Will a full size tire fit in place of the spare?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Schmika @ Nov 21 2006, 08:52 PM) [snapback]352887[/snapback]</div>

Does AAA carry a spare for you?

I haven't changed a tire in years either, even using Triple A. However, I did have a leak that was slow enough that I could drive to Les Schwab to get repared. This was on the Prius. I left the nail in the tire for them to remove.

Dave M.

 

I too am a hater of phony spare tires- for good reason. Today my wife took the prius and destroyed a front tire- these are 195/55/r 16 on the touring. Besides the rather inconvenient fact that there is not a replacement in a tire dealer's warehouse in the west that can be gotten within two weeks, there is the small matter of being (on this day) 90 miles from home. Although the book doesn't mention 50 miles/50mph as a limit, I believe it's written on the phony, and at any rate one good look at the comical appearance of this phony mounted will persuade the boldest of rational persons to adhere to the 50/50. The other interesting part of this saga is that lo and behold Toyota dealers have access to said tire within two days- for between $203 and 223. Tire dealers quoted $120 but Toyota dealers say that is probably not the same tire as it is way below their cost. So I wonder wha's the straight skinny here? At any rate, am succumbing to the expedient exorbitant fix- can't be without this little sweetie for two weeks now can I?

 

unfortunately for me, I've had the luxury of getting two flats in the 1 1/3 year of prius ownership, as such, i've had the pleasure of driving approximately 100 miles on that spare, it was the rear passenger side tire. Basically, I was taking my dad to the airport, pulling in the gas station when my tire just popped. Long story short, had to drive to the airport and back on the spare or else my dad would miss his flight. Basically, you can't go over 55 mph or else you get the sqwiggly line warnign light on your dash. Can't remember exacty what it meant but i think it was something along the lines of slip warning. Other than that, I didn't notice any major inconvenience. If anything, it FORCED me to drive slowly, thereby conserving more gas.

 

"DO NOT USE WITH PRESSURE SENSING TIRE VALVES".

IT GUMS UP THE SENSORS [/quote]

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You took the words right out of my mouth! I can't believe how many people blindly think those FLAT TIRE RFEPAIR IN A CAN units are a God-send.

To have to replace a damaged "PRESSURE SENSING TIRE VALVE" can cost over $100!

 

I had an old Land Rover for a couple of years. The spare tire was mounted on the hood (excuse me the bonnet). It was out of the way, convenient to get to if it were needed, and looked kind of cool. You might consider doing that. It makes the hood a little heavy to open but other than that it seemed to work out fine, and you can pretend your on safari.

 

I have weighed both an OEM 2012 alloy rim plus normal size new tire at 37.2 pounds and my unused donut spare at 27.8 pounds. For the 10-pound weight penalty I think a full sized spare is MUCH better for those of us who drive in very rural areas, in my case a planned trip to Alaska. With the outside of the alloy wheel facing down, you can still used the screw knob to fasten it down and fit some things inside it.

 

I suggest you read the notice on the side of the skinny spare. It clearly states maximum speed 50 mph, and reading the handbook that says the skinny spare should be fitted on the rear of the car, meaning if you get a puncture on the front you have a lot of wheel swapping to do.

John (Britprius)