{"id":2399,"date":"2014-04-28T11:52:57","date_gmt":"2014-04-28T18:52:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.costulessdirect.com\/?p=2399"},"modified":"2014-04-28T11:52:57","modified_gmt":"2014-04-28T18:52:57","slug":"dont-trust-your-safety-to-your-spare-tire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.costulessdirect.com\/blog\/dont-trust-your-safety-to-your-spare-tire\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Trust Your Safety to Your Spare Tire"},"content":{"rendered":"

You\u2019re driving down the highway for a long overdue vacation and your destination is 350 miles away. Then — BLAM!\u00a0 You just ran over something and now you\u2019ve got a flat tire. Thankfully, you\u2019re able to safely pull over to the side of the road to put on your spare tire. Having a spare tire in good condition provides peace of mind \u2013 like good car insurance<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Once your spare tire is installed, you\u2019re back on your way, and you can get the flat tire fixed whenever you get around to it, right? Wrong \u2013 most spare tires are not meant to replace your flat tire indefinitely. You can conservatively drive about 50 miles on a temporary spare tire. The bottom line, driving extended distances is putting your safety at risk. Keep on reading to see how characteristics of spare tires can affect vehicle safety.<\/p>\n

Types of Spare Tires<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are different types of spare tires; check your vehicle owner\u2019s manual to see what kind of spare you have. Temporary spare tires aren\u2019t designed to last nearly as long as regular tires. In comparison to a normal car tire, they may have a single layer of polyester in the sidewall and two belts of steel with a layer of polyester in the tread \u2013 they just can\u2019t handle road abuse as well as a normal tire.<\/p>\n

Donuts\/Space-Savers<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Smaller, lightweight spare tires
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Less durability and stability than a regular tire
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Most have a limited top speed of 55 mph
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Less layers of steel and polyester underneath the rubber
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Greatly limited puncture resistance and cornering ability.
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Reduced amount of traction
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Longer stopping distances
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Unpredictable handling in emergency maneuvers
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Long-term use can cause a serious mechanical issue with your differential<\/p>\n

o\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0The spare is smaller than the other wheels, forcing it to turn faster to keep up with car\u2019s speed, making the differential work harder
\no\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0The lubricating grease will start to break down, increasing wear between the gears<\/p>\n

Full-Size Non-Matching Spare<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0More durable
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Wheel may also be different than the wheels on which the other tires are mounted
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0May use a different tread make-up or a different kind of rubber compound than the rest of your tires<\/p>\n

o\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Can affect overall handling and safety<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Should not be a part of your vehicle\u2019s tire rotation pattern<\/p>\n

Full-Size Matching Spare<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0More durable
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Matches current set of tires on your vehicle
\n\u2022\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Should be part of your vehicle\u2019s tire rotation pattern<\/p>\n

If either the tire or the wheel of a compact spare is ever damaged, be sure to replace the entire spare \u2013 do not have it repaired.<\/p>\n

Run-flat tires are another option and these kinds of tires are tougher than most other types of tires \u2013 they can handle a puncture and still maintain air pressure for a limited distance \u2013 and safely keep you going. But, the pros and cons of run-flat tires are a whole other topic.<\/p>\n

Be ready for the unexpected \u2014 keep your spare tire in good condition and proper pressure at all times and, of course, keep your car insurance up to date.<\/p>\n

Have you noticed your car handled differently while using a spare tire? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You\u2019re driving down the highway for a long overdue vacation and your destination is 350 miles away. Then — BLAM!\u00a0 You just ran over something and now you\u2019ve got a flat tire. Thankfully, you\u2019re able to safely pull over to the side of the road to put on your spare tire. Having a spare tire […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2400,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[695],"tags":[188,569],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.costulessdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2399"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.costulessdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.costulessdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.costulessdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.costulessdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2399"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.costulessdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2399\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.costulessdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.costulessdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.costulessdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.costulessdirect.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}