20 year old spare (donut) tire

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zorobabel

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I pulled a screw from a rear tire on the Maxima this evening and installed the donut spare. Aside from how ridiculously small it is and it's 5mm spacing from the hub, it looks to never have been used. But it most likely is 20 year old.
I need to drive about 70 miles tomorrow morning (I expect mostly bumper to bumper traffic), before having a chance to fix the rear tire. Do you think the donut will disintegrate?

P.S. I did not notice any cracks, it looks shiny.
 
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Originally Posted By: zorobabel
I pulled a screw from a rear tire on the Maxima this evening and installed the donut spare. Aside from how ridiculously small it is and it's 5mm spacing from the hub, it looks to never have been used. But it most likely is 20 year old.
I need to drive about 70 miles tomorrow morning (I expect mostly bumper to bumper traffic), before having a chance to fix the rear tire. Do you think the donut will disintegrate?


I think there is a chance. I would leave early and not drive at Interstate speeds if I were you. Not meaning to scare you....it's just MHO.
 
Make sure it has the correct air pressure. Might be 60 PSI. Because they are smaller it's best to have them on the rear of a front wheel drive car.
 
I just replaced the spare tire on my 1997. I am assuming yours is inside a trunk whereas mine hangs below the vehicle. I am sure this makes a difference.

The tire looked new and unused, but was grey in color with many cracks. Surprisingly, it still held air too. Walmart has plenty of cheap tires that can be good cheap insurance. I'll admit I've never shopped for a new doughnut tire though.

You may want to buy a new tire in the near future.
 
They are usually far more durable than rated. I put a few thousand miles on one before it separated at the tread but still held air. I wouldn't worry about it.
 
They have 55MPH stamped on the sidewall, but if you look at the load range and speed rating of the donut, it's likely higher on both than the car's OE tires.
 
I've had a couple explode, one in the shed, one in the trunk. The one that exploded in the shed was about as old as yours, never used. The one in the trunk was only 5-6 years old, also never used. (I've also had dozens that never exploded)

Yours may be fine, but as mentioned, drive carefully. Well, you've probably already made your trip...

New donuts are hard to get and expensive. They're also hard to get a tire shop to install -- to replace the ~5yr old one, I found another unused tire in the junkyard but had to get it mounted on my wheel. The tire shop manager said I'd have to ask the tech if he wanted to do it, and pay the tech directly in cash.
 
Almost makes sense to use the spare and replace it with the best used tire when you change tires when you have a full size spare. Spare on my Dodge is 11 years old. It's out of the sun under the bed, still it's 11 years old.
 
Originally Posted By: zorobabel
I pulled a screw from a rear tire on the Maxima this evening and installed the donut spare. Aside from how ridiculously small it is and it's 5mm spacing from the hub, it looks to never have been used. But it most likely is 20 year old.
I need to drive about 70 miles tomorrow morning (I expect mostly bumper to bumper traffic), before having a chance to fix the rear tire. Do you think the donut will disintegrate?

P.S. I did not notice any cracks, it looks shiny.


Even when brand new, most donuts have a 50-mile recommended maximum distance... at maybe a 50-55 mph max speed.

I'd find another option.
 
Does the flat tire fit in the hole in the trunk?

My Camry has a full size spare, some have donuts.

Just get a wheel from the junk yard and have a cheap tire put on it for a spare. Or, you might be able to find a decent tire in the junk yard that's only 2 years old or something. Good enough for a spare.

Which reminds me, the spare on my Jeep is now 10 years old. Time to replace it.
 
Originally Posted By: edwardh1
what do they cost , mine is a 99, in the trunk, no sunlight


New ones cost a lot, like $110. Tire rack has them under "Specialty". Otherwise you'd be stuck with another old junkyard tire or if you're lucky enough that they still make your car a dealer parts version.
 
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum


Even when brand new, most donuts have a 50-mile recommended maximum distance... at maybe a 50-55 mph max speed.

I'd find another option.



This advice may have more to do with the transaxle differential pin, AWD stress, or liability WRT stability control being stressed. Still valid, but not the tires fault, aside from being born a runt.
wink.gif
 
This morning, I've decided to have my wife drive the Maxima with the donut 10 miles to work, while I used the Corolla. Even though I've shown her many times, she can't even open the hood; I'm positive she wouldn't have noticed driving on the rim...
We switched cars later at her work and I drove another 18 miles on the donut to a tire shop (where I'll be picking the patched tire later). It did now blow up ... yet.
If I were to replace the spare I want to go with something else, since this donut wheel does not fit the hub properly (too big for the hub, probably a universal type of spare to save Nissan money). The full size tire (205/65R15) does fit in the trunk from a diameter point of view, but the spare compartiment is not deep enough so the tire sticks out an inch. Maybe the Maxima had 175mm wide tires in Japan...

 
Heat, but no UV. Id have to suspect that they are designed for better longevity and resistance to dryrot. Probably higher concentrations of stabilizers and antioxidants, but that is PURE SPECULATION.

Id chance it after verifying that the pressure was right and held, but then again, my wife knows how to change tires.
 
From the Rubber Manufacturers Association:

Quote:
...Since service and storage conditions vary widely, accurately predicting the actual serviceable life of any specific tire based on simple calendar age is not possible. RMA is not aware of reliable and accurate scientific or technical data that establishes a specific minimum or maximum service life for passenger and light truck tires.


https://rma.org/sites/default/files/TSL_Statement_092014_0.pdf
 
My 1992 NSX came with a spare tire. I took it out of the trunk and into a closet in the garage. There is no way I'd run it on a 25 year old tire, even in an emergency. I have a patch kit and of the stop leak inflator stuff in the trunk. If that doesn't work, it'll get towed. Same thing in my S2000.
 
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