Tire Mobility Kit vs Spare Tire?

[Lamb]

I'm trying to find my next car and I've learned that spare tires aren't standard in many cases? Hyundai only comes with a Tire Mobility Kit that has some sealant and a pump to fix the flat.

Does anyone have experience with the Tire Mobility Kit? Are you still old school and prefer a spare?

 

[tango]

I'm trying to find my next car and I've learned that spare tires aren't standard in many cases? Hyundai only comes with a Tire Mobility Kit that has some sealant and a pump to fix the flat.

Does anyone have experience with the Tire Mobility Kit? Are you still old school and prefer a spare?

I have no interest in these silly mobility kits. As far as I can tell about all they are is a can of goop you spray into the tire that gets you going, but pretty much guarantees you need a new tire sooner rather than later. And if you blow a tire you get to sit at the roadside for three hours while you wait for someone to bring you a tire, paying pretty much whatever they want to charge you.

I don't even like space saver tires. I want a full size tire that I can swap out and drive on just like I'd normally drive.

 

[Lamb]

My fear of the tire mobility kit is that it would make a mess and not work after all. My fear of changing a tire is not being able to remove the lug nuts. It's not very space efficient in the truck to carry a 3 foot piece of metal pipe to help with leverage for tire changing

 

[tango]

My fear of the tire mobility kit is that it would make a mess and not work after all. My fear of changing a tire is not being able to remove the lug nuts. It's not very space efficient in the truck to carry a 3 foot piece of metal pipe to help with leverage for tire changing

A big piece of metal pipe still takes up less space than a spare tire

 

[psalms 91]

I have triple A and they will come and change the tire and at 70 I kind of need that

 

[Josiah]

My first two cars - an OLD Buick and OLD Toyota- both had full size spare tires. I never once used them.

My Mazda Miata, Honda Pilot and Subie Forester all have those "donut" spares. I never once have used them.

Seems to me tires must be pretty good, I've never experienced a flat tire in my 15 years of driving.


BTW, when I was a kid, my Dad had a flat. He changed the tire with a full-sized one. He traveled a SHORT while and the tire blew up. Seems the spare was too old and was underinflated. It could have killed him but fortunately he was going slow. IF you have a regular spare, remember: tires go bad after about 8 years and if they are underinflated, they are VERY dangerous - you might be a lot safer with one of those "kits" or a "donut"



.

 

[Lamb]

Has anyone used one of the kits before?

 

[Tigger]

I want a real spare tire and I’ve always have kept a decent tire on that rim but it doesn’t need to be absolutely new. If I’m out of town I don’t want to rely on AAA or some goop to get me home.

 

[tango]

I have triple A and they will come and change the tire and at 70 I kind of need that

... which is great, until you find you blow a tire in a place with minimal cellphone coverage and then find it will be three hours before AAA can get to you.

 

[tango]

My first two cars - an OLD Buick and OLD Toyota- both had full size spare tires. I never once used them.

My Mazda Miata, Honda Pilot and Subie Forester all have those "donut" spares. I never once have used them.

Seems to me tires must be pretty good, I've never experienced a flat tire in my 15 years of driving.


BTW, when I was a kid, my Dad had a flat. He changed the tire with a full-sized one. He traveled a SHORT while and the tire blew up. Seems the spare was too old and was underinflated. It could have killed him but fortunately he was going slow. IF you have a regular spare, remember: tires go bad after about 8 years and if they are underinflated, they are VERY dangerous - you might be a lot safer with one of those "kits" or a "donut"



.

The only time I've used a spare tire in the last 20 years was in a borrowed vehicle, slightly north of the Canadian border, in the dark, when I blew a tire. No idea what I ran over, but it was embarrassing to be able to see the spare tire but have no idea how to release it. It was a weird setup, with the spare on the underside of the vehicle. Thankfully a police patrol car stopped to see if I needed help, and was able to help me put the spare on. Of course when passing traffic saw a police patrol car at the roadside it slowed down noticeably. That was also handy.

 

[tango]

Has anyone used one of the kits before?

A lot of years ago I was riding in the car with family. I forget where we were going but it was the sort of thing where being late doesn't work, I'm guessing we were going to an airport or something. We got a flat, so my dad pulled in to a garage and bought a can of goop that was supposed to be a "get you home" fix. It didn't work very well, he got no more than about 10 miles before he had to stop and put more air in the tire, then he had to stop and pump the tire every 10-15 miles or so until we got there. And then the goop meant the tire couldn't be repaired so he had to buy a new one.

 

[Lamb]

A lot of years ago I was riding in the car with family. I forget where we were going but it was the sort of thing where being late doesn't work, I'm guessing we were going to an airport or something. We got a flat, so my dad pulled in to a garage and bought a can of goop that was supposed to be a "get you home" fix. It didn't work very well, he got no more than about 10 miles before he had to stop and put more air in the tire, then he had to stop and pump the tire every 10-15 miles or so until we got there. And then the goop meant the tire couldn't be repaired so he had to buy a new one.

I was reading the directions yesterday and after filling the tire with goop, you are supposed to drive under 50mph for a certain distance and then stop and pump the tire with air. It didn't say anything about repeating that step though but yeah, the tire becomes unsuable for repair.

 

[ImaginaryDay2]

I wonder if these kits are Similar to the fix-a-flat stuff. If so, the tire itself may not be able to be patched. From what I understand, the product interferes with the patching compound and could cause a reaction. You'd have to notify the repair shop of any patching compound you've used for that reason