Q on spare with a lifted vx

[MZ-N10]

right now i need tires, so im planning on doing a lift. my question is what happens when i do a blow out? is it still safe to drive with the donut that came with the vx when i put in 32" tires(i mean a few miles at freeway speed)?

[Ldub]

NO...don't doo eet man...
The best solution is a full size spare in a roof basket or behind the back seat.
I don't think you were even supposed to drive "freeway speed" with the stock doughnut, but you can with a full size spare.
Also, the TOD would freak. :eek:

[tomdietrying]

No, it will affect your TOD. I'm not sure sure how bad, but it will kick off and on. If all you have is a donut and the flat is on the back, take the front tire off and put it on the back and the donut on the front. This will minamize the on/off of the TOD a little bit.

I carry a spare when I'm traveling out of town, but other than that I don't carry a spare. I've been lucky to have one flat in the 25+ years I've been driving. For a little piece of mind, carry a can of Fix-A-Flat and tire plugs.
Last year in Moab, Tone got a flat on his side wall out on the trail. He didn't have a spare, but someone (I think it was Todd Addams) lined up 4-5 plugs and Tony was able to drive out of the trail.

Peace.
Tom

[kelvin]

i second the motion to carry fix-a-flat. insanely usefull stuff. i keep 1 can in the car at all times and a second in my off-road camping kit. this should be in everyones car. i keep it bungee'd to my spare tire with 2 qts of spare oil behind the spare tire cover. a great out of the way place for it.

(still doesn't help on a tire blow out though....)

[Kenny]

i second the motion to carry fix-a-flat. insanely usefull stuff. i keep 1 can in the car at all times and a second in my off-road camping kit. this should be in everyones car. i keep it bungee'd to my spare tire with 2 qts of spare oil behind the spare tire cover. a great out of the way place for it.

(still doesn't help on a tire blow out though....)

Carefull with fix-a-flat in cans - most do not like to be stored in heat. (i.e. sitting in a car in the summer... ) I think the Green stuff at Walmart is ok in the heat tho'...

The donut should work on lifted VX if you are on stock tires or a bit bigger - since you are not changing the distance from centre of hub to pavement in a lift. I think the donut is 27" in height and the stock is ~31". So even with 33's thats's only a 1.5" difference in uneveness, I don't don't think the opposite rear tire will be off the ground with a donut on the front ;). Just drive accordingly.

When highway driving, I'd at least carry a patch kit (those meltable strips) since you're more likely to get a leak in the treads. Myself, I made a separate box to hold a full size spare in the rear area (back seats out!) for long travels.

As for trail riding, I wouldn't do it with out a full sized spare since you would be more prone to side wall damage or loss of bead. And a donut would not be helpfull over that next rock :p

[rowhard]

The dia of the stock tire (245/60/18) is 29.56inches. I had to do the math for speedo correction when I went to the 285/60/18's

[MZ-N10]

thanks all, i think ill just normally drive wiht just the greenstuff on hand and if im goin out of town i could bring a fullsize spare(remove rearseats) or soemthing.

[Tone]

Definitely get yourself a plug kit and a source of compressed air. I was on the trail last year and was able to fix a large sidewall cut. 3-4 plugs in the side and I was able to finish the long trail and visit a few wineries the next day until FedEx delivered a new tire - unbelievable. A full size spare is best when offroading as it could have been far worse.

[MrCrowley]

Order of necessity

1. I always have a plug kit in any car. You can get a kit at any Walmart for about $5. Buy the big ones, and also buy a can of rubber cement. The package doesnt have alot, but will suffice in a pinch. Most of the time, I roll car until the hole is acessible. Then i can plug it without removing the wheel. You could even jack the car in a pinch and still not have to remove wheel. The beauty of this repair is that you can continue with no distance limits or delays, but I always keep an eye on my pressure to make sure it is sealed.

2. Goo, or Fix a flat. Good stuff, but I use it as a last resort. Fix a flat actually uses a solvent to "melt" rubber inside your tire to seal the hole. In inclement weather, a big plus. If your tires are almost worn I would recommend tire replacement if you use this stuff. The down side is replacing all 4. A lot of tire people dont like this stuff due to the rubber deterioration. 2 tons, softened rubber, do the math. The goo is a little better, but if you cannot get the goo to where the hole is, it wont seal. Or, It is not a permanent seal like a plug, and I would always question when it will leak, and how much I had to use affecting tire weight/balance.

3. If you have to change a tire, try to have a full size spare. If not oh well :(

4. THE DONUT!!! always put it on the front. Luckily I have never used the VX donut, but I had to use the full size spare once in my Trooper. I at least had the foresight to double swap, and put the stock on the front, and the front oversize on the rear. This was due to having 33" mudders, and a 31" spare. Lol drove with a slight lean for about 15 miles. ***TIRES OF DIFFERENT DIAMETERS WILL TEAR UP YOU LIMITED SLIP DIFFERENTIAL.*** We only have one of those in the rear. Lucky for me, I was on the way to visit a family member who runs an 8,000 acre cotton farm. Needless to say, he has everything imaginable just in the back of his truck. I was plugged and ready to roll as soon as I arrived for the cookout. Lesson learned about carrying plugs. Ever since in all 5 cars since then, I have stopped and plugged about 7 times with no delays. See number 1 for future emergencies :)

Good luck out there :_steering