Stranded Yaris

[andruboz]

Donuts go flat just waiting in the trunk. I do 1-10 tire changes a week for a road side service company and the only donuts with 50+psi left in them are usually 09's and 08's. a few 07's. They are designed to be inflated to 60psi. From 06 and older they usually have between 25-45 lbs in them. Not really enough especially when folks don't follow the 50mph limit on the sidewall. I imagine they lose pressure from heat cycling every day. in texas the interior temps can be well over 130 degrees in the summer. and maybe losses from the valvestem.

if folks were smart they'd keep a cigarette lighter powered air compressor in the car with the other tire change tools. they are maybe $19 at Walmart?

I run around with a 3 ton jack, wheel chocks, a long breaker bar and a set of sockets, a torque wrench, the little compressor, and a full size spare as well as the donut. but I'm getting paid to be prepared.

the other thing that folks screw up on: not having the key for locking lugs in the car. or if the fancy new wheels take one kind of lugnut and the spare needs a regular factory lugnut. best to keep a set of the plain lugs with the spare.

[nemelek]

Originally Posted by andruboz

Donuts go flat just waiting in the trunk. I do 1-10 tire changes a week for a road side service company and the only donuts with 50+psi left in them are usually 09's and 08's. a few 07's. They are designed to be inflated to 60psi. From 06 and older they usually have between 25-45 lbs in them. Not really enough especially when folks don't follow the 50mph limit on the sidewall. I imagine they lose pressure from heat cycling every day. in texas the interior temps can be well over 130 degrees in the summer. and maybe losses from the valvestem.

Having a flat tire only to learn that the spare was flat also, I have learned to check the preasure on the spare when I rotate my tires. I also carry a back up can of fix a flat.

[12345Michael54321]

Originally Posted by nemelek

I also carry a back up can of fix a flat.

I always used to carry a can of fix a flat in the trunk of my car. But my 2008 Yaris has that feature where if one of my tires is low on air, a dashboard idiot light comes on.

I've been led to believe that the electronic gizmo (hey, can I sling the technical lingo, or what?) which monitors the tire's pressure can get gunked up and damaged if I use fix a flat on the tire. Resulting in a moderately expensive repair/replacement bill.

Now, if I've been misinformed, and fix a flat won't cause any problems, please feel free to enlighten me. 'Cause while fix a flat has its shortcomings, it's a nice option to have, in the event of a flat tire.
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Michael