A flat tire can change your plans in an instant.
Whether you suffer a puncture, a blowout, or a pothole strike that opens your sidewall like a can of tuna (I call these the ‘Sudbury Special’), what happens next depends on a number of different factors including the cause of the flat and the equipment included with your vehicle to help you deal with it.
Does your car or SUV have run-flat tires? A temporary spare? A full-sized spare? An inflator kit?
Understanding the ins and outs of the spare tire or mobility equipment provided with your new (or used) car is important. Considering each solution, as well as the road conditions where you live, can help prevent unpleasant surprises.
This is all stuff you’ll want to know before you get a flat, so let’s dig in.
Temporary spare
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Many cars have a temporary spare that’s smaller than the regular wheels and tires on your car or SUV.
This compact or temporary spare is intended to enable some additional mobility after a flat, while saving weight and space in your car.
Key word: temporary.
Compact spares aren’t built to last, or go fast. When a temporary spare is installed, you’ll need to drive at a reduced speed, and for a maximum distance of about 120 kilometres. Usually limited to around 80 km/h, it’s the equivalent of walking on crutches.
If you get a flat while towing, you’ll need to leave your trailer behind because towing with a temporary spare is a really bad idea.
Check your owner’s manual for the specific conditions you need to adhere to when driving on a temporary spare. Remember that temporary spares should be replaced after use, because re- using a temporary spare can be very dangerous.
Full-sized spare
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Full-sized spares aren’t common in most vehicles, though they’re often included with (or optionally available on) 4×4, pickup, and SUV models.
The great thing about a full-sized spare is that it’s a complete tire and wheel combination. If you suffer a flat, just swap the two and keep on with your trip, even if you’re towing a trailer.
Some vehicles like the Ford Bronco and Jeep Wrangler have full-sized spares on their tailgates. Other trucks and SUVs have full-sized spares bolted up underneath the rear of the vehicle. Some pickups are even available with accessory racks where additional spare tires can be mounted.
If you’ll do a lot of towing, or driving on rough roads or trails in more remote areas, a full-sized spare (or two) is a great thing to have.
Run-flat tires
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When you get a flat in a car with a spare tire (whether temporary or full-sized), you’ve got to stop what your doing, pull over, and install it.
If that spare tire is flat or damaged, you’ve got an even more serious problem.
Run flat tires are an alternative to a temporary spare, and are included with some vehicles. Like all tires, run flat tires need to be inflated, but you can still drive on them if they go flat because of certain types of punctures.
A flat run flat tire works like a temporary spare: you’ve now got to follow limits on speed and distance (check your manual), but with no need to pull over and change a tire on the side of the road.
Self-sealing tires are available from numerous manufacturers, and work to reduce the likelihood you’ll need to use your spare tire — but in a different way.
“Michelin Selfseal tires are intended to replace the need for a spare tire” explains Shepherd.
“In the event of a puncture, the self-sealing material will help to prevent the tire from going flat. Michelin Selfseal technology is designed to help reduce the hassle of flats and keep drivers on the road until the tire can be safely inspected. This technology uses sealant permanently installed inside the tire to surround the object and fill the hole, preventing air leakage and maintaining pressure”.
I asked Russell Shepherd, the Technical Communications Director at Michelin, to explain which is better: a run-flat tire, or a temporary spare.
“A run-flat tire allows you enough mobility to find a safe place to resolve your run-flat condition,” he explains. “It reduces the likelihood of needing to pull over to the side of a busy highway to change your tire. However, not all vehicles are adapted for run flat tires and they can impact the comfort of the ride, if not on a vehicle originally designed for run-flat tires.”
Remember that run-flat tires can be installed to vehicles not originally fitted with them, but as Shepherd mentions, this can impact ride quality.
“Both options should be considered a temporary solution and Michelin recommends bringing your vehicle to an authorized dealer for service and inspection,” he adds.
In any case, consider your experience with tire damage where you live: in your years as a driver, are you more likely to suffer a puncture? A pothole strike? I’ve suffered dozens of flats testing cars in Sudbury, Ontario and areas surrounding — and 8 times out of 10, it’s a rim-bending pothole, not a nail through the tread.
Run-flats are designed for punctures, not blowouts. So, if you blow a sidewall out on a run-flat equipped car, you could be stranded with no temporary spare. A temporary spare can keep you going if you get a sidewall blowout, but a run flat may not.
Tire repair kit
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Some cars have a tire repair kit instead of a temporary or full-sized spare. A repair kit usually consists of an electric air compressor that’s plugged into your car’s 12-volt power outlet, and a can or bottle of puncture-sealing ooze that’s pumped inside of the damaged tire.
The tire is re-inflated with the compact compressor, and the freshly-installed ooze creeps into the offending puncture area, sealing it from the inside out.
I asked Shepherd if this type of repair is permanent.
“No, a tire repaired with a repair kit (sealant/compressor) is a temporary solution,” he says. “Michelin recommends bringing your vehicle to an authorized dealer for service and inspection”.
In a nutshell, a tire repair kit takes up minimal space in your vehicle and is lighter than a spare tire — though it’s only intended as a temporary fix that’ll allow drivers to go track down a more permanent solution. As it is with run-flat tires, a tire repair kit won’t help you if a Sudbury Special explodes your tire’s sidewall.
Check your specific model
Whether you’re buying a Hyundai Tucson, Ford Mustang, or Honda Accord, it’s important to double-check what’s provided to help you deal with a flat tire. Sometimes, equipment varies by equipment package or trim grade, meaning that one version of the model you’re considering may come with a temporary spare, while another trim grade comes with a tire repair kit instead.
Other solutions
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The tire industry has come up with several clever solutions to help drivers more easily deal with flat tires, and several more to help prevent flat tires from occurring in the first place.
For instance, Finnish tire manufacturer Nokian presently offers passenger car and utility vehicle tires that feature special reinforcements, a beefed-up sidewall, and other design touches to help them better withstand road hazards like potholes, punctures and other damage. The reinforced ‘Tyres One’ line also include a pothole warranty.
Reinforced tires like these are ideal for drivers who worry about pothole season related blowouts, or who do a lot of driving on rough camp road and backroad surfaces. By reducing the likelihood of getting a flat, reinforced tires like these make it less likely that drivers will need to use their spare tire.
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