Saving trunk space

I am starting to form my wish list before ordering a car.

Has any one used any of the run flat tires that are out there? To a rookie it sounds like the perfect way to save trunk space by not having a spare, (= longer drives). I have started the research into them but haven

I imagine that your sizes will be limited, and you may not find one to fit. I've never owned them, but I've heard enough negatives (ride, cost, handling) to make me shy away from them.

You don't technically need a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) to use runflats. Many car manufacturers put TPMS on runflat-equipped cars to make sure the driver knows to limit his speed when a tires loses pressure, but most people who've had this happen recognize it right away because the handling of the car suddenly deteriorates in a noticable way. All modern cars will be required to incorporate TPMS, regardless of whether or not they use runflats. You can check tirerack.com and do a filtered search to idetify all the available runflat tires in any given size category, but I'm guessing they'll be mostly low-profile tires desgined for modern cars.

Aftermarket Smart Tire is an easily added TPMS that works far better than most OEM system. It tells which tire is low - not just a tire is low (and it could be a spare!) Most that seem to have the run flate as OEM op not to replace them when they wear out (which seems to be sooner than normal tires).

I've had run flats on a couple of different cars and while this technology has improved quite a bit since the early days, there are still some downsides to run flats vs. conventional tires: (1) The sidewalls are extremely stiff, which can make for a harsh ride, (2) They tend to be siginifcantly heavier than conventional tires, which increases unsprung wieght, (3) They're much more expensive than a conventional tire with similar performance (4) The handling still isn't quite as good as the best conventional tires. I opted to swap out the runflats on a recently acquired car in favor of conventional tires. Instead of carrying a spare, I carry a compact plug kit and miniature 12-volt compressor. If all else fails, I also carry a cell phone!

Ryan--do consider just going with a conventional regular sized spare.

I have used emergency repair kits on a BMW bike and they do work but I have much more confidence in a full-sized spare. If I have a flat I can have it permanently repaired rather than have the reduced speed and miles you should run on a "field fixed" tire.

A great tip I got on this site is to put the spare in the trunk upside down so there is room to place a round Tupperware container that will hold an amazing amount of spare parts and tools. Also you will find that there is a LOT more space to put things in the trunk if you use soft tool bags, Baggies, etc. In addition, even after flippinng the spare and going with the Top. round contsiner, there is still a lot of space under the spare too. Don't forget all the space in the front battery compartment---good extra room there.

When my son and I arrived at Carlisle we needed a luggage cart to take all out stuff into the hotel----the Speedster held that much.
I have a good picture showing the cart filled almost half way up! (If I was smart enough to post a picture,you could see it.) And we didn't remove anything from the trunk onto the cart. The back "seat" area holds lots if you use soft bags. This is with the top up so the space is cleared out.

I found a small sissors jack and a super tire tool for the nuts (nuts on the wheel---not this site, although there are quite a few here!) --the prospect of a flat isn't a worry plus I found that the car has ample room for two and their baggage.---Hope this is helpful----Jack

Ryan, Felix said it all about run flat tires. My speedster came with Goodyear Eagle 16ZR50/225 and 255 run flat tires. The ride was very rough since there was so little flex in the sidewalls. With these cars being so light, there was NO FLEX in the sidewalls. I finally took them off of the car and purchased some used Dyna Lite two piece aluminum 15" wheels. The difference in ride and handling was remarkable. These wide, low profile tires looked great on my wide body speedster, I have to admit.

The Goodyear Eagles with rims weighed 50 pounds each. The Dyna Lites with tires weigh 35 pounds each. The extra unsprung weight really hurt the handling.

I would never go back to run flats, but to each his own! I do not carry a spare tire, and instead carry a small inflator and a can of "Spare Tire" that inflates and seals at the same time. The tire must be removed from the rim to clean out the gunk and make a good repair of the original leak source after using this stuff, but I do not want to use my trunk space for a spare tire.

Chuck

space saver 125-70-15 on OEM wide 5 smoothie. Cost me a whopping $35

Paul,
Whats the outside DIA of this tire?
I think I can accomodate up to about 24.2" in my trunk with the battery.
DT

Specification: 125/70-15
Sidewall: 3.4"
Radius: 10.9"
Diameter: 21.9"
Circumference: 68.8"