Blown

[NSX100]

When I bought my car a year ago I asked on the forum about my concerns at the car not coming with a spare but instead some gooey stuff in a can.

Well, on the Edinburgh ring road on my way south from Aberdeen I went around a roundabout and was about to floor it when I realised that I had blown the rear nearside tyre. I managed to crawl 800m to the slip road where I inspected the damage. Flat. 1,000 cars an hour go round that roundabout and I am the one who gets a puncture.

The gooey stuff was useless of course. So I called the AA who sent a recovery truck to pick me up. Meanwhile some very helpful guys from BEAR motorway maintenance turned up and placed cones around me while checking with local tyre companies re replacement tyres. They quickly located one. After less than an hour the truck turned up and having endured the ignominy of my car being stuck at the side of Edinburgh's busiest road I now had to endure the further ignominy of being driven 10 miles in a recovery truck with the car on the back.

Anyway, the tyre company replaced the tyre - a 3 cm long bolt had blown a hole the size of a 50p piece in the tyre - and relieved me of 180 quid. Just over 2 hours after the incident happened I was on my way.

Now this was a weekday afternoon near a big city. What if it had been a weekend or after hours in the country? My question is what are the options other than carrying the spare? Is it a matter of a risk game? I had my last puncture 10 years ago so maybe it is. Ensure you have AA recovery or equivalent and if the worst happens be prepared to wait it out until you can replace the tyre.

I would be interested in any comments. How often have members had punctures?

David

[Geraint]

Sounds like you were quite lucky in terms of how you were looked after by the AA and the maintenance guys, and being able to source a replacement tyre quickly. Could have been much worse.

I don't think I'd go out without a spare, although tbh the OEM space savers are getting pretty old now, so I'm not sure how well mine would work if I needed it.

I've seen a thread somewhere, I think on here, about someone with the same concern who modified a space saver from another car (Merc?) to replace his old OEM one. Might be worth a search for that, if you're not happy with the foam option.

Edit: Here you go:

http://www.nsxcb.co.uk/showthread.php?8801

[Justin]

some very helpful guys from BEAR motorway maintenance turned up and placed cones around me while checking with local tyre companies re replacement tyres.

I have this excellent image of the maintenance guys putting cones around you, while the nsx sits unattended a few yards away :D

Sorry to hear about your bad luck all the same...

[Papalazarou]

I punctured the offside rear on my last NSX. There was a high pressure bike valve stuck in top edge of the sidewall. Had to blow up the spare and limp back into town, about 8 miles.
The spacesaver is pretty unstable on the move.
Anyway, As David Learnt, a can of tyre seal isn't always going to work.

Cheers,

James.

[Senninha]

MAybe time to consider Duncan's innovative use of the SLK spare?

[AR]

AA etc always turn up guys, so many cars don't even have a spare!

[britlude]

i've sourced an unused tyre from a porsche space-saver spare, that i'm having put onto my nsx spare wheel, replacing the one that's had the best part of 20 years cooking and cooling behind the radiator!

i'll let you know how it goes....

[mutley]

i've sourced an unused tyre from a porsche space-saver spare, that i'm having put onto my nsx spare wheel, replacing the one that's had the best part of 20 years cooking and cooling behind the radiator!

i'll let you know how it goes....

Sounds good, bit easier than the Merc modified wheel. Will be very interested how this works out.
Jim

[Silver Surfer]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MERCEDES-C180-KOMPRESSOR-COUPE-SPACE-SAVER-WHEEL-2003-/260781989677?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3cb7d15f2d

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/$%28KGrHqZ,%21h4E2JCqKde5BNyDrOM,5g%7E%7E_35.JPG

£39 quid on ebay....you can remove the tyre and put on your spare....but I think the Merc's looks much better IMHO.

SS

[Nick Graves]

That's sort of a cross between an S2000 item and a JDM tuner wheel I cannot pinpoint!

If all else fails, can you use squirty cream in your OEM spacesaver? Just a thought...

[TheSebringOne]

How would using the Porsche tyre on the NSX spare wheel or a Mercedes spare wheel/tyre affect insurance?

I think a solution needs to be found rather than paying the kidney prices for an oem replacement!

[havoc]

I've been thinking about this...and there is a bigger problem than the spare tyre being ancient.

What do you do if you're on holiday with a boot-ful of luggage and a wife in the passenger seat?!? None of the full-size wheels will fit in the front...which means putting the wheel in the boot...which means either leaving the luggage on the side of the road or leaving the wife on the side of the road!

Said in jest, but I'm serious - the one time I'd really want a spare in the car is on a road-trip...but that's when the car's typically loaded to the gunnels with stuff. These space-savers are a great example of packaging but a poor example of planning.

[Silver Surfer]

Easy....just put 4 spacesaver on the car instead of the normal wheels with a 5th spaceaver in the frunk. ;)

SS

[NSX100]

Havoc's point has also occurred to me. And Murphy's Law states that that is when you will have the puncture. IMHO it is a risk game - how often do we have punctures? Not very - that was my first in 10 years. And despite the excellent suggestions re Porsche and Merc wheels Havoc's point still applies. My job involves complex risk management and the rule is that if you cannot mitigate away the risk you address the consequences. Ensure that you have the mobile phone charged, AA or equivalent recovery including Europe, and a healthy balance on the credit card.

And hope it doesn't happen!