One of the most perilous feeling you could have as an avid driving enthusiast is encountering a flat all of a sudden and not being prepared for it. Such an occurrence on a busy expressway or busy intersection can put you miserably on the backfoot and cause quite an embarrassment. On the highway or off-road this could be your worst nightmare. Hence, it’s a good thing to always take a rain check on your vehicle before hopping behind that wheel and especially a double check on your spare tire for pressure as this is one of the most neglected aspects. But this is not the only peril. To make matters more confusing, many of the newer vehicles have eliminated the practice of providing a spare tire altogether. This done with an aim to reduce the overall weight of the vehicle in the process of leaving no stone unturned to achieve that extended fuel economy or mileage.
The Scottsdale Mazda dealer showed us the options we have just incase for some reason we don’t have a spare tire supplied with the vehicle or is missing or unusable.
The Tire Pressure Monitoring Kit
Avoidance is the best solution and for this reason most vehicles these days that don’t come with a spare tire often are fitted with a tire pressure monitoring system. These advanced sensors are able to tell when the tire pressure is not appropriate or there is a damage and your tires need attention. The information is flashed onto the onboard display or through an audio alarm depending on the system installed and the driver is warned if something is amiss. If your vehicle doesn’t have one it’s a good idea to get one installed, even if you do have a spare tire.
Get a Tire Patch Kit
If you are riding tubeless then you are in luck with this kit. Flat tire patch kits are an easy DIY solution to getting your flat repaired in a jiffy to last till the next pit stop where you can get your tire properly serviced. The Tire patch kits consist of a T-handle plugger and reamer, rubber cement and plug strings. To use this kit, one must locate and extract the penetrating object and use the components of the kit to plug the air escape route. There are yet more sophisticated kits which come with a tire inflator which inject a special sealant through the valve which seeks out the air outlet and seals it shut so you can go on. In both cases however, its recommended to take your car to the next nearest available tire repair center to get your tires checked and properly repaired. These kits come with certain glues and adhesives that need careful handling and should be kept away from children as they are toxic.
Get your car that elusive spare tire
As suggested by the Scottsdale Mazda experts, the greatest advantage of the spare tire is the presence of a wheel with the spare. Tires can be repeatedly changed with a little effort, but a damaged wheel is difficult and expensive to change, and you might not find one easily.
