[DjPiLL]

Ok well my full spare just paid for itself today. After I drove to my parents place and parked, I noticed my rear passenger tire was flat. That actually makes me wonder how long I was driving with it flat... i couldnt even notice. The only thing ive been noticing is my car seemed a TAD sluggish (probably from the tire).

Now thanks to my full spare I have some options. Currently my full spare is on the car... what shall I do from here.

Obviously I am going to try to get the bad tire fixed/plugged/patched. Assuming they can plug the tire, which of the following should I do?

A - Put the fixed tire back on the car and put the full sized spare back in the trunk?

B - Leave what was my former full spare on the car and put the fixed/pluged/patched tire in the trunk to use as a future spare

Now with both of these in mind... also consider this... my car has 5200 miles and I havent rotated the tires yet. I guess its probably about the time that I rotate, so I guess it wouldnt be that great of an idea to put a pluged/fixed tire on the front?

Also... if I decide to keep my former full spare on the car... would moving that to my front as well as the other rear good tire up to the front affect my alignment since the one tire from the rear would have 5200 more miles than the other?

Sorry for the length... but I want to do the right thing. All in all the morale is... those of you with full spares will appreciate having these options.

 

[RapidTransit]

Go with plan B. You don't want the patch job as your daily tire. It should make a fine spare. Unless you were driving on it too long flat, in which case it's ruined. Ask whoever does the work for you to check the condition of the inside of the tire when he checks to see if he can patch it. Also, take a good, long, critical look at your wheel/rim to check for any warping or dents. Personally, I don't think the 5200 miles worth of treadwear will make much difference. BTW - I've got the "mini-spare"

 

[DMAG]

Agreed, and you are supposed to rotate the spare into your lineup every 6,000 miles anyway.

 

[DjPiLL]

You are supposed to rotate the spare into your regular wheels as well? How is this supposed to be done?

front
1 2
II 5-spare
II
3 4
back

So assuming you are to rotate your spare in... would your car look like this after rotating

4 5
II 3-spare
II
1 2

 

[Warlord187]

Originally posted by Intrepidatious:
Agreed, and you are supposed to rotate the spare into your lineup every 6,000 miles anyway.

Damn. I have almost 28,000 miles on my car and haven't even rotated the tires once!!! I am really bad when it comes to rotating the tires.