Spare Tire vs Tire Inflators

As others have said, if you have a blowout the inflator or slime can't help.

I've had one blowout before about 90 miles from home at 1am on highway 401. Luckily the soft shoulder was nice and wide and the blowout was on the passenger side away from traffic. The donut spare in the accord worked. I always have a breaker bar and socket in my trunk to make wheel removal easier.
 
I've just bought a Tesla and it has no spare tire or run flats. Tesla provides road side service but I'm more independent than that.

You can get a narrow but full diameter aftermarket spare tire that's rated for 80 MPH so I plan to buy one of those. The company sells a kit for tire replacement too but I think I'll "put one together" myself. Supposedly the aftermarket kit's jack might not be able to get under the usual jack point when a tire is flat so that's a limitation. I don't fancy trying to drive a flat tire up onto a curb or a 2"X4" or something like that. You can also buy a very low profile jack that will get under there without any question.

I plan to drive this car in areas where I could be 100 miles from a major center, so it's necessary.
 
Not writing a bible but I have had Corvettes for 30 years and they don’t have spare tires. At least the newer ones. I never had an issue or a flat. Keep good tires on your vehicles really helps. I don’t buy run craps either. AKA run flats. The last on the road flat tire was on my 1974 Grand Prix and that was many many years ago.
 
i have never tried , but i very much doubt that fix a flat will fix a hole the size of my pinky in the sidwall or the tread , both of witch i have had in the last 4 years on a sunday night after 10pm , the spare fit really nice though
 
Taking a long road trip next week, so i figured I would check the mini-spare tire pressure in the 06 Honda Odyssey. Was about 5 psi. Of course this was the first time the spare has seen the light of day. I did not even know what it looked like. Filled it to 60psi and hope to never see it again. I think I’ve had one flat in my lifetime where I’ve needed the spare. All other times have used quick fix measures such as fix a flat, plugs, more air, etc to get to where I needed to go. I agree that one way to minimize likelihood of flats is to keep good tireson the car (not pushing past 7 years and replacing well before the treadwear indicators are hitting the road). I seem to remember picking up fewer nails/screws when my tires had deeper tread.
 
Its only a cost saving measure for the manufactures. ONLY
Its only a cost space saving measure for the manufactures.

As an example, you can get a new prius with a spare tire, rear axle AWD motor, or enlarged battery pack under the trunk floor. Choose your adventure!
 
The Camrys have a donut and some sort of jack + wrench . I should probably give them a look. Run flats are a joke. Every tire is a run flat. I get a flat on a divided highway, I'm driving off the next exit and into the first parking lot before I deal with it. :cool:
 
OP here,
After giving it some thought, I bought a full-size spare tire.
I have NO regrets.

I paid $150.00 for 'used' tire (less then 30 days old) and a 'new' rim.
All is well.

Also bought:
* 3 ton scissors jack
* Adjustable breaker-bar

Thanks for all the replys.
 
The effectiveness of a tire inflator is predicated on the driver catching the tire when the pressure first gets low. TPMS is a big help.

If the tire goes flat quickly, the inflator is useless because the structure of the tire is damaged by rolling on collapsed sidewalls.

So, the inflator won’t work if that damage is significant, the driver ignores the TPMS, or the car doesn’t have TPMS.

For those cases, the tire inflator is a lousy substitute for a proper spare.

My last real flat: a piece of debris on Route 13 on the Eastern Shore of Maryland Took our the right rear tire of my Volvo 240 wagon while I was towing a double axle Uhaul with a piano and furniture in it. The damage was severe, a several inch gash in the tread, and the deflation explosive.

I put the donut spare on the front right wheel. Moved the right front to the right rear. Drove to a tire store. Got two new tires.

No can of goop would’ve helped me. I would’ve been stuck, needing a tow, had to disconnect the trailer.

While I dislike donut spares, it was far, far better than a pressurized can of goop on that day. My cars all have full size spares (one actually has two spares, but that’s another story) and I won’t buy a car with just an inflator can.

There are some scenarios where the inflator is useless and you’re stuck, waiting for a tow. Given the time of day, and your location, that could be a very long, painful, wait.
 
What's in your vehicle ?

Well, two Weeks ago I bought a 'new' 2021 Ford Escape after driving my Ford Ranger for 19 years.
Totaled in an accident (other persons fault).

The 2021 Escape came with a Tire Inflator (I've always had a full size spare).
I have come to accept the Tire Inflator for various reasons.
1) A full size spare is to 'wide' to fit in the dedicated area .... plus the added weight of spare and Jack
2) Because my vehicle is all-wheel-drive, a donut tire is to small in diameter (at least I think so / by about 3 inch)
3) I bought a 'spare' Tire Inflator so I will have two / plus two cans of 'slime'
Note: The tire inflator and green slime had good reviews on youtube.
4) I have had to change a flat tire while driving only once in 40 years / several slow leaks that I found in my driveway.
5) I have a good digital tire pressure gage and compressor in my garage and fill out a spread-sheet (record PSI) once a Month
Note: That's an easy way to find a slow leak.

I know alot of people insist on a full size spare, but tire inflators are here to stay, at least for cars and SUV's.

Question: Anybody have good or bad experiences with Tire Inflators ?

I did a search on here, but thought with more vehicles having them, it would be good to bring up.
Im personally not a fan of inflators because how are you going to reinflate a tire if you have a blow out? I would always prefer the peace of mind of knowing that I always have a spare tire that I know is a good tire that is at least going to get me hope.
With an inflator, you have to hope that its just a slow leak and is a tire that you can still safely drive on.
If I bought a vehicle that didnt come with a spare, Id be making sure that my AAA membership is paid up becasue if a tire blows out, that inflator is going to be worthless.
 
Im personally not a fan of inflators because how are you going to reinflate a tire if you have a blow out? I would always prefer the peace of mind of knowing that I always have a spare tire that I know is a good tire that is at least going to get me hope.
With an inflator, you have to hope that its just a slow leak and is a tire that you can still safely drive on.
If I bought a vehicle that didnt come with a spare, Id be making sure that my AAA membership is paid up becasue if a tire blows out, that inflator is going to be worthless.
Most of my flats have been slow leaks though so the inflator has come in handy many times. But I've have had a few blowouts, but having slow leaks happen much more often than a blowout. I still carry my inflator in the trunk in addition to the spare tire.
 
Having a spare tire will always be superior. A tire inflator can be handy in specific situations but it will absolutely not help you with a total blowout, slow recurring leak, or sidewall damage. If you're stuck waiting for a tow truck in a sketchy area or on an interstate where nobody slows down anyway, you're screwed in those moments. Even a donut spare has saved me on more than one occasion. I can't put a tire inflator on my car and continue to move.
 
OP here,
Yea, I now have the full size spare and am very happy with it.
It's the way to go, as long as your vehicle has a place to store it.

As far as a tire going flat because of a slow leak, I check my air pressure every time the temperature changes 10 degrees.
It's also a good way to find a slow leak.
 
Always, always, always carry a spare. Only our Morman van has a doughnut sized one, all others are full sized.

We have had 4 catastrophic blow outs on various trailers and our Trailblazer. Slime and a measly pump can't solve that.

Slime and a little pump would help with the dozens of slow leaks, nail, rock or other random punctures we have had over the years.
 
OP here,
Yea, I now have the full size spare and am very happy with it.
It's the way to go, as long as your vehicle has a place to store it.

As far as a tire going flat because of a slow leak, I check my air pressure every time the temperature changes 10 degrees.
It's also a good way to find a slow leak.
FYI the thread starter has a label so we can see you're the OP.

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Most of my flats have been slow leaks though so the inflator has come in handy many times. But I've have had a few blowouts, but having slow leaks happen much more often than a blowout. I still carry my inflator in the trunk in addition to the spare tire.
I understand that. Even still, Id much rathar have a spare, even if its a donut, over an inflator.
 
Every failure I’ve ever had with a tire has been bad enough that no slime or inflator would fix it.

I’ve carried a plug kit and inflator for a long time and have never needed to use it. FWIW.
 
Every failure I’ve ever had with a tire has been bad enough that no slime or inflator would fix it.

I’ve carried a plug kit and inflator for a long time and have never needed to use it. FWIW.
I use my inflator all the time. I usually get a warning every few months that one of the tires is a little low.
 
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