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my first flat tire

10706 Views 13 Replies 10 Participants Last post by  2DoorFan
with 785 miles i picked up a nail today .took it immediately to a local independent tire dealer and had it fixed in 30 minutes .only lost 3 lbs. of air and found it by th enoise being made .it was a screw with a big head.

when the car was up on the lift i got underneath and i am impressed by the quality of the parts and the assembly.

also took a good look at the rear wheel steering . had no idea how they did this but in short it is nothng more than a hydraulic cylinder with extensions toward ech of the rear tires mounted on a bushing . and it is mounted on a separate plate behind the rear axle.

how it works i have no idea ...but it does work great .
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I'm always a little skeptical when they start adding extra parts to break (not that they are unreliable)
Where were you driving that you got a flat tire?
So far I have been fortunate enough with my vehicles that i have never had to deal with a flat tire issue.
with 785 miles i picked up a nail today .took it immediately to a local independent tire dealer and had it fixed in 30 minutes .only lost 3 lbs. of air and found it by th enoise being made .it was a screw with a big head.

when the car was up on the lift i got underneath and i am impressed by the quality of the parts and the assembly.

also took a good look at the rear wheel steering . had no idea how they did this but in short it is nothng more than a hydraulic cylinder with extensions toward ech of the rear tires mounted on a bushing . and it is mounted on a separate plate behind the rear axle.

how it works i have no idea ...but it does work great .
It happens... sucks though when its that new. Youre lucky it wasnt close to the edge otherwise that would have called for a new tire. did they just plug the tire ffrom the out side or did they actually dismount the tire and did a plug and patch from the inside. The plug and patch is more durable and dependable just my 2 cents.
Good point @Odetta nail in sidewall renders the tire useless after that. I think there are some epic pictures around that show what happens if you patch it ;)
Its been my experience with performance tires that they never plug, always remove and patch on the inside of the tire...and after reading the warning windshield sticker of low mileage on these tires...I would definitely put them in the performance ring.
cheers,
Bill
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Its been my experience with performance tires that they never plug, always remove and patch on the inside of the tire...and after reading the warning windshield sticker of low mileage on these tires...I would definitely put them in the performance ring.
cheers,
Bill
That's right.
Plugging a tire should only be if when driving you discover your tire got punctured and have to pull over to do something about it while it's deflating, or in a similar situation where you need a temporary solution.

Too many people treat it as something permanent which it could be but not recommended.
they did it the correct way ...they took the tire off rim,etc....

and by the way, the only reason,real reason why i got the rc is because the other cars i wanted did not have a spare tire . i drive 3 to 4 times per year between vermont ,conn. and florida and thus i must have a spare.

the other cars i wanted were the s class, the vette ,new one, the jaguar f type and the panamera ........drove them all and great cars ,much better than the rc. but no spare tire and the solution to this is not that simple . therefore the rc .

and have not driven it for a while .came to ct. this time on my fx infiniti
Did the other vehicles you looked into at least have space where a spare can easily go or was it just impossible to fit a spare into a specific area that would be out of the way?
I can understand some people not wanting a spare tire due to increased weight, but I see no logic in not having a spare tire as an option at least.
I agree @rwickens, not having it being an option is not the greatest way to go about it. As good as having a tire patch kit is and roadside assistance, if you're stuck out on the road and have a nail in your sidewall and roadside assistance says they're going to take more than an hour and you have some place to be... within 15 minutes you could have a spare on and be good to go!
otl

the 911 can carry s donut but no space for the flat tire to be carried.

the panamera has the space but the kit donut sold for it is not inflated.you must do so at time of use. and the comments on porsche site are not good for this kit

the vette has no space behind seats and also you can carry a donut but same as 911. my 86 vette convertible had a spare located in a hatch under the car just aft of gas tank and had more space in cabin .new one is claustrophobic in cabin

the jag f type, could carry a donut but same as 911

the mercedes s class is large and can carry anything but the trunk is not that large so no space for lugagge ..and i refuse the run flat tires ...only the porsche uses regular tires with a plug kit and inflator. all the others run flats

also, when yoy look at those cars designed for a sweet spot between 90 and 135 mph ,you will become frustated unless if you go to track. if you drive them in europe you will understand me. here in the usa any car ,even a chevy impala is a better car for our roads and speed limits.

thus an rc 350 or even an is 250 is more than enough....and it has the reliability
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When I bought my SC430 (2001), it had the (cutting edge) run-flats and no spare tire. The runflats were horrible, and all the owners dumped them when the tread wore down, if not sooner. However, there was space in the trunk for a spare (still allowing the top to be lowered), and a "kit" was offered by Lexus. I bought the tire, and made the rest of the kit myself so I would have a tire for road trips. Around town, I took out the tire so I would have some space for stuff when the top was stowed.
Cars today that have no spare are understandable, but not having space for a spare is inexcusable. Even when roadside assistance shows up, lacking the right size replacement for a tire that has an irreparable flat, the fix could take a very long time, especially on a weekend. I was very happy to see the spare in the RC nestled in its own compartment under the trunk, with room in there for jumper cables and a few other tools every traveler should keep in the car (e.g.: a "cheater" pipe to get the lug nuts off).
In other words, I agree with most of the above posts.
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