Ridiculous cost of Temp Spare

[weebl]

My solution to the temporary spare doesn't cost me any extra, as I keep two sets of tires for each vehicle - all season tires for summer, and the winter tires.

For my car, this actually works very well. The spare tire well was actually designed to accommodate a full size spare, as the first model year came with them, before they got downgraded to temporary spares for the subsequent years. I simply have one of my summer tires in the spare well over the winter, and one of my winter tires in there over the summer.

Of course, this won't work for every vehicle, like my van. The underbody stowage space is only big enough for the temporary spare. One time, the van had a flat overnight in the driveway. This was easy, as I put on a tire from the other set in the garage. The next time the van had a flat, it was while out doing errands - of course on a colder winter day. Had to get the donut on instead of a full size, but also had to get air into the donut first, as it is in an inaccessible location to check pressure regularly.

On my 2002 Protege when I had it, I would sub in the full size spare if doing a road trip (it was slightly too big for the spare well, so the board and carpet didn't sit flush to the floor). If just staying in town, then the temporary spare stayed in the spare well.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: weebl
Had to get the donut on instead of a full size, but also had to get air into the donut first, as it is in an inaccessible location to check pressure regularly.


That is annoying. Our 2007 Chrysler Town & Country had the temporary spare under the van, in the middle, directly under the front seating area. Our MDX has it under the body in the rear, but the wheel (and the valve stem) has to face up to stow it, so you have to lower it down to check the pressure. Our Honda stows its spare in a well under the rear cargo area, and it's fortunately easy to open the lid and access it.