Weight of the temporary Spare and jack - Prius trivia

That is quite interesting. Thanks for doing this and posting.

This is 30 pounds that I will gladly carry around with me, though

 

Knowing Prius people, someone will suggest storing it without air - it will make it a little lighter.

Tom

 

^ they could improve the situation by putting Nitrogen in the spare... lol.

 

My other car a .....2011 911 has run flats....no spare...and only gets 16mpg...lol

 

Only because helium will diffuse out of the tire!

 

Personally, I recommend filling it with hydrogen. That way, it reduces the weight of the spare tire, and it serves as a check of both your electrical system and spare tire without having to take the floor out. It's easy - just turn on the car! Did you explode? If so, then your electrical system is creating sparks, and your spare tire is flat.

 

oh come on... when was the last time you needed a spare? The 911 says it all...spare tires are a crutch... you don't need it.

 

If you want to take your spare tire out, help yourself. Yes, it has been a long time since I have had a flat but I do not want to be stranded beside the road waiting for some tow truck to arrive 45 minutes to an hour later.

 

Ha. Last year was driving back and forth to Michigan with son's college gear piled up in the back of the Toyota minivan. Somewhere around Toledo the "your tire has low pressure" warning light went off. Pulled off at the first convenient spot; front right was 10 lbs low. I couldn't hear it (old age) but my son heard the hissing.

Cranked the spare down from where it lived under the center section of the car, put it on the hub, and limped into Ann Arbor. The hole was on the side of the tread, close to the sidewall, and couldn't be repaired (drat).

Three things:

1. If it can happen to me, it can happen to you.
2. Really, really glad that the TPMS gauge was there. The thought of losing the front right at speed on the interstate in heavy traffic should be enough to give anybody the willies.
3. Run-flat tires are, I believe, Really Expensive to replace. In which case that stupid donut-spare was better than a Run-Flat, limping into Ann Arbor or not.

KBeck

 

OK, look, at one point it may be bad. I hear you. I get that. It can happen to anyone. I would take it on a road trip. It would be a real pain to have to get it from the house. But... should I carry it every day the other 2000 days I own the car?

 

Maybe helium? Lighter than air!

 

Most of us could go on a diet, lose the thirty pounds, still carry a spare for emergencies, a spare tire that could be of some use.:rockon:

 

I do not know. In some forty years of driving I've had (or been associated with people who looked to me to fix) maybe a dozen flats. Murphy's law says that flats never happen in a convenient place and he's been right at least half of the time. Even with that, if the flat happens somewhere near home, unless it's within a half mile, it's going to be a royal pain and $ getting that tire off, fixed, and replaced.

Personal choice, I guess. But I still prefer the spare.

KBeck.

 

Talk about strange.

Today, got a flat in the Prius. Somebody had left one of those big screws that holds, like, a CB radio onto its bracket, knurled knob and all, in the street. Crossed over it on Woodland Ave. in Edison, followed promptly with a flaw-flaw-flaw noise from the front end.

On a side street unscrewed the thing from the middle of the belt of the tire, followed promptly with the sound of escaping air. Pulled out the spare and jack, swapped in the spare, drove to a nearby gas station/repair bay, and they fixed the tire for $5. On my way 20 minutes later.

Now, try and do that as cheap with a no-flat tire. Or as fast as with no spare at all.

KBeck

 

Yup, I weigh about the same as eight Prius spare tyre & jack kits. :embarassed: op2: :hungry: izza: :couch2:

 

I hear you. And my Plug-in will be the first car I've ever had that didn't have a spare (and a full-sized one to boot; I keep my cars forever. )

That said, I have never in three cars and 30+ years of driving gotten a flat while driving, and only once while parked... and that once was due to vandalism. Different roads? Different driving or maintenance styles? Luck? Who can say?

But unless the PiP really picks up the pace, I guess I don't expect to see more than one flat in its lifetime. I'd like to have at least the donut tire -- but trading a tire I'll use once in ten years for a bunch of all-electric miles I can use every day makes sense.

 

My 2009 Corvette does not have a spare and I do not use run flats. So far so good................

 

Driving on "borrowed time?"

 

I must be the unluckiest person in the world, but I bet I've had at least 9 flats in the last 11 years. Of the 9 three were not fixable. I will never drive any car that doesn't have a spare.


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