Flat tire preparedness - rethinking spare tire(s)

@UncleMorgan, I like the screw trick. I've done it at work to get cars in the shop. Now I'll have to toss some screws in the car.

My last puncture was from a box cutter blade. Most of it was still in the tire. Both rear tires were getting thin anyway, and it went flat in the driveway, so this time I got lucky.

 

Nonc says

 

Flat tires are something we have had a lot of in the pat. Full size spares are what we aim for. Two of the cars have full size spares. The jeep has no place for a full size spare so it is usually strapped to the top be in colder weather gets moved into the trunk area. The other cars have donuts and I have heard those are only good for up to 40 miles plus you have to drive slowly on them.

 

Last time a space saver came with a vehicle, it was replaced within a couple of days with a full sized rim/tire.
Factory "jacks" are still there, but so are hydaulic jacks and jack stands, except for the Zuke, which has a hi-lift jack. Four way lug wrench, air compressor (one that works fairly quickly, doesn't require a power cord and is programmable...set it, start it, get back in vehicle until it cuts off. +/- half a pound of desired)

 

There was a time I preferred split rim wheels.
1. no on steals split rim wheels.
they had such a bad reputation the ignorant and the fearful wouldn't touch them, very few people could appreciate the design.
I did repairs and replacement several times at home in in the field ,alone and with minimal tooling ..
The rim requires a ring that fits in a slot in the rim to hold the tire in ,and if it is well maintained things work like they are suppose to.. If they are not maintained well you have accidents like the tire blowing off and killing some one .
Most tire shops are too lazy to take a wire wheel and remove the rust that builds up on the ring and rim, thus the false fit .(danger)
.I still used safety measures having a remote inflator and putting it under the truck while filling . Taking it past necessary pressure and backing off to working pressure..
I grew up fixing dad's truck standard wheels; tube and tubeless tires , and we had plenty of adventures as a kid ,he and I together driving hundreds of miles a night and moving building materials .

 

I've been running on the interstate at 70 mph before , and passed by a care with one of those donut tires . I have to travel into the concrete jungle at times , and I've seen a few cars that sport them donuts as standard equipment . They probably go to the junk yards and buy them and run'em till they blow . Cheaper than a new tire . But you're right , they're supposed to only be a temporary fix .

 

Are doughnut tires non pneumatic.
If that is the case It might be a good idea to have a set of them for your bug out vehicle .
Salting the road with nails is one way nefarious characters use to feed on the stranded .
I knew a tow truck driver that would do this if business was slow . this was long before cell phones into the age of CB radio .
But if an EMP or CME has hit, fewer vehicles and very desperate people will still be using every trick I the book to survive.

 

They are air filled . They'll leak down as well .

 

They don’t run far with lo pressure. There also have been a few wrecks with people running them in wet weather,no traction or very little.

 

Stand watch over them and make them hand torque the lug nuts. Works for me.

You might try using anti seize instead of WD. I switched years ago and will never go back. Lasts longer and I can break the lug nuts loose off the 1 ton by hand if need be. I use a breaker bar and a socket. That way if I need to I can stand on the breaker to loosen up the lug nuts. I've had to do that a few times when I've stopped to help someone with a flat.

 

+ 10,000 for never - seize!

 

I've got to chime in on applying anything (lubricant, anti-seize, grease) to wheel studs. All the OEM manuals I've read recommend that nothing be applied to wheel stud threads. I've seen one wheel-off that was blamed of lubricated wheel stud threads. If the lug nuts and studs on your car are clean and dry they will have the maximum friction when torqued to specification. Lubricants will increase the clamping force for a given torque spec and may squeeze things too tight. From working with new and well maintained old cars I've found that if your wheel fastener threads are clean and dry you can't screw them from the start all the way on by hand they are likely stretched from excessive torque.

Garages can continue to blast the lug nuts off with an air gun until they seize half way and snap off. I can spot a new car that's been to a budget lube place and had the tires rotated. It only takes one time with an air gun without a torque stick to stretch all the studs.

If I had a car with lug nuts that were hard to get off I'd have to consider replacing all the studs and nuts. It's a pleasure to work on a car with wheel fasteners that haven't been abused. I do have the pleasure of living in the South, but I grew up in Michigan, and I never did anything special to my lug nuts there either. I did always use a torque wrench.

 

This unfortunately is so very true. Today's minimum wage hirelings (for lack of a more appropriate term) do not have the patience or work ethic to do things right the first time. Not all of this is entirely the workers the businesses demand on workers to be quick and efficient that productivity gets pushed aside in order to be expeditient. We have a Discount Tire here and I always specify that I want the bolts to be thread on by hand and then torqued by hand. Of course, they have new employees since the last time I had my tires rotated (it's free, so is the air) and have no memory of past events with their customers who are only recognized by a phone number in their system. They don't actually remember you or your vehicle. The computer tells them and then they say something semi-humorous about your "color, model, year, brand" vehicle. Or better yet, they reference how long you have be a customer and always enjoy seeing a happy customer return. Ahhh,... I digress...

Anyways, a few years ago I had a nit-wit air ratchet a lug nut back on. I watched him do this from the parking lot, while smoking. I insisted that they go around and hand torque all the lugs nuts as I had watched this kid air gun the nuts on. Only then did they find a stripped out lug bolt and nut. The shop manager handled it very well. Parts were ordered and replacement/repair was made a few days later. I did not see that kid working. It might of been his day off......?

 

Sometimes you can't baby sit things being done to your car , best to have a good inspection after things are done before you sign any thing.
I convinced some single young ladies to get a class on auto mechanics , not that they do it them selves but that if they required help KNOW what it is they are asking and what should be removed and replaced and what the finished job should look like. and learning the sounds of problems .
I knew some of the local mechanics and their reputations, and made my friends aware of them and their practices.
Now that most of us have cell phones with cameras , learn to use them often .
I encourage other service people to use their cameras as well especially if there is something unusual that needs to be noted.

 

honestly? a lot longer than you are likely to push it. While not what you should do, you can. Keep the speeds at or below 50 and you'll be fine. BTDT for 70 miles+ with no problems. Makes for a longer trip, but you get there. The one thing I really like about Sass's new Mercedes is the full size spare and the run flat tires..

 

That all depends.
If i'm turning over a 50 -150k rig over to them damn right I'm watching their every move. If they don't like it, I'll take it somewhere else. Anything major and I pull it into my shop and fix it myself, but I'm 55 and don't mind paying to have my tires/oil changed.

 

I use torque sticks MADE BY MY MANUFACTURE " VOLVO " since 1976 !!!
Blue = 200 series , Yellow =700/900 series , The rest are different colours for different torques & thread pitches etc.
NEVER HAD a problem EVER !!
There is a tool made just for that job !! Volvo started that in 1976 , Tool # 999xxxx, same as mag machines , out in 1972 , didn't get here till 2K area , I bought mine from EU Volvo in 72.
As with the GM closing & ford dropping all cars , GM killed SAAB for the Saab Tech (not much really ) Ford bought us in 98 for 12.5 BIL , got Volvos info to carry on , tried to change Volvos system , BUT the Sweds said NO F-WAY (unlike gm) .Ford sold Volvo car division YV1 & YV4 to Geely (China's largest Car Maker ) in 2012 , for 3.XX BIL and bailed out themselves.

This might hurt the head to get around :
Volcano Vehicle Systems Architect (VSA)

EZ

My World :
https://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/~robdavis/papers/ImpactCaseStudyVolcano.pdf


I have one way deeper on Baud to Fiber optics !!
Space cars !
S

 

The 'tighten to specifications' crap irritates me too I just bought a full set for my around the city vehicle. I ran 8 years without a flat. I did have a screw head in one for several months but it never went flat. I made them hand tighten my lugs because I cannot get the damn things off when they use that air wrench and over tighten them. The guys fought me the whole way. I said If I spend 600 on basic tires and you can't do what I want when I need a 1200 set you won't be getting my business. They hand tightened my lugs. I have to say when I drove out of there it was the 1st time I really noticed a difference that the tires make in how my everyday vehicle drives. Surprising how much better.

 

You van get a medium quality torque wrench from Harbor freight and do the torque you self when you get home ,that way you know what every thing is torques at .
If you are among those using lubricants, reduce the torque your working to . you may actually be exceeding the bolt rating .
I worked on snow cats and the track was bolted together, with rubber between steel with grade 8 bolts the often broke in service .
Sometimes we had to break them deliberately to get them off . WE were hammering these bad boys down with 600 ft lb torque impact wrenches , rust was our primary battle and the steel grousers broke often .
No fasteners were saved due to the volume that was required and reusing usually lead to premature breakage ..
Saying that to say this . if you have been over torqueing your lugs, using lubricants, it might be prudent to replace them.
My .02