing where the wheel-nut key is 
I can, however, see I wouldn't be as fussy if I lived in an urban area.
I can, however, see I wouldn't be as fussy if I lived in an urban area.
I can understand why something like an Elise won't have one as space is limited. And I can understand not having one in the latest supercar where the manufacturer has gone to the effort of shaving 0.572 milligrams off the weight of the car by using hollowed out carbon fibre nasa spec door handles.
But 99% of 'normal' cars have plenty of space, it's not going to affect handling, and any weight savings are negligible once you take into account the owner and their families fat asses.
But 99% of 'normal' cars have plenty of space, it's not going to affect handling, and any weight savings are negligible once you take into account the owner and their families fat asses.
THankfully my 2003 Volvo has a space saver and jack. It’s been used twice in November - January both on new Goodyear’s. Both times on a sidewal puncture caused by being forced into the verge by an oncoming suv in the middle of a narrow B road.
I have now taken out tyre insurance due to the frequency of these events!
I have now taken out tyre insurance due to the frequency of these events!
Valgar said:
TooMany2cvs said:
It won't fit on the front, but will it fit on the back? If so, good enough...
Spare on rear, rear on front, flat in boot. Job jobbed.
Unless I'm mistaken this is how it should be regardless of car? The space saver should be on the rear wheelSpare on rear, rear on front, flat in boot. Job jobbed.
<waits for shouts of "but best tyres on back!">
In 25+ years of driving I've had 4 punctures that needed sorting at the roadside.
Two - I changed the wheel, two I used tyre foam as the car had no spare but I'd already damaged the tyre so it was no loss.
I have also had:
2 hoses split
2 batteries fail
2 fuel pump relays fail
(The majority of the above was due to owning a TVR for 6 months)
Why do some consider it essential to carry a large spare wheel / jack etc when we don't carry hoses / relays etc ?
I think it's a hang up from days gone by when the car was decoked and the boot filled with spares when it embarked on the annual holiday - these days with cheap recovery and mobile phones - a breakdown is rarely more than an hour or two's inconvenience which IME happens approx once every 5 years (unless you own a TVR).
Two - I changed the wheel, two I used tyre foam as the car had no spare but I'd already damaged the tyre so it was no loss.
I have also had:
2 hoses split
2 batteries fail
2 fuel pump relays fail
(The majority of the above was due to owning a TVR for 6 months)
Why do some consider it essential to carry a large spare wheel / jack etc when we don't carry hoses / relays etc ?
I think it's a hang up from days gone by when the car was decoked and the boot filled with spares when it embarked on the annual holiday - these days with cheap recovery and mobile phones - a breakdown is rarely more than an hour or two's inconvenience which IME happens approx once every 5 years (unless you own a TVR).
I had a puncture in an unsavoury part of Ilford in my Viano. Fortunately I had the spare and the kit to change it. Unfortunately for me I left the key in the ignition so my first effort was defeated by the self levelling air suspension on the rear doing its best to keep the wheel on the ground. Impressive droop if I remember correctly.
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