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Weight of the temporary Spare and jack - Prius trivia

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Technical Discussion' started by walter Lee, Mar 13, 2012.

  1. walter Lee

    walter Lee Hypermiling Padawan

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    i was cleaning the rear cargo area and I began to wonder how much does the temporary spare weigh? So I got a bathroom scale and measured it. The temporary spare tire in the 3rd generation Prius weights only 20 pounds. The jackstand that sits on top of it weights slightly more than 9 pounds. Overall the entire temporary spare tire assembly weights under 30 pounds! :)
     
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  2. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    That is quite interesting. Thanks for doing this and posting.

    This is 30 pounds that I will gladly carry around with me, though :)
     
  3. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    Knowing Prius people, someone will suggest storing it without air - it will make it a little lighter.

    Tom
     
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  4. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

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    ^ they could improve the situation by putting Nitrogen in the spare... lol.
     
  5. Randyneely

    Randyneely Junior Member

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    My other car a .....2011 911 has run flats....no spare...and only gets 16mpg...lol
     
  6. hlunde

    hlunde Member

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    Only because helium will diffuse out of the tire!
     
  7. macman408

    macman408 Electron Guidance Counselor

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    Personally, I recommend filling it with hydrogen. That way, it reduces the weight of the spare tire, and it serves as a check of both your electrical system and spare tire without having to take the floor out. It's easy - just turn on the car! Did you explode? If so, then your electrical system is creating sparks, and your spare tire is flat.
     
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  8. Royal5280

    Royal5280 New Member

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    oh come on... when was the last time you needed a spare? The 911 says it all...spare tires are a crutch... you don't need it.
     
  9. jdcollins5

    jdcollins5 Senior Member

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    If you want to take your spare tire out, help yourself. Yes, it has been a long time since I have had a flat but I do not want to be stranded beside the road waiting for some tow truck to arrive 45 minutes to an hour later.
     
  10. kbeck

    kbeck Active Member

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    Ha. Last year was driving back and forth to Michigan with son's college gear piled up in the back of the Toyota minivan. Somewhere around Toledo the "your tire has low pressure" warning light went off. Pulled off at the first convenient spot; front right was 10 lbs low. I couldn't hear it (old age) but my son heard the hissing.

    Cranked the spare down from where it lived under the center section of the car, put it on the hub, and limped into Ann Arbor. The hole was on the side of the tread, close to the sidewall, and couldn't be repaired (drat).

    Three things:

    1. If it can happen to me, it can happen to you.
    2. Really, really glad that the TPMS gauge was there. The thought of losing the front right at speed on the interstate in heavy traffic should be enough to give anybody the willies.
    3. Run-flat tires are, I believe, Really Expensive to replace. In which case that stupid donut-spare was better than a Run-Flat, limping into Ann Arbor or not.
    KBeck
     
  11. Royal5280

    Royal5280 New Member

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    OK, look, at one point it may be bad. I hear you. I get that. It can happen to anyone. I would take it on a road trip. It would be a real pain to have to get it from the house. But... should I carry it every day the other 2000 days I own the car?
     
  12. tonyrenier

    tonyrenier I grew up, but it's still red!

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    Maybe helium? Lighter than air!
     
  13. Munpot42

    Munpot42 Senior Member

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    Most of us could go on a diet, lose the thirty pounds, still carry a spare for emergencies, a spare tire that could be of some use.:rockon:
     
  14. kbeck

    kbeck Active Member

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    I do not know. In some forty years of driving I've had (or been associated with people who looked to me to fix) maybe a dozen flats. Murphy's law says that flats never happen in a convenient place and he's been right at least half of the time. Even with that, if the flat happens somewhere near home, unless it's within a half mile, it's going to be a royal pain and $ getting that tire off, fixed, and replaced.

    Personal choice, I guess. But I still prefer the spare.

    KBeck.
     
  15. kbeck

    kbeck Active Member

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    Talk about strange.

    Today, got a flat in the Prius. Somebody had left one of those big screws that holds, like, a CB radio onto its bracket, knurled knob and all, in the street. Crossed over it on Woodland Ave. in Edison, followed promptly with a flaw-flaw-flaw noise from the front end.

    On a side street unscrewed the thing from the middle of the belt of the tire, followed promptly with the sound of escaping air. Pulled out the spare and jack, swapped in the spare, drove to a nearby gas station/repair bay, and they fixed the tire for $5. On my way 20 minutes later.

    Now, try and do that as cheap with a no-flat tire. Or as fast as with no spare at all.

    KBeck
     
  16. kithmo

    kithmo Couch Potato

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    Yup, I weigh about the same as eight Prius spare tyre & jack kits. :embarassed: :pop2: :hungry: :pizza: :couch2:
     
  17. ThatTallGuy

    ThatTallGuy Junior Member

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    I hear you. And my Plug-in will be the first car I've ever had that didn't have a spare (and a full-sized one to boot; I keep my cars forever. :) )

    That said, I have never in three cars and 30+ years of driving gotten a flat while driving, and only once while parked... and that once was due to vandalism. Different roads? Different driving or maintenance styles? Luck? Who can say?

    But unless the PiP really picks up the pace, I guess I don't expect to see more than one flat in its lifetime. I'd like to have at least the donut tire -- but trading a tire I'll use once in ten years for a bunch of all-electric miles I can use every day makes sense.
     
  18. tls1

    tls1 Junior Member

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    My 2009 Corvette does not have a spare and I do not use run flats. So far so good................
     
  19. Mike500

    Mike500 Senior Member

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    Driving on "borrowed time?"
     
  20. HaveNoCents

    HaveNoCents Conservative Tree Hugger

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    I must be the unluckiest person in the world, but I bet I've had at least 9 flats in the last 11 years. Of the 9 three were not fixable. I will never drive any car that doesn't have a spare.


    iPad ?