spare tire

[danny49]

Hi i am going on a 700 mile trip, I have aftermarket Volk rims, Only spare is the donut in the front, Has anyone ever used one ,I do have brand new yokohamas. Just kind of worried, What do you think!

 

[Miner]

I have used my donut once or twice over the last 20 years. I would use it only to drive at a limited speed to a place to get a new tire.
If your tires are good, properly inflated, etc, the risk of a blow out type failure is pretty low. If you run over a nail, the tire can be patched / plugged.
Some may suggest a full size spare (front tire wheel) in the trunk but I believe that is a bit of overkill, and with a limited amount of space there, is not terribly practical.

My other car, a Volt, doesn’t even have a spare. It has a tire pump and a can of fix a flat, and tire pressure monitors.

 

[docjohn]

your spare is 26 years or older rubber that may or may not be dry rotted or crack when stretched,,it most likely will never collapse back down after use..

 

[RSO 34]

I have used mine 4x in over 20 years - each time I was commuting to my office 22 miles from home.

Otherwise in 170,000 miles with 117 track days and 15,000+ track miles together with driving NY-Toronto, NY-Florida, NY-Ohio, NY-Wisconsin and NY-Texas there have been no other flats for me.

 

[danny49]

Thankyou, Thats what i was afraid of donut not holding air

 

[emac]

Bring a compressor/fix a flat and a plug kit. Add a razor blade to the plug kit to trim excess plug material. I have plugged a number of tires over the years and if it is just a nail hole and not a gash they work very well. I have plug kits in all my cars.

 

[danny49]

Ok that sounds good, Thanks

 

[docjohn]

There are some threads about using other brands newer spares...If you travel in the wasteland..I give you free passage....you could consider runflats...If they come in your preferred size

 

[03 raw nsx]

Yeah...I would not trust the old spare. A can of fix a flat and a plug kit is what I do.