How Often To You Get A Flat, And What Do You Do When It Happens On The Road?

[NYStockboy]

As the question asks, how often do you get a flat tire and when it happens on the road, what do you do?

 

Thanks

[MTYQIN]

Hasn't happened with my Shelby, but it happened when I was driving cross country in my Porsche in an earlier life. I called AAA for a flatbed, had it towed in to the nearest dealership, had the damage/repair/safety issues examined, and got on with it. Fortunately for me that time, I had a clean hole in the tread so repair was assessed as acceptable. Had it not, I would have replaced the tire without hesitation. Performance cars driven like they can/should be cannot be subject to compromise where safety - of the driver, passengers, other folks on the road are concerned.

 

All the best,

Quinn

[twobjshelbys]

I haven't had one for quite a long time. I picked up a nail in my Bobcat and pulled the wheel off (a MAJOR task since I needed a 1" socket set that a friend had). I brought the tire down to get it tubed and the guy doing the repair blew the air bomb with someone looking over it and the other party got goop in his eyes and had to go to the emergency room.

 

For passenger cars without spares I just call AAA.

 

Also, if you have a spare when was the last time you checked it??? Keep it inflated too.

[IngotSilverSnake]

I have not had a flat yet (with the Shelby). I purchased a better compressor that hooks directly to the battery (do not want a lot current flowing through the power point on the dash). I also bought a plug kit to repair clean punctures on the tread if necessary (don’t like the goo machine the car came with). Using this equipment, I have done successful tire repairs on the road with other cars in the past. If that does not work, then I would call a tow truck. Here are the links to the products:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Viair-93-VIAIR-Portable-Compressor/dp/B001MXL71A/ref=sr_1_5?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1367353966&sr=1-5&keywords=portable+air+compressors

 

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/SLI0/1034A/N0179.oap?ck=Search_N0179_SLI_-1_-1&mn=Slime®&mc=SLI&pt=N0179&ppt=C0337

[motorhead213]

Another option is performancespare.com They make a kit that has a 18" wheel & tire,adapter for the big brakes,jack,lug wrench. It''s special order for the GT500. I ordered one for a buddy's camaro ss and it was quick to deliver and fit great. If you have a flat on the rear and have to go very far,it would probley be best to move the front tires to the rear to not damage the differential.

[Torched10]

Does it fit on the spare wheel well

[ilmor]

I've been driving since 1970....and I've never had a flat tire.

[mavisky]

Never had one happen while driving, but have picked up a nail to only come out to a flat in the parking lot. In one instance I threw on a spare and rolled home, the 2nd time was with USAA and I used their road side assistance to have the car towed back home since I didn't have a spare for that vehicle or another wheel that would bolt up with a good tire on it.

[MY500SS]

I did get a flat on the SS. Inflator worked as designed and I had the tire replaced the same day. The sealer goo did make a mess but it cleaned up nicely.

[SVTracer14]

Another option is performancespare.com They make a kit that has a 18" wheel & tire,adapter for the big brakes,jack,lug wrench. It''s special order for the GT500. I ordered one for a buddy's camaro ss and it was quick to deliver and fit great. If you have a flat on the rear and have to go very far,it would probley be best to move the front tires to the rear to not damage the differential.

$350 seems like cheap insurance to me. I'd rather pay this for a spare, than risk a flat bed driver scraping up/damaging the lower front fascia on my car.

[motorhead213]

Does it fit on the spare wheel well

Yes.

[Bill Hamilton]

Here's a slightly different story on flat ties. Years ago on a 1990 5.0 LX I replaced the original tires with a really nice Goodyear performance tire from a Goodyear dealer in Charleston SC and purchased the Goodyear Road Hazard Warranty. Couple of months latter I'm out in Oklahoma for a few months going to a school and blow a hole in the sidewall while going down the highway down in West Texas. It's a late Saturday evening so I put on the mini-spare and limp back the 200 miles to where I was staying in Oklahoma. Bright and early Monday morning I head down to the local Goodyear dealership (had a giant Goodyear sign on the building) to get my tire replaced under warrantee. When I get to this shop, I tell my story and show him my warrantee paperwork. This so called "Goodyear" dealer precedes to tell me he's an independent dealer and not bound to warrantee's sold by a factory Goodyear dealer. He took great pleasure telling me the nearest "factory" Goodyear dealership was 147 miles away. I then left and went on the local Air Force base BX and ordered new tires for my car. That was the last time I ever bought a road hazard warrantee.

 

A few years ago I had a knot come up on the front sidewall of a tire on my 2011 Shelby. Took the car to the correct tire dealership for the tires on the car,(the Ford dealership told me it was a tire manufacture issue and not Ford related, which was fine with me). The tire dealership looked at the tire and told they would send the tire back to the factory to inspect the damage. In the mean time I would need to pay the $300 plus for the new tire and the factory would reimburse the price if they found the tire to be defective. Needless to say, couple of weeks later I get an e-mail from the factory telling me the tire had been damage on the sidewall from hitting something like a curb and would not be warrantied. Don't know how they figured that out since there was no external damage to the tire and even the dealer mentioned that to me.

 

Okay, off my soapbox, that's two of my flat tire stories. (LOL)

[cobra 07]

Here's a slightly different story on flat ties. Years ago on a 1990 5.0 LX I replaced the original tires with a really nice Goodyear performance tire from a Goodyear dealer in Charleston SC and purchased the Goodyear Road Hazard Warranty. Couple of months latter I'm out in Oklahoma for a few months going to a school and blow a hole in the sidewall while going down the highway down in West Texas. It's a late Saturday evening so I put on the mini-spare and limp back the 200 miles to where I was staying in Oklahoma. Bright and early Monday morning I head down to the local Goodyear dealership (had a giant Goodyear sign on the building) to get my tire replaced under warrantee. When I get to this shop, I tell my story and show him my warrantee paperwork. This so called "Goodyear" dealer precedes to tell me he's an independent dealer and not bound to warrantee's sold by a factory Goodyear dealer. He took great pleasure telling me the nearest "factory" Goodyear dealership was 147 miles away. I then left and went on the local Air Force base BX and ordered new tires for my car. That was the last time I ever bought a road hazard warrantee.

 

A few years ago I had a knot come up on the front sidewall of a tire on my 2011 Shelby. Took the car to the correct tire dealership for the tires on the car,(the Ford dealership told me it was a tire manufacture issue and not Ford related, which was fine with me). The tire dealership looked at the tire and told they would send the tire back to the factory to inspect the damage. In the mean time I would need to pay the $300 plus for the new tire and the factory would reimburse the price if they found the tire to be defective. Needless to say, couple of weeks later I get an e-mail from the factory telling me the tire had been damage on the sidewall from hitting something like a curb and would not be warrantied. Don't know how they figured that out since there was no external damage to the tire and even the dealer mentioned that to me.

 

Okay, off my soapbox, that's two of my flat tire stories. (LOL)

Back in 09 when my 09 was 2 wk old w/500 mi I saw an air bubble about the size of a quarter on the L/R with absolutely no abrasion marks (the whole sidewall looked brand new) The Ford dealer referred me to the GY tire dealer and he told me the same thing --I hit a curb or something -- that's the only way to get an air bubble in the sidewall--no warranty. Needless to say he doesn't like me very much when I told him his back side not only blows wind but also sucks wind

[Bookwyrm]

Here's a scary near miss story for you -- I happened to take my '10 GT500 in to a trusted shop to have new front tires and pads put on a couple days prior to tracking the car (I knew they weren't going to last the track session, but the rears appeared OK). While inspecting the car -- he happens to also be the safety/tech chief of the club running the track event so quite thorough -- he noticed that we'd managed to pick up a tiny nail in one of the rear treads too! It was barely noticeable and had sealed the hole so pressure was OK in normal driving, but if we hadn't noticed it that would have almost certainly caused a blowout on the track.

 

The reason to go to a good shop (even if it costs a few bucks more) -- the patch he put on was good to 150MPH (and since he's responsible for the safety of everyone on the track, I actually believe that!) vs the quick and sloppy patch job most places would throw on. Also, be wary of many dealerships and tire shops -- unless they have the newer contactless mounting and balancing equipment and people who know how to use it there's a good chance they'll damage your wheels while changing the tire.