Tire Sealant (Instead of Spare for new cars)!?

[Sugarphreak]

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[roopi]

What company is this? I've never heard of no spares being offered before.

[badatusrnames]

Originally posted by roopi
What company is this? I've never heard of no spares being offered before.

It's getting more common I believe, my Camaro doesn't have a spare, I know the Z4 doesn't either. Likely going to be more common on cars where space and weight is at a premium.

[Alak]

MX-5's dont have a spare. That was the first car I heard about back in late 05. Correct me if Im wrong but porsches do not have spares either.

[HuMz]

I would feel very uncomfortable driving any vehicle without a spare tire especially when driving on the highway outside of the city. Imagine having a tire Blow during a -30 cold snap at a shitty time of night on some secondary highway.

[THE GOVERNATOR]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak
I am getting pretty close to pulling a trigger on a new car, but I was surprised to learn that they had ditched the spare tire and run-flats in favor of a compressor and a can of goo sealant. I inquired if I could get a spare with it or some other alternative, and from the response I got it sounds like none were available.

I don't want to get stranded if I tear a sidewall, nor do I want to throw out a perfectly good tire if I get a normally fixable freak puncture in it. I've also heard it makes a ridiculous mess of the rim and involves additional labor to get it fixed. Plus I think they are a one time use item which makes them rather expensive

So am I just making a mountain out of a molehill or should I be fairly concerned about this?

I cant speak for all tire shops, but @ my work. we don't charge to clean up the rim. takes a few mins to clean, just using warm water an a garden hose.
Now when a semi tire that has 7-10 cans in the tire, an decides to have the tire patched/bead balance rather than replaced... almost a 4 gallon pale of gunk.

[eglove]

my ST came with a full size spare :dunno:

[revelations]

Some vehicles dont come with spares because they have run-flat tires (ok to drive at moderate speeds for short distances). :dunno:

[Sugarphreak]

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[Aleks]

Quite a few cars have no spare tires now. Honda Fits, Some Rav4s, Mazdas, MBs, most BMWs etc etc. Not many people wanna change the tire on the side of the road especially in -30C.

I don't have a spare tire in my car it comes with run flats and currently I'm running non run flat winters. Not a huge concern. In last 15 years I've had 1 flat tire and that was the run flat too. Computer told me I had a flat and I just drove it down to BMW.

I do however carry this in my trunk:
http://www.amazon.com/Slime-70004-Power-Spair-Repair/dp/B000YMP1SA/

[soupey]

my 06 bmw and 11 audi both didnt come with spares, audi has runflats and the sealant kit thing in the back - doesn't help that i have no idea how to use it.

[A2VR6]

Not to mention that tire sealant has an expiry date on it (I believe its only for 3 or 4 years).

I wonder how the expired stuff works in filling a leak...

[Deetz]

As others have mentioned, there are many cars/trucks with no spare, I work for Mercedes, and there are a few models without them.

As far as sealant goes, my biggest concern would be trying to use it in cold temps during the winter season, i could see issues using it in -20 below weather

[heavyD]

If you purchase a Mustang GT with the Brembo package you don't get a spare tire. It never bothered me at all although I never took it on a long trip. Honestly if you get a flat in the city the compressor and sealant will get you to a tire shop without issue.

[TYMSMNY]

BMWs for the most part, if not all don't come with spares. Comes with "free" roadside assistance though. That counts as a spare.

[ercchry]

yeah, roadside assistance is pretty standard on all new cars. even if it came with a spare 90% of benz owners would not be changing tires :rofl:
roll on that shit at low speed or call the roadside assist number LIKE A BOSS :bigpimp:

[Kramerica]

I remember reading that they're cutting out spares to save weight to get better fuel economy figures. I suppose if you wanted peace of mind you could grab a spare from a vehicle with similar sized tires/bolt pattern at pick n pull.

[amear]

E46 M3 dont have spares either. Just that goo stuff and a compressor..

[guessboi]

yeah no spare in the NC MX5
Just that goo stuff and a compressor.

[Sugarphreak]

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[Kramerica]

Wow that's lame. Seriously how much is the cost to produce that metal panel to store a tire in the trunk? Car makers don't even trust us to change our own tires anymore :facepalm:

[Anomaly]

The 04-07 cts-v's came with run flats factory, and no spare. Since those are long gone, and I take the car to Vegas once a year I usually just bring a small compressor and a can of fix a flat.

[ercchry]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak
All fine and dandy until you are outside of cell phone range... I was stranded for nearly 9 hours at Galina Bay once (and OnStar propaganda is such BS btw... when you have no cell coverage, you have no OnStar either), then after a flat bed finally showed up I was towed to the nearest dealership which happened ot be Salmon Arm. Googlemap that trip and you can see what kind of awesome day I had.

Plus dealing with roadside assistance is always a pain in the ass, I would rather do a road side tire change any day over wait for assistance like a helpless idiot.


I would have to mount it to the roof or something, there is no space for any kind of spare tire inside.

what? no sat. phone? :rofl:

just roll on that shit till you have coverage again...

but the answer is clear... you are not a benz kind of guy

[TYMSMNY]

Originally posted by Kramerica
Wow that's lame. Seriously how much is the cost to produce that metal panel to store a tire in the trunk? Car makers don't even trust us to change our own tires anymore :facepalm:

I don' think it's cost but a matter of space and/or design. Why have a reduced trunk space when you can promote the extra xx cubic inches of useable space.

[Sugarphreak]

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[ercchry]

oooh suv? well thats simple. a/m rear bumper with swing out tire carrier... and 35s all around ;)

[Sugarphreak]

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[gpomp]

I got 2 flat tires last year, good thing I had a spare tire...

[e31]

I've only ever had 2 flat tires oddly enough. One was a slow leak due to a roofing nail. The other was a winter tire that experienced a catastrophic failure as I was accelerating up to speed on the Trans-Canada. The tire literally exploded, there were radial cuts all around the sidewall.

Changing a flat tire on the highway in -20C wearing a suit sucks, But at least I was able to help myself. Nothing says "being prepared" like having 5 matching winter rims/tires (including spare).

[Supa Dexta]

3 dollar chinese compressor + 50 cents of sealant > $50 dollar spare (~mfg cost?)

[A3GTiVR6SC]

I wonder how much expensive OEM Tpms Sensors like the goo lol

[TheStigz]

I wonder what these car manufacturer where thinking..

*Object impales sidewall, or sidewall destorys itself*

"well Jim.. some green goo in a are-sol can and compressor will fix it in a jiffy"

"But kirk.. its sidewall damage..."

"Throw some duct tape on it jim and shes good as new.. will pass DOT in flying colors"