Flat tire question

[mattocs]

So I hit a rock yesterday and didn't think anything of it. This morning when I pull out of the driveway, I hear thunk thunk thunk...pull into the carwash cross the road, and I have a flat tire.

 

I put the spare on and went to work (20 miles) and came home (20 miles).

 

 

How long can I drive with the spare on until problems occour? All the driving i'll do will be from work to home. I don't know when i'll be able to afford new tires..so thats why i'm asking.

 

Its a 96 Outback, 2.2l, 5 speed manual tranny.

[murdoc158]

Most mini spares that I am aware of say no more than 50 miles at no more than 50mph.

[mattocs]

I know what they say...but like...when will I start to get binding and have expensive problems. I don't really care about the handeling and stuff.

[1 Lucky Texan]

I know what they say...but like...when will I start to get binding and have expensive problems. I don't really care about the handeling and stuff.

 

How long do till you can get a tire/tires. Then we may have an opinion for you.

 

(great question dodge huh?)

[WoodsWagon]

ITS A MANUAL TRANNY

That should stop some of the "put the 2wd fuse in" posts from happening.

What he is asking is how long will it be till he cooks the VLSD in the center diff.

 

I would measure the total height of the donut spare and compare it to the size of the stock tires. If it's close I wouldn't worry too much. Remember, the faster you drive it, the more slipping the LSD will be doing and the more heat will build up.

[1 Lucky Texan]

ITS A MANUAL TRANNY

That should stop some of the "put the 2wd fuse in" posts from happening.

What he is asking is how long will it be till he cooks the VLSD in the center diff.

 

I would measure the total height of the donut spare and compare it to the size of the stock tires. If it's close I wouldn't worry too much. Remember, the faster you drive it, the more slipping the LSD will be doing and the more heat will build up.

 

It will likely last longer in PA in winter than in TX in summer. But every inch the car moves the center diff fluid will be heating up, just as if he were trying to drive on ice or through mud - temporary situations at lower speeds usually. And, if the center diff is locked, the drivetrain is also now being driven on pavement in a lot of strain. Obviously, the sooner he fixes this the better. But he may have alternatives, like borrowing a car or paying someone to carpool with - I dunno. It's not a black/white issue, but suppose he said he needed to drive this way for 6 months? He'd get a differnet response from us than if he said 6 days.

 

I dunno.

[tunered]

i dont believe all this tire size thing is as big of issue as everybody makes it out to be,first these are not a transfor case locked in,the clutch pak is designed to slip,if this was as bad as everybody thinks these cars wouldnt last 5000 miles on dry pavment,and tire size, ill bet you cant go buy 4 new tires and run a tape around the tire patch and come within 1/4in of them being the same,and ill take bets that subaru dont measure them.

[Gnuman]

mattocs, Do this: put Post-it's at the bottom of each tire (on the sidewall). Have an outside observer watch you roll forward ten turns on any wheel. If all markers are within 2.5" of each others positions, you should be OK until you get tires. Bear in mind, however, that the mini spare is a lot thinner than a regular tire, and will wear amazingly fast. . .

[nipper]

I know what they say...but like...when will I start to get binding and have expensive problems. I don't really care about the handeling and stuff.

 

They will last longer then they say, but they are NOT all weather tires, they barely handle the rain, and forget snow or ice. At the very least put the mini tire on the rear and a good tire on the front.

You can get a ticket for driving on the fake tire if the same cop sees you over and over again. Can you at least buy a used tire?

 

nipper

[1 Lucky Texan]

i dont believe all this tire size thing is as big of issue as everybody makes it out to be,first these are not a transfor case locked in,the clutch pak is designed to slip,if this was as bad as everybody thinks these cars wouldnt last 5000 miles on dry pavment,and tire size, ill bet you cant go buy 4 new tires and run a tape around the tire patch and come within 1/4in of them being the same,and ill take bets that subaru dont measure them.

 

No clutch packs in a manual. The heated up silicone emersed discs/whatever cause a diff to lock.

 

I dunno. maybe he's OK. The manual kinda indicates it should be very temporary with limited speed and distance.

[mattocs]

I dont care about how it will handle in snow and rain.

 

I will measusre it up tomorrow. I try and spin the tires every bit I can in hopes it will decreace any bind in the tanny or etc.

 

 

I hope on Tuesday I can get tires. I keep it under 50 MPH.

 

 

I hit a rock to cause the tire to leak. At least it was on tires with 40,000 miles on them.

[mattocs]

Looks like my mom is gonna buy me new tires for Christmas. Hopefully on Tuesday i'll get them. I'll drive it to and from work on Tuesday and hope nothing goes wrong with it.

[tcspeer]

i dont believe all this tire size thing is as big of issue as everybody makes it out to be,first these are not a transfor case locked in,the clutch pak is designed to slip,if this was as bad as everybody thinks these cars wouldnt last 5000 miles on dry pavment,and tire size, ill bet you cant go buy 4 new tires and run a tape around the tire patch and come within 1/4in of them being the same,and ill take bets that subaru dont measure them.

I agree!

[1 Lucky Texan]

Looks like my mom is gonna buy me new tires for Christmas. Hopefully on Tuesday i'll get them. I'll drive it to and from work on Tuesday and hope nothing goes wrong with it.

 

MAN! that's cool!

 

( BoM - Bank of Mom - helped me out a coupla times in the past)

[Strakes]

Mom's are the best!

[nipper]

I agree!

 

As per Subaru (no im not looking up the email i got from subaru when i asked them for clarification, if you dont beleive me you can drop them an email yourself) the circumfrence of the tries can not vary more then 1/4 inch. Also you are wrong about your tire theory. With modern quality control (ISO 2004 .. there may be a new standard), you can pick 1000 tires (of the same brand and make) brand new tires will all be exaclty the same.

 

 

nipper

[tcspeer]

Yes you are right, that is what Subaru says. I have put over 300,000 miles on mine while putting out mail most of the time the right tires are wore more than the left but the biggest difference is the right side sets off of the pavement most places at least one in. drop from the left. They are many Subarus in this craft working under the same conditions and I have not heard of them having problems either. It is good that you do things by the book, as I try to do also, but I think this one is a little over done.

As per Subaru (no im not looking up the email i got from subaru when i asked them for clarification, if you dont beleive me you can drop them an email yourself) the circumfrence of the tries can not vary more then 1/4 inch. Also you are wrong about your tire theory. With modern quality control (ISO 2004 .. there may be a new standard), you can pick 1000 tires (of the same brand and make) brand new tires will all be exaclty the same.

 

 

nipper

[1 Lucky Texan]

Yes you are right, that is what Subaru says. I have put over 300,000 miles on mine while putting out mail most of the time the right tires are wore more than the left but the biggest difference is the right side sets off of the pavement most places at least one in. drop from the left. They are many Subarus in this craft working under the same conditions and I have not heard of them having problems either. It is good that you do things by the book, as I try to do also, but I think this one is a little over done.

 

In all fairness, the 'junk' (leaves, gravel,etc.) in the gutter may HELP keep a soob's drivetrain from binding. I dunno.

 

Do your brakes also wear unevenly? I heard a letter carrier ask Click and Clack once if it were OK to change just the pads on the left side! They finally said 'go ahead' .

 

I think it MAY be overemphasised, usually these things are a compromise between engineering, marketing, sales, legal, etc. But it is an expensive part. The manual says change the oil at 7500 miles too. Likely that is a compromise too. But I doubt folks would just dismiss it as overkill and start telling people 12,000 is OK. Plus, a ONE TIME miss of an oil change that goes to 12,000 miles probably would not destroy the engine. BUT a ONE TIME period of 3 weeks driving a donut spare COULD mean a new tranny.

 

Once you educate yourself, you can assume whatever risk level you're comfortable with. Curiously, those very folks who may not be able to afford a set of tires , will have an EXTREMELY difficult time buying a transmission!

 

ymmv

[mattocs]

MAN! that's cool!

 

( BoM - Bank of Mom - helped me out a coupla times in the past)

 

Yeah, late in November the ole' Bank of Mom paid for a new timing belt, water pump, oil seals, and all that.

 

So i'm going on Tuesday after work to get some Sumitomo HTR T4. Anyone have any or know if they are any good. They seem to be nice and long lasting all seasons.

[tcspeer]

I have not had trouble with one side of brakes wearing out before the other, sometimes the inner or outer pad will be a little more worn. On the shoes on the back one of the shoes on each side wears more than the other. When I change them I keep the best and use them the next time it happens. And yes I know you are not suppose to do this. The right front wheel bearing goes really fast I got one out right now. The right front control arm also wears out fast, I am on my thrid one.

In all fairness, the 'junk' (leaves, gravel,etc.) in the gutter may HELP keep a soob's drivetrain from binding. I dunno.

 

Do your brakes also wear unevenly? I heard a letter carrier ask Click and Clack once if it were OK to change just the pads on the left side! They finally said 'go ahead' .

 

I think it MAY be overemphasised, usually these things are a compromise between engineering, marketing, sales, legal, etc. But it is an expensive part. The manual says change the oil at 7500 miles too. Likely that is a compromise too. But I doubt folks would just dismiss it as overkill and start telling people 12,000 is OK. Plus, a ONE TIME miss of an oil change that goes to 12,000 miles probably would not destroy the engine. BUT a ONE TIME period of 3 weeks driving a donut spare COULD mean a new tranny.

 

Once you educate yourself, you can assume whatever risk level you're comfortable with. Curiously, those very folks who may not be able to afford a set of tires , will have an EXTREMELY difficult time buying a transmission!

 

ymmv

[nipper]

i think its time that you start lookng for the reason WHY you are having problems on the right side. Sunds like something may be twisted or bent, rusted out or broken. Is the hub in good condition.

Not chaning the brake pads in sets can give you very dangerous braking conditions, and if you stop and think about the time it takes to change them all at once, it really makes no sense what so ever. Also wering more on the inside then on the outside, or the pad wearing unevenly usually mean the sliders need to be cleaned and lubricated.

 

 

nipper

.

[tcspeer]

I think a lot of the problems I have on the right side is the conditions it is being used under. You are right about the brakes they do need to be changed in sets.

i think its time that you start lookng for the reason WHY you are having problems on the right side. Sunds like something may be twisted or bent, rusted out or broken. Is the hub in good condition.

Not chaning the brake pads in sets can give you very dangerous braking conditions, and if you stop and think about the time it takes to change them all at once, it really makes no sense what so ever. Also wering more on the inside then on the outside, or the pad wearing unevenly usually mean the sliders need to be cleaned and lubricated.

 

 

nipper

.

[nipper]

I think a lot of the problems I have on the right side is the conditions it is being used under. You are right about the brakes they do need to be changed in sets.

 

Ok i think i got it... this is used for mail delivery?

 

nipper

[HX-20S]

Make sure you have the spare tire inflated to the correct pressure. Apparently it's quite common for people to forget about the space saver spares and let them lose a lot of pressure (50% or more). The required pressure is a lot higher than a regular tire's - my Impreza's manual says to pump the space saver to 4.2 bar (about 61 psi).

 

Under-inflated space saver spares are dangerous.

[nkx]

mattocs, for future reference if you get another flat, you can see if a tireshop can patch the tire, or you can buy a brand new one and have it shaved down to meet the tread depth of the other 3.