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Spare Tire Donut Lifetime? (revisted) Posted by Gene N [Email] (#1094) [Profile/Gallery] (more from Gene N) on Tue, 21 Jun 2011 10:29:41 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
In an earlier thread (see link below), I was wondering about the lifetime of the little-used space-saver spare tire. Unfortunately, I have an anecdotal answer to the question. The lifetime is apparently less than 20 years.
I got a flat on I-95 returning to Washington, DC from NYC just after midnight today. I had recently pumped up the spare on my 1991 9000, and it looked fine when I mounted it on the car. I got about 10 miles down the road at 60 MPH and I felt the belt separate in the tire. (Anyone that has had Pirelli P-6's knows the feeling.) I was about 40 miles from home (Annandale, VA), so I slowed down and figured I could thump my way home. 15 miles later the spare disintegrated, leaving me stranded on the Beltway. I woke up my wife and she picked me up, we drove home and came back with a snow tire. Unfortunately, because of the unbelievable amount of construction on the Beltway in Virginia, a round trip that would normally take 40 minutes took almost 2 hours.
I can only speculate that, even in the trunk of the car, the heat and oxidation to the tire leads to dry-rot. The latest recommendation is to through out tires older than 6 years old, so ther must be some time limit for tires sitting in the trunk. I will not be replacing the tire with another space-saver from a junk yard. After all. the newest tire I could get would be over 13 years old. I will probably put a cheap new 175/70-15 radial on a spare steel wheel that I have, as per the suggestions in the previous thread.
posted by 169.253....
Previous discussion on spare tires.
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