A flat tire is a major frustration and inconvenience, but the thing is, where once you may have reached for your spare tire, it is no longer the rule. Spare tires are not considered as standard gear in a car. So the question now arises how far can you drive on a spare tire?

Not having a spare tire in your car is an effort to improve fuel efficiency as the spare tire can weigh in the region of 40 pounds. In some cars, they can also take up important space. Nonetheless, they have always been a useful addition to a car, so if you need to replace your flat tire with a spare, the question is ‘how far can you drive on a spare tire?’ This is an important question to answer, particularly when you are stuck out in the boondocks.

Well, the answer to how far can you drive on a spare tire is not straightforward because certainly with a donut tire it would be about 50 miles while with a well-maintained standard spare tire, you could go for as long as you like. Let us look into more detail.

How far can you drive on a spare tire?

Different factors impact the spare tire’s distance

There is not just a single word answer to this question such as 40 miles. It depends on different factors. For starters, there are different kinds of spare tires, so if you are unsure about the spare tire you have, check the owner’s manual to find out what kind of space you have.

Also, you have to check on the spare tire from time to time as spare tires can lose pressure with changes in temperature. You will need to check the tire pressure in your spare, certainly prior to leaving on a long trip. Essentially your tires should be rotated every 5 000 miles and then it is a good idea to check your spare tire to make sure it is inflated and in a state of good repair.

With donut tires, you may have to resort to towing

For instance, all older cars had a  spare tire that was the same as their tires the car came with. Over the years, however, car manufacturers have seen that these spare tires were not often used and that they were essentially just taking up space.

They began to equip cars with a ‘donut’ tire. This is a smaller, lighter tire – just a temporary solution for when you have a flat tire. The tire’s job is to get you to where you need to be so that you can get to an auto repair shop to get a proper tire installed. Most of these spare tires come with a single layer of polyester on their sidewall.

The whole purpose of the spare tire is that it should only be used in an emergency. The tread on these tires is less than a regular tire too which means you can’t go faster than 50 mph and you would not risk going further than 50 miles with them. How far can you go with a spare tire that is a donut is not too far and you may have to resort to towing services as there is only so far the donut tires can go.

You can go much further with a Standard Spare Tire

The type of spare tire you have will make a difference to how far can you drive on a spare tire. Yes, a full-size spare tire, especially one that is new, can be put on in place of the flat tire and take you to safety.

If the spare tire is brand new and the other 3 tires are well used, things will feel different and unbalanced and therefore you would drive at a slower pace. How far can you drive on a spare tire that is a full-sized spare is not particularly far either. Some car manufacturers do not give a donut spare tire but they give a full-sized spare tire that is much the same as your regular tire.

Irregular treads jeopardize the safety

As already mentioned, the tread pattern can be different from the ones already on your car. Because you will be driving on different tread patterns, there will be some issues with car handling. With these standard spare tires, they will go far more than the donut tires, and in fact, if your car has a standard spare tire, you should be able to drive with it for as long as you want. Just remember to get the flat tire repaired, so that you are not driving around without a spare.

You are trying to start your car and it refuses to budge? Most probably it is the battery that has died. There are so many reasons why your car battery could die on you and leave you stranded. Even if someone did manage to jump-start it for you, chances are it could die on you the next time you stopped. You could have forgotten to leave your radio or lights on or maybe when you do your calculations, you discover that your battery is between 3 and 5 years of age.

With a car battery dead no jumper cables,  it need not mean the end of the road as there are a few other ideas you could try. And if nothing is working, there is always the option to get a towing company to tow you out of your frustration.

What you can do when your car battery is dead and you do not have jumper cables

Sometimes a dead battery is really dead

Essentially, once your battery gets the engine going, the alternator then charges the battery so that when you use your car next time, the battery is recharged. An old battery can be jump-started just so many times and then it is going to leave you stranded.

Then car battery dead no jumper cables can become a stark reality and that is when you can be glad to have the telephone number of a tow company stored on your cell phone. They can at least tow your car in, get you to safety, and you can have your battery tested to see if, in fact, it does require replacing.

It can be dangerous waving down another car

Car battery dead no jumper cables will happen to you just once and then you will be sure to always have a set of jumper cables in your car. it is a good idea to always have these jumper cables in your car, however, there is one drawback with them and that is that they go hand in hand with another car. You require another car with a charged battery to make them successful.

Sometimes when you are alone on the side of the road,  waving down a stranger to help you can be dangerous. These days you can’t take chances and you have to prepare for the unreliability of your car and take steps to have options that can get you out of a tricky situation.

There are ways to avoid scenarios like this and power banks allow you to jump-start your car without the need for a second car.

Jump-starting a car is not that difficult. There are many guides on the Internet that tell you how to clamp the positive and negative cables. Once the cables are connected, it is time to start the cars. If the car did start then you should allow it to run for 15 minutes, revving it every now and again.

Car battery dead no jumper cables need not spell total hopelessness. If your car does not start and you do not have jumper cables and you are stuck in the middle of nowhere, there is something else you can try. But it also depends on whether you are driving a manual or automatic car.

Push starting a car

If you are lucky and your car is on a bit of a slope, the incline will make it easier for you – give you a  bit of momentum to start your car. If you can get your car moving, the idea is to turn the ignition on and to put your car into 2nd gear. Once your car has some momentum, release the clutch quickly.

Unfortunately, this push-start way of jump-starting your car won’t work if you have an automatic transmission. You could start it with a portable battery charger. If you have some money, car battery dead no jumper cables need not be like the end of the road for you.

This portable charger is a convenient alternative to jumper cables with clamps for jump-starting a car. They are so useful and are not just portable jump-starters as they come with other features too. You can recharge them with wall plug adapters and USB ports or cigarette lighters.

As you can see there are several techniques to trying to get a flat battery on the go again. If all else fails and you are literally out of ideas on how to get your car started, you will have to call a towing company out that provides roadside assistance.