super cheap tires

[racer12306]

I am looking to upgrade my donut spare on my neon to a full size spare.

So far the cheapest tire I can find is at walmart and tirerack, two different tires, but they are within a dollar or each other. They are $45/46 each plus mounting and balancing.

Since this is just for a spare I'm wanting the cheapest available and I figure that anything is better than the wimpy little donut.

Any suggestions on other places to look? Right now I have a friend who is going to set me up with a wheel and tire, mounted and balanced for $40. But if he cant find the size I want, I want a back up plan. I would prefer new or only slightly used.

Thanks

 

[wileyE]

Maybe go to a tire store and tell em what you plan is, they always have good used tire or an oldball single floatin around they can sell cheap? As infrequent as flats occur anymore I'd keep the doughnut.

 

[racer12306]

yeah, flats are pretty rare. plus i try to keep a plugging kit and a mini air compressor in the car. but i figure if i need to put a spare on i would rather have the full size.

around here if you follow the speed limit of the donut you get run off the road.

 

[bdai]

Consider waiting until your other tires need replacing, then buy five new ones. The spare stays in much better shape if you can incorporate it into the normal tire rotation schedule.

 

[alreadygone]

Temp. tires are TOUGH ! Heavier,more cord than normal tires. Fully capable of speeds much higher than recommended. Also, recessed area in trunk will often not accept larger standard tire. Sure you want to give over tht much trunk for a standard size tire you'll probably not use every 5 years?

Nothing wrong with temporary tire for TEMPORARY use!

Bob

 

[racer12306]

bdai: i have about another 40000 or more miles til i need tires. i put my current tires on at ~35000 miles and they are wearing perfectly. it will probably be 100000 or 110000 miles before i change the tires.

alreadygone: if the tire says 55, im not gonna go above 55. i have looked into the tire fitting in the well situation. on the SRT-4 ACR edition dodge made a special spare tire cover to accomodate the wider tire in the well. so the tire will fit in the well, but it will stick up about an inch or so. i plan on getting that cover, whether it be from a yard or from dodge. a yard is preferred because dodge wants $120 for it.

thanks for your input

 

[Black_Thunder]

a full size spare isn't a bad idea to get.

although i would keep your temp spare and only put in the full-size spare during trips/long distance runs

 

[kkreit01]

If it's a common size, look for slighty used ones on e-bay. Your best bet might be the Walmart one -- since you wil not have to pay shipping.

 

[javacontour]

This seems a job for an auto-recycling yard. Get a wheel and tire already mounted from a Neon in the yard.

If you haven't obtained the wheel already, why not look for one with some tread on it to get you to the tire store if you should have a flat?

 

[Auto-Union]

Just keep one of your current tires for spare when you get new ones.

 

[racer12306]

^^^ true, but i'm still ~40000 miles away from the time i need new tires.

 

[m2200b]

Craigslist since you aren't in a hurry.

I just came back from LA on I5. I was passed by rental cars going at least 80mph on their temp tire. Could of been 100. Where I'd go slow on the temp spare is when that tire ages and is over 6 years old but your's is new.

I'd proably wait until its 5 or 6 years old which is about when you're ready for a new set anyway.

 

[Tosh]

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This seems a job for an auto-recycling yard. Get a wheel and tire already mounted from a Neon in the yard.

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I like this option best.

 

[RacerE7773]

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This seems a job for an auto-recycling yard. Get a wheel and tire already mounted from a Neon in the yard.

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I like this option best.

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So do I. In fact, I was thinking of going to the bone yard whenever spring decides to visit Ohio and get a donut out of another cavalier/sunbird (I know, same car). Mine is down to the belts because of a bad strut not found in the hit and run that I ended up having to pay for the repair because the nimrod could not be found whom ran over my car (was a lifted truck). Needless to say I won't go back to that bodyshop, as the strut replacement ended up costing $400 I didn't and still don't have.

 

[Chris142]

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yeah, flats are pretty rare.

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Lucky you. I work across the street from a place that builds roof trusses. That combined with the crazy housing tracts that are springing up everywhere around here I get at least 1 flat tire a week.

Fortunatly for me I pick up a nail either driving 6 miles to work or 6 miles home and the tire goes flat overnight or during work.


So far I have not had to put on my spare on the side of the road. I just pump it up, pull the nail and shove a plug in it.

My last set of tires had about 10 plugs per tire