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Comments
Of course it's only RWD, so really 2WD and 1WD on ice when the Torsen fails.
* Like how I snuck back on topic?
Well that's one area full-size SUV's haven't scrimped on yet. I have a full size spare.
Some SUVs (Traverse is one iirc) only offer a full size spare if you get the towing package.
Here's a question, who makes the effort (if they have a flat in the front) to swap the rear tire for the front and put the temp on the rear (If you don't have the full size spare)?
I believe that is a recommended practice but I have seen plenty of people who just swap the front out.
I remember test driving the Volvo S60 and that car doesn't come with a spare tire at all. Just a can of FaF...
That plus I drove over the Bay Bridge, would not want to do that with a donut.
Juice, most of my flats have been in the van with the full sized spare, but my last flat was about year ago on the Interstate in lower Michigan in the Outback. We were within an hour of our destination and had gunkholed around the area a little on a prior trip, so we just got on the two lane blacktop and cruised into our friend's house not going more than 50 the rest of the way.
99% of my customers could care less. Like myself.
Some people think the car manufactures went to the temp spares to save money when the main reason was to save space and weight.
And, when used, they work fine too so I never could understand why it was a big deal to just a few people.
I agree. The only reason I'd prefer to have a full size spare on a full-size SUV or pickup is I sure wouldn't want to have my boat in tow while riding on an undersized tire.
Both flats had resulted in ruined sidewalls (no fix-a-flat option), but at least I had a full size spare both times.
Actually a can of fix-a-flat would be okay with me, but my wife wouldn't be too happy. The last flat in the van caused us to miss a ferry because my jack didn't work and we had to flag someone down. Met some nice folks from Toronto though.
I've actually thought about trying to find a compact spare to put in the trunk of my '76 LeMans, mainly because its trunk is fairly small and the full size takes up a lot of space. And annoyingly, it's mounted so that it takes up the deepest, most useful spot of the trunk. So when I go to my car shows, I have to position the beer cooler just right, and at a slight angle, and put a towel over it so it doesn't rub against the bottom of the trunk.
I think those compact spares are more useful on some cars than others. For instance, on my '76 LeMans, a compact spare would have helped tremendously with freeing up some trunk space. But, on the downsized '78 models, the spare was stowed almost upright, but still at somewhat of an angle, on the right side of the trunk, and had a little well to hold it. That well would also hold a full-sized tire, and because of the positioning, the full size wouldn't have taken up all that much more space.
On my '79 5th Ave, the compact spare stows upright, out of sight, tucked up against the right side...they actually took advantage of that drop-down area on the side of the trunk floor. However, the full size spare won't fit in there, so if you got a full-size, it was stowed flat, forward, in the center. And it looks like it takes up half the trunk. However, when I had a full size in there, it was a big tire on a 7" copcar rim, so it was a bit extra bulky.
On my deceased Intrepid, and the Park Ave, the spare is in a well under the floor, and there's a Styrofoam spacer, so I think a full size would fit in there.
When the Intrepid got junked, I kept its compact spare to use in the 5th Ave, as it's the same bolt pattern. Believe it or not, it will actually fit the DeSoto as well. But, it's not like the DeSoto is hurting for trunk space. And I have a feeling that the compact would be so much smaller than those tall bias ply tires, that it would list worse than the Andrea Doria on July 25, 1956...
Regards:
Oldbearcat
First car I saw with a min-spare was the new '78 Malibu. My Dad was appalled at seeing that in a new car (not one he owned, BTW). That and the no-roll-down rear windows in a sedan was a turnoff to a lot of people, and understandably, even though the cars were nice cars otherwise IMHO.
2011 Malibus had no spare as standard equipment. When I had my dealer search for a car, a compact spare was a requirement. Good thing, because not two weeks later the car had a complete flat in our garage...my wife ran over something. Still, I hate donuts as I think you're more forced to get a new tire right away, obviously, than if you could just throw a full-size spare from the trunk on. But there I go again, being old-fashioned.
I understand, but honestly, I haven't changed a tire on one of my cars in over 10 years. I've had several slow leaks, but I've always been drive to a shop for the repair.
Even with a full-size spare, the rim usually doesn't match those on the vehicle, so I would want to repair/replace the original ASAP.
OTOH, if you were on a long trip, at least you could get home on a full-size spare. No way would I want to drive very far on a mini-spare.
I cringe when I see someone driving 75 MPH on one of those little spare donuts. Most of the time on the front.
Will be patched this weekend. No spare to use in the meantime.
Was just reading the latest CR last night and the new Malibu has no spare at all, also.
The compact spare tires are much improved over the early ones. You can drive fairly long distances now. Still, I would keep my speeds down.
Tire shops hate fix a flat. It makes it hard to clean a place to patch them from inside.
I would never plug a tire. I've done this successfully but it's just a cheap way to "fix a tire and the plugs can blow out.
The 2nd half of your message is exactly why I'm taking my tire in this weekend for a proper internal patch. $26 at Sears...or do you think they will nickel-and-dime me for the valve and the TPMS "service"?
Some chain tire stores like Big O and Discount tire will actually fix flats for free in the hopes they can earn your future business.
A leak that slow isnt going to be easy to find!
I got tires from TireRack and they had Mr. Tire as the installer, but those guys wanted $30.99.
Let me call the dealer real quick...no answer. They push the upsell too hard anyway. I had a free oil change, and the guy tried to push a car wash. The car had just been waxed and was spotless. He then said, "So, do you want it?". :sick:
They won't mount new tires or rims bought elsewhere and I can understand that. But they will take my 1 year old snow tires bought elsewhere and mount them on used rims I bought elsewhere.
It's been a long time since I managed a Sears Auto Center.
In American car news, GM to invest $600M at Kansas City plant
Navitas Systems LLC plans to bring on board about 40 A123 Systems Inc. employees in southeast Michigan, following its $2.3 million acquisition of the government and research side of the battery maker's business.
Navitas Systems acquires A123's government, research side
Ford workers' $8,300 profit-sharing checks 'good news for Michigan economy'
Chrysler's $1.7 billion profit nets workers $2,250 bonuses Those are all UAW workers.
All links from today's Detroit News.
Honda Motor Co (7267.T)(HMC.N) launched its subcompact City in Mexico, starting at $16,000. The price tag in Brazil: over $30,000.
Brazilians still bought three times as many Hondas last year, but their sunny spending habits are dimming as they tire of buying one car for the price of two.
http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/08/28/us-autos-brazil-idINBRE87R0PS20120828
Wanna know why OJ used to be a buck, and now it's $3-4? Ask Emmerson Fittipaldi, the family owns groves in Brazil. US taxes the daylights out of OJ.
Mercosul formed in response. They get car designs from Europe.
There's been little/no cooperation between the US and Brazil, I'd actually like to see more. Coffee, guarana, OJ, etc.
He responded in a most negative way, stating that if he was interested in looking it up in the manual, he would have already done so.
I had the exact thing happen on one of the Edmunds forums; I told the poster that I wasn't about to perform research that he/she was perfectly capable of doing on his/her own...
Moron.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
That's when you can refer them to How To Find Your Car Owner's Manual Online.
I know I'm old-fashioned, but when my daughters got a new car, I refused to let them drive it until they at least familiarized themselves with the manuals... Knew where to find out what the dash warning lights meant, where the spare tire/jack/tire tools were located, how to check the fluids, etc.
In college, both girls became the "go-to" kids for car questions from their friends.
It paid off in other ways for my daughter when she began her clinical sessions in Seattle (i live in SC, a country away from her). Something happened to a relay, and the radio would continuously stay on, key in or not. Of course, this happened late on a Saturday night. She was able to locate the correct fuse using the manual and pull it, keeping the battery from dying.
It's really irritating that Toyota and VW and some other companies don't offer that online, although I guess Toyota lets you download the manual chapter by chapter now. But geeze, that's 35 different downloads and that doesn't include the Nav and maintenance schedule.
An American car company wouldn't make you jump through so many hoops. :shades:
I bet your daughters check out the controls before driving off in rental cars too.
Most cars are flex fuel anyway.
Saw a gallon of OJ for six bucks! Ouch!
I would also shift into neutral if the accelerator got stuck, and/or turn off the motor/ignition.
You don't need a manual to tell you those common sense things though.
Dilma isn't much different. She was his right hand
manwoman.The car guy's president was Collor. He opened the flood gates, you could buy any car in the world (for a price) when he was President.
Of course he was so corrupt we impeached him. I mean really impeached, as in left office.
Oops, that motor wouldn't fit, so I guess that would be a hard mistake to cover up. Cover up a mistake? The big 3? never! :sick:
That would be tough to take. Wagoner got a $23 million pension package guaranteed when he left. That is bad considering he took GM from $70 per share to under $4 per share in 8 years. And lost 10% of their market share.
LOL, sign me up. I promise to give at least 1/2 away to charity;)
Hennessey® only plans to build a total of 29 Venom GTs, with one-third of the production run already being sold. Thus, the Venom GT® is not only the fastest accelerating production car in the world, it’s also one of the most exclusive. The Venom GT® costs $1.2 million US Dollars plus shipping and not including options. Each vehicle is custom built to order and requires six months for completion
http://www.desktopmachine.com/press/1970/Lotus_Exige_Hennesey_Venom_GT/
http://www.hennesseyperformance.com/
The engine comes from Texas, but is sent to England to be mated to the car.
The company itself is headquartered in Texas where they build the engine, which begs the question of why they export the engine for assembly instead of importing the chassis.
Still, inside beats an American heart.