"Erik" wrote in message ...

On 12/29/13, 3:24 PM, DerbyDad03 wrote:
I rented a car this weekend. The tire pressure indicator came on. At my
next stop I checked the tires and it turned out to be that the left front
tire was low. I filled it up and decided to check the spare to make sure
it
was full of air just in case I needed it. When I opened the trunk, I
initially thought that the spare was a full size spare, because it sure
wasn't a donut.

After closer inspection I noticed that the tires on the car were
Bridgestones, 205/55-16, while the spare was a Pirelli 195/65-15. Under
the
numbers it had the words "Standard load" OK, so it's not quite a full size
spare when compared to the tires on the car, but at least it's a real
tire.
Then I noticed that the rim had the familiar "donut labels" on it. Limited
Use, Do Not Exceed 50 MPH, etc.

So what's the deal? Why would a full size tire, even if it was slightly
smaller than the original tires, have the Limited Use, reduced speed
labels
on it? Granted, the smaller tire might make the handling a little weird.
Could that be the reason they label the spare as "limited use", etc?


I 'heard' manufactures finally realized compact spares were impacting
sales... decided they wanted something that at a quick glance in the
showroom looks like a full size spare, but still cheaper & lighter than
providing an actual 'real' tire/wheel assembly. A compromise...

Anti lock brakes, traction control and some other stuff also don't play
well with compact spares.

More he

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spare_tire

An (unreliable) acquaintance said he'd herd at least one mfg is about
to, or maybe already is selling cars sans spare altogether. Don't know
which one/s, and it may in fact not be factual.

Erik


A friend bought a Toyota (minivan?) I do not recall what it is called. Had
"run flat tires" on it and no spare came with it. WW