Some new toys for my car

[IsLNdbOi]

Yeah, it is a far drive. I've got everything I need already. Got the HU, replacement speakers and amp. installed already. All I want is some kind of hidden sub setup in my trunk / hatch area with my 10" shallow Pioneer sub. w/o sacrificing the spare tire.

[JosephDoc]

Originally Posted by IsLNdbOi

.................................................. ..........w/o sacrificing the spare tire.

It depends on how you use your vehicle but here is something I want to share.

I work in automotive industrial and this is what I have learned and seen. I dont know about your local road condition and how offten you run maintenance on tires, but I haven't had the need to swap the spare since I got my license. (knock, knock, knock on wood )

Actually I did change once a few years ago while I was in college. I was driving a friend's 7yr old car with only 25k miles in odometer. The 7yr-old tires had good thread but were found with cracks everywhere because of natural aging. It took me 30 min to swap the spare but it broke off within 2 miles of driving. I guess hhe spare was never maintained. (Maintenance the spare tire?? Just how often you look at that donut??)

If a flat really happens, I think it makes more sense to get AAA for help. Even some cellphone company offers $3/mon for free road side assistance these days; in some countries, there are credit-card/bank memberships also offer free towing. I know it is gambling to drive without a spare but I only use my car for in-town driving. I go for a rental car if I need to make a 3 hours driving trip, because a rental car cost less than $25 per day now. The rental car is bigger and no worry how dirty it gets, and I make less torturing to a small car like ours.

Talking about luck and gambling: looking at high-end vehicles, more n more bimmers and MBs now don't have the spare because equipping with run-on-flat tires. Guess what! These high-end tires can deal better chance to drive without air but when the damage is severe, the vehicle still have to wait for help or accept the faith of ruin the wheel to drive to a repair facility and pay for a replacement. I think the chances of bad happening are about the same in any case.

BTW, if you have a lowered vehicle that needs road side assistance, the tow-hatch-bar + flat-bed-truck are very important.

The o/e spare tire is about $200, the o/e lift-jack is about $150, and the o/e spare wheel is about another $150. The run-flat-tires cost 50% more than regular standard ones but run-flats is another gambling game to play.... and everytime I wish I don't need to buy them in my next car. Combin all factors, I think spare tire and equipment should be an purchasing option. JUST MY OPINION.

I take my chance and.... (knock, knock, knock) Sorry to get out of topic.