Daum...

Damn screw was like 5 inches long - checked this morning air pressure had dropped -
Ran it up to Big-O sure enough they pulled it and it hissed, glad I didn't do that last night.
In and out pretty quick - now off to the lake.

 

Get yourself a decent plug kit for next time (BlackJack). It might save you on the road. Don't bother with the cheap plastic kits at Wal-Mart or the like. They take way more effort and you don't need extra hassle when you get a puncture.

I found a sheet metal screw in one of my tires a couple of weeks back before I left for work. I had to plugged and pumped up in under 10 minutes. It might have taken me 15 if I had to do it on the road, since the portable compressor would need to get set up.

 

I keep a plug kit and air compressor in all vehicles. Over the years I've plugged about 2 dozen tires. Some for me, some for others. In some cases the tire needed professional help or replacement, but the plug held until I could drive it to a tire store. I've only had to resort to mounting the spare once in about 20 years for a hole too big to plug.

 

99% do there are only a couple of brands and models that don't. Basically BMW, Mercedes and premium or niche models (Audi R8, Nissan GTR, Porsche 911, etc) dont come with one

 

Are donuts bad because they are smaller than full size, and if you put the donut on 1 side of the rear wheels, the difference in tire circumferences will cause the rear diff to wear out faster?

 

They're not bad, but they're temporary. I'm the guy that has bought a matching 5th rim and tire for my last several Toyotas. I get a nail, I swap tires and drop the spare off at Discount on my way to work.

 

I think the spare in Tacoma Sport is a 16" steel wheel but it's the same tire diameter of the stock 17"
But yeah, if you upgraded your 4 main wheels and tires, then getting a matching 5th is good to avoid having different sizes.

 

I could not tell you what size the stock spare is, mine was sold a while back

I have a sport with 5 16" wheels now lol

 

hoping it went in straight. Had small screw go in sideways. Thankfully I had certs and it was not Sunday.

 

That looks like the handle to my knife, but it is not. My knife is in my pocket and is not beat up like that......

 

Many other cars have done away with them as well. Honda doesn’t sell a Civic with a spare, Chevrolet too has stopped including them on some of their smaller cars (the Cruze I think?)

I can see why though; tires are built better than they were even ten years ago plus most people never keep them inflated or can’t find the key for thei rim locks, etc.

 

In 2017 it was about 1/3 of all new car models. I expect this trend to sadly only grow.
https://www.cars.com/articles/got-a-spare-not-on-these-cars-1420697605296/

 

Nice, I had one of those a few months ago.

No psi change so ran it a couple hundred miles with no issues til I had time to change the tires which were like 4/32 at the time so got deuler a/ts to replace the stock kevlars.

 

Mismatched tires will play hell with your differential.
So, if it is rear wheel drive and one of the rear tires goes flat, your best course of action would be:
- put a good front tire on the rear with the other good rear tire to keep them matched
- let the donut work the front without a differential in play

 

They took the tire off - applied a patch and a plug - so I should be good to go...
But will watch the air-pressure especially if taking any kind of long trip.

 

I have a 2015 M3 and since it has staggered wheel sizes front to back I get the same inflator and fix-a-flat. Some people put run flat tires on but with a performance car runflats are way too stiff to be comfortable.

 

This is really not the big situation as you thought.

Its just a punctured tire. It happens to any vehicle old or new.

Simple and quick fix. It could have been fixed on your way out of town.

Nothing to press the Panic button over.......

Glad its fixed. Get a plug kit for temporary repairs so you can get to a tire store.

 

This is a prime example of how life's sense of humor and ours don't always align.

Needless to say, is it really yours without a first hiccup? Cheers

 

Right ... if this is the worst thing that happens in the course of a day then everything is gonna be alright.
Bummer was the wife and I were planning on an outing to the lake early in the morning, she's been working
like 7 days in a row for 8 weeks now and needed a get-away... we settled for a stroll in the desert for renewal.

 

I see,
what about part time 4WD vehicles like 4X4 Tacomas?
If I only had a donut, the front axle has a differential there too