Why you NEED a full size spare.
3/29/14, 11:22 AM
#1
2014 SGM Roush Stage 2 --------- Moderator------
Thread Starter
Why you NEED a full size spare.
Or why the mobility kit and roadside service is pretty much worthless.
This is kind of long so you will have to bear with me.
It was finally Spring and I was itching to get the car out on the road. I had just broken it out from the long winters nap a week before. The weather was supposed to be very nice (clear and mid 60’s) so we decided to take the Mustang on its first road trip. We were headed to visit family over St. Patty’s Day weekend. This car was basically still brand new, when we started out it only had a little over 800 miles on it. You know still in that perfect new car state, just the way I wanted to keep it.
After an enjoyable weekend the Wife and I were now heading home. We were taking a leisurely Sunday morning drive on the concrete freeway heading north with a little over 300 miles to go; speed limit was posted at 65. I was cruising in the middle lane of the freeway, and hanging with several other cars on the road. Not a care in the world, everything was as it should be. Kind of Zen like, with the Roush pipes rumbling as we went. We are starting to leave the metro area so the speed limit changes from 65 to 80 mph. Love this part of the drive; it gives me a chance to kick the pony up to 80 if not 85, or maybe a little higher, Roar. Not long after I had reached 85, THUD, sounded like the front tire had hit a pot hole or kicked up a rock, a pretty good sized rock. What the heck did I hit? It was pretty loud and I was concerned. I know it was not a hole; I had not noticed anything on the road ahead that I needed to avoid. No pot holes, no debris, at least not that I had seen. I checked my gauges everything looked ok. Checked for something that might be coming out the back in the rearview mirrors, nothing. I kind of expected to see parts flying, but nope nothing, everything looked just fine. The car seemed fine, and so I continued on. After about 4 or 5 miles, “DING”! Ok $#!% now what? The TPMS warning light comes on. Luckily there was an exit just ahead so I quickly got off the freeway. There happened to be a convenience store gas station there, so I pulled in to check things out. Eventually we located the leaking tire.
Here is one thing that Ford needs to improve on in the next version of the Mustang. The TPMS needs to be smarter, more like my JGC. The Jeep not only tells you that you have a low tire, but it tells you which tire is low, the actual tire air pressure, and that includes the spare. But I am thankful that the Mustang has a TPMS system. Things could have been much worse if it did not.
Since I have a track pack car with the Brembo brakes I have the great fortune of having one of Fords well thought out Mobility Kits (a little air compressor with an optional use packet of slime). This is rather than a spare tire of any kind. So, I was kind of stuck. My driver side rear tire was not holding air for more than a few miles and no spare. I am pretty sure the slime would not do much for the hole I was seeing. And I was not about to ruin the tire further, or the rim, or the TPMS sensor.
So, I decided to give Ford Roadside Assistance a chance. Had been reading on this very forum how it was not a lot of help (Pretty much worthless was the message I remember reading), but decided to see for myself. At first it was pretty cool, they could actually use my phone GPS to locate me. Good thing because I was not sure how to tell them where I was. Well that warm fuzzy feeling did not last long. After spending a little while on the phone with a very nice lady, I was informed since I had no spare all she could do was send out a tow truck. That tow truck could only take the car to the nearest Ford dealer that was 15 miles in the wrong direction. No, it could not take me anywhere that I could actually get something fixed, but to the nearest Ford dealer who was closed until tomorrow morning (Monday). That was not going to work for us. Wife and I both had obligations on Monday and needed to get home. After trying to convince her that was not good enough and I could see that I was getting nowhere, I told the support person if I could not do any better I would call back. Was pretty sure I could do better than she could offer. That call was really a waste of time, but now I know.
After Roadside assistance did not work out, the Wife used Siri on her phone to find tire stores nearby, calling each to find out if they were open.
I took a different route and went inside the Maverick convenience store to see if the clerks could be any help. Maybe they could give me some info.
Wife wins; she found an open tire shop after about 10 tries. She located a Firestone that happened to be open on Sunday and was only about 8 or 9 miles away.
We did get a handful of lucky breaks that day. While she was in the car calling tire stores, a TDS tire trucker roadside assistance truck just happened to back in and park right in front of her. She thought maybe it was a result of the call to Ford’s roadside assistance. She was thinking boy that is nice, these guys are quick. So she jumped out and started talking to the guy. He was a little confused by her conversation at first. All he really wanted was to get some smokes and a drink, and hit the road. Very nice guy, really helped us out. He was a little nervous of damaging the car rims. He was used to working on the big rig wheels. He did not really have the right tools. He ended up guiding us to the Firestone shop, having to stop and help me refill the tire about half way there with his onboard compressor. So I did not have to break out my little Ford compressor, thank God!
When we got to the Firestone shop they were a little skeptical that the tire could be patched. After the hazard was dug out of the tire it turned out to not be a rock, but somebodies oversized tire weight. Bet the owner of this missing weight knew this was missing. See the pic below. The thing was as long as my index finger, and with the clip to mount on the side of the rim was near an inch wide. It went all the way into the center of the tire leaving only the flattened end sticking out.
Needless to say it took them a while to work this thing over. But with some luck and maybe a bit of magic, and even to their surprise, the guys at Firestone were able to get the tire to actually hold air. The manager assured me the tire would make it home, but was quick to warn me that it was no longer going to meet the speed ratings that it originally had. He made it known that I should replace that new tire as soon as possible (It only had 1260 miles on it). It was only a matter of time before it would have the cord separate, or likely fail. I think he purposely kept me from seeing the patch job and they quickly mounted the tire back on the car. With a sincere thank you we were back on the road again. I was not about to head straight home. I was a little concerned if the thing would hold air. So we went to a small do it yourself wand car wash the tire shop guys had suggested, and washed the gunk off the wheel and tire. Found an Arctic Circle Drive In next door and decided to get a late lunch. I was really just wasting time to build up my confidence that the thing was actually going to stay inflated.
Well after about an hour of hanging around, we decided to hit the road. Things felt good. I did not notice anything different in the handling. So we eventually went on as though nothing had happened. We actually made the remaining 4 hour drive home without any additional excitement. Now you have to realize that most of that 4 hour drive is through the desert. Not a town in site. It is not a good place to break down. Plenty of other traffic, but no real services for miles, lots of miles. If that tire had failed we would have been in a big mess. But all is good and we made it home.
The next day I decided to take the tire off the car and take a look. Plus I had decided to make it my spare and I wanted to see if that 275/35R20 would fit in the trunk. The picture is what I found. There was a frickin crater in the middle of that tire. If I had actually looked at it before we headed home I probably would have been a little freaked out. The speed I drove home would have been out of the question. I would have driven a lot slower than I did. I have to say one thing; I am impressed with these Cooper Zeon RS3 tires. They must be designed and built very well. They took a nasty punch in the gut and did not blow into pieces. The thing is still holding air. Even though the tire held and got us home, the car is not about to go anywhere until the tire is replaced. But still I am very impressed. I have a new Zeon RS3 and matching hyper black rim on order from Roush that will be here soon. The repaired tire and wheel will be temporarily retired and will become my spare, at least for a while. That is until I decide to buy another new tire and throw this thing away.
You can give me crap at me all you want, but I am a believer, you got to have a real spare!
This is kind of long so you will have to bear with me.
It was finally Spring and I was itching to get the car out on the road. I had just broken it out from the long winters nap a week before. The weather was supposed to be very nice (clear and mid 60’s) so we decided to take the Mustang on its first road trip. We were headed to visit family over St. Patty’s Day weekend. This car was basically still brand new, when we started out it only had a little over 800 miles on it. You know still in that perfect new car state, just the way I wanted to keep it.
After an enjoyable weekend the Wife and I were now heading home. We were taking a leisurely Sunday morning drive on the concrete freeway heading north with a little over 300 miles to go; speed limit was posted at 65. I was cruising in the middle lane of the freeway, and hanging with several other cars on the road. Not a care in the world, everything was as it should be. Kind of Zen like, with the Roush pipes rumbling as we went. We are starting to leave the metro area so the speed limit changes from 65 to 80 mph. Love this part of the drive; it gives me a chance to kick the pony up to 80 if not 85, or maybe a little higher, Roar. Not long after I had reached 85, THUD, sounded like the front tire had hit a pot hole or kicked up a rock, a pretty good sized rock. What the heck did I hit? It was pretty loud and I was concerned. I know it was not a hole; I had not noticed anything on the road ahead that I needed to avoid. No pot holes, no debris, at least not that I had seen. I checked my gauges everything looked ok. Checked for something that might be coming out the back in the rearview mirrors, nothing. I kind of expected to see parts flying, but nope nothing, everything looked just fine. The car seemed fine, and so I continued on. After about 4 or 5 miles, “DING”! Ok $#!% now what? The TPMS warning light comes on. Luckily there was an exit just ahead so I quickly got off the freeway. There happened to be a convenience store gas station there, so I pulled in to check things out. Eventually we located the leaking tire.
Here is one thing that Ford needs to improve on in the next version of the Mustang. The TPMS needs to be smarter, more like my JGC. The Jeep not only tells you that you have a low tire, but it tells you which tire is low, the actual tire air pressure, and that includes the spare. But I am thankful that the Mustang has a TPMS system. Things could have been much worse if it did not.
Since I have a track pack car with the Brembo brakes I have the great fortune of having one of Fords well thought out Mobility Kits (a little air compressor with an optional use packet of slime). This is rather than a spare tire of any kind. So, I was kind of stuck. My driver side rear tire was not holding air for more than a few miles and no spare. I am pretty sure the slime would not do much for the hole I was seeing. And I was not about to ruin the tire further, or the rim, or the TPMS sensor.
So, I decided to give Ford Roadside Assistance a chance. Had been reading on this very forum how it was not a lot of help (Pretty much worthless was the message I remember reading), but decided to see for myself. At first it was pretty cool, they could actually use my phone GPS to locate me. Good thing because I was not sure how to tell them where I was. Well that warm fuzzy feeling did not last long. After spending a little while on the phone with a very nice lady, I was informed since I had no spare all she could do was send out a tow truck. That tow truck could only take the car to the nearest Ford dealer that was 15 miles in the wrong direction. No, it could not take me anywhere that I could actually get something fixed, but to the nearest Ford dealer who was closed until tomorrow morning (Monday). That was not going to work for us. Wife and I both had obligations on Monday and needed to get home. After trying to convince her that was not good enough and I could see that I was getting nowhere, I told the support person if I could not do any better I would call back. Was pretty sure I could do better than she could offer. That call was really a waste of time, but now I know.
After Roadside assistance did not work out, the Wife used Siri on her phone to find tire stores nearby, calling each to find out if they were open.
I took a different route and went inside the Maverick convenience store to see if the clerks could be any help. Maybe they could give me some info.
Wife wins; she found an open tire shop after about 10 tries. She located a Firestone that happened to be open on Sunday and was only about 8 or 9 miles away.
We did get a handful of lucky breaks that day. While she was in the car calling tire stores, a TDS tire trucker roadside assistance truck just happened to back in and park right in front of her. She thought maybe it was a result of the call to Ford’s roadside assistance. She was thinking boy that is nice, these guys are quick. So she jumped out and started talking to the guy. He was a little confused by her conversation at first. All he really wanted was to get some smokes and a drink, and hit the road. Very nice guy, really helped us out. He was a little nervous of damaging the car rims. He was used to working on the big rig wheels. He did not really have the right tools. He ended up guiding us to the Firestone shop, having to stop and help me refill the tire about half way there with his onboard compressor. So I did not have to break out my little Ford compressor, thank God!
When we got to the Firestone shop they were a little skeptical that the tire could be patched. After the hazard was dug out of the tire it turned out to not be a rock, but somebodies oversized tire weight. Bet the owner of this missing weight knew this was missing. See the pic below. The thing was as long as my index finger, and with the clip to mount on the side of the rim was near an inch wide. It went all the way into the center of the tire leaving only the flattened end sticking out.
Needless to say it took them a while to work this thing over. But with some luck and maybe a bit of magic, and even to their surprise, the guys at Firestone were able to get the tire to actually hold air. The manager assured me the tire would make it home, but was quick to warn me that it was no longer going to meet the speed ratings that it originally had. He made it known that I should replace that new tire as soon as possible (It only had 1260 miles on it). It was only a matter of time before it would have the cord separate, or likely fail. I think he purposely kept me from seeing the patch job and they quickly mounted the tire back on the car. With a sincere thank you we were back on the road again. I was not about to head straight home. I was a little concerned if the thing would hold air. So we went to a small do it yourself wand car wash the tire shop guys had suggested, and washed the gunk off the wheel and tire. Found an Arctic Circle Drive In next door and decided to get a late lunch. I was really just wasting time to build up my confidence that the thing was actually going to stay inflated.
Well after about an hour of hanging around, we decided to hit the road. Things felt good. I did not notice anything different in the handling. So we eventually went on as though nothing had happened. We actually made the remaining 4 hour drive home without any additional excitement. Now you have to realize that most of that 4 hour drive is through the desert. Not a town in site. It is not a good place to break down. Plenty of other traffic, but no real services for miles, lots of miles. If that tire had failed we would have been in a big mess. But all is good and we made it home.
The next day I decided to take the tire off the car and take a look. Plus I had decided to make it my spare and I wanted to see if that 275/35R20 would fit in the trunk. The picture is what I found. There was a frickin crater in the middle of that tire. If I had actually looked at it before we headed home I probably would have been a little freaked out. The speed I drove home would have been out of the question. I would have driven a lot slower than I did. I have to say one thing; I am impressed with these Cooper Zeon RS3 tires. They must be designed and built very well. They took a nasty punch in the gut and did not blow into pieces. The thing is still holding air. Even though the tire held and got us home, the car is not about to go anywhere until the tire is replaced. But still I am very impressed. I have a new Zeon RS3 and matching hyper black rim on order from Roush that will be here soon. The repaired tire and wheel will be temporarily retired and will become my spare, at least for a while. That is until I decide to buy another new tire and throw this thing away.
You can give me crap at me all you want, but I am a believer, you got to have a real spare!
3/29/14, 11:35 AM
#2
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I'm glad you made it home ok. I hadn't heard about the ford roadside assistance being useless. That was news to me and made me a little nervous to read. I agree with full sized spare being a necessity. I picked up a jack and lug wrench that is always in my trunk. I purchased an extra brembo wheel but I only put in my trunk for long distance trips. It's a great feeling of security to know you have it just in case.
3/29/14, 12:27 PM
#4
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3/29/14, 01:45 PM
#5
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totally agree with you, a spare is a must, unless u stay in town all the time. I have had a spare since the 2nd month of ownership of my 13, all Ford is doing is saving money by not putting spares in the car.
3/29/14, 01:58 PM
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3/29/14, 01:59 PM
#7
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3/29/14, 02:55 PM
#8
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All manufacturers have eliminated/reduced which models get oem jack & spare sets for multiple reasons:
1. It helps lighten the weight of the car to meet current/future Federal MPG mandates.
2. Keeps the price down both from a production standpoint, as well as a lower ( though slightly ) retail price point.
3. Most people cant/wont change a flat tire anymore. Obviously this a car enthusiast board -- and everyone here has no doubt changed flats before. Most buyers nowdays have been trained to call 1-800- etc etc when that happens -- Thus the manufacturers can get away with it
4. People like us will buy the spare tire kit when we buy the car -- or make our own set.
3/29/14, 03:45 PM
#9
2014 SGM Roush Stage 2 --------- Moderator------
Thread Starter
I understand not having a spare as standard equipment, but not even offering an optional spare for the larger brake cars is almost irresponsible.
I too will have a matching rim and tire in the trunk going forward. It does not fit in the wheel well, but I feel much better having it there.
The funny thing is that I have been driving for over 40 years. I can only remember having about 5 or 6 flats in all that time. Four have been in the last year. This was the first time I have really been in a situation where I was concerned and very dependent on others to get back on the road. All the other vehicles with flats recently had a full size spare, but they were also SUVs.
I too will have a matching rim and tire in the trunk going forward. It does not fit in the wheel well, but I feel much better having it there.
The funny thing is that I have been driving for over 40 years. I can only remember having about 5 or 6 flats in all that time. Four have been in the last year. This was the first time I have really been in a situation where I was concerned and very dependent on others to get back on the road. All the other vehicles with flats recently had a full size spare, but they were also SUVs.
Last edited by shaneyusa; 3/29/14 at 03:46 PM.
3/29/14, 03:50 PM
#10
Bullitt Member
The question is - are there any options for a compact spare? I am thinking about getting a v6 spare and switching the back to the front if necessary on my Brembo Stang if it goes flat.
3/29/14, 03:56 PM
#11
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http://accessories.ford.com/kit-wheel-10136.html
This is the 17" for the V6, they also offer an 18" spare kit for the GT`s & Up.
If you have Brembo package, then the 17" doughnut might not work for you. It may be cheaper to watch ebay for an extra matching rim and have a tire mounted to it
3/29/14, 04:00 PM
#12
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For those wanting to know which cars dont come with a spare. Here is a list AAA has out from Aug 2013
http://newsroom.aaa.com/wp-content/u..._Aug_20131.pdf
http://newsroom.aaa.com/wp-content/u..._Aug_20131.pdf
3/29/14, 04:30 PM
#14
3/29/14, 04:32 PM
#15
Usually I take one of my loose wheels or I'll even take a wheel off of the 07 and throw it in the 13.lol
3/29/14, 07:38 PM
#17
2014 SGM Roush Stage 2 --------- Moderator------
Thread Starter
Here is a good thread on the Spare Tire subject from the Boss forum...
https://themustangsource.com/f813/sp...firmed-495464/
https://themustangsource.com/f813/sp...firmed-495464/
3/29/14, 08:47 PM
#18
Bullitt Member
