Save Weight/ Remove Spare Tire/ Install Tire On The Go

[DragBean]

Here's a thought,

You could get rid of 20 lbs net of weight by taking out your spare tire and putting a worn tire in its place (I would say worn because its a little lighter, you don't have to pay anything for it).

When you get a flat you remove the flat tire and then put the worn tire on. After figuring out how to set the bead, you'd re-inflate the tire, install the wheel and be on your way.

Not only would this save weight, you'd wouldn't have to drive slower.

The problems with this is idea are:

1) Setting the Bead on the flat tire - Would Fix a Flat set the bead?

2) Putting a tire on a rim can be difficult - However with the right technique and some lubrication on the rim and tire it ain't so bad.

3) What do you do if the rim is damaged? - Well then you're screwed, but if an impact is enough to significantly bend a rim to the point where you're tire won't go on then you've probably messed the suspension up anyways. Also knowing this you should stop as soon as possible and not drive on the rim. Another thing to factor is having pizza dish covers can save your rim.

4) Getting the tire off is difficult - Use your jack to pop the bead off then it's way easier

What do people think about this?

[niky]

Safety spares. I remember weighing one, it was something like half the weight of the wheel it was supposed to replace, and maybe only a tiny bit heavier than the tire by itself.

[DragBean]

My spare is 22 lbs. A worn tire is (10% tread) is about 7 pounds. You would also need a fix-a-flat and a flat bar - 5 extra pounds. So I'd be saving 10 lbs... Doesn't sound like a lot but over the life of the car... Plus the flat bar could have other uses too.

You could use the flame bead setting method too to eliminate the need of the fix-a-flat. Just go light on the fuel

You could put the worn tire to go on in the engine bay to use the heat to expand it a little and facilitate getting the tire on while you're getting the bad tire off.

[Gasoline Fumes]

I drive without a spare.

[freebeard]

What do people think about this?

I'm not sure I even understand.

You replace the spare with a 'worn' unmounted tire. Then fix it alongside the road like a bicyclist? An impolite person would say you're freakin' nuts.

I hadn't carried a spare from the 80s to the 10s. I haven't needed a spare since the 90s when I cut off a big black truck in traffic and he followed me into a store parking lot and cut the valve stems off with a nipper. The two on the far side of the car, where I wouldn't see it when I came out of the store.

It took two spares to get out of that one.

[dfeldt91]

You could just buy a tube to throw in the tire? Then you wouldn't have to worry about the bead...

[dfeldt91]

Also, there is a lot of time required to remove a tire and install a new one then set the bead, inflate and install the wheel all while on the side of the highway with cars going by at 70 MPH and rain pouring down on you.(it could happen)

It would be better to workout in your spare time to lose the ten pounds, or to get a smaller battery, remove the heat shield under the car, etc then you wouldn't run the risk of being stranded while trying to get a tire together.

[CapriRacer]

First, demounting a tire is not a trivial task. It is best performed with the right tools.

As someone pointed out, a minispare (aka donut) and wheel are much lighter than one would think - on the order of a bare fullsized tire - even a worn one.

Third, mounting a tire is also not a trivial task. It's easy to damage the tire rendering the whole point of trying to save weight a moot point.

And while I think fix-a-flat has enough umph to seat a bead, but only enough if the bead is already sealed. The can won't work if the bead is loose.

I think the weight of a cell phone is your best bet - if you are so inclined.

[oil pan 4]

We get a lot of idiots around here who don't think the bed of the pick up is full or the trailer is full until roofing tear off or reno demo they carry is falling off as they go down the road to the dump.

We were keeping a warn down spare tire (no rim) incase we got a flat, I was not going to try to remove and remount the tire by my self.
Then I took that tire and put it on a spare rim. Now it stays in the trunk.
We have real bad roads and the Hyundai rims are a little thin and about once a year we get a wheel knocked out of round by a pot hole.

I used to not keep a spare in the suburban but now I use one to cover the ARB air compressor and solar charge controller I put in the spare tire area. So when a crack head looks in side the back they don't see anything that might worth stealing.

[Ryland]

gen Honda insight and higher trim levels of CadillacCadillacse light weight alloy wheel spares.
Road side assistance is cheap too.
Other option is to keep your spare at home unless it's a long trip.