As a solution to producing more fuel efficient vehicles, automakers are replacing the weight of a spare tire with a four-pound tire inflator kit. Studies from AAA show nearly one-third of all 2015 vehicles are now being sold without a spare tire. Spokesperson Nick Jarmusz says consumers are getting a bad trade off.
“…in actuality, the spare tire weighs about 30 pounds, on average, and that’s not really enough to substantially affect the gas mileage, so you’re getting very little improvement for gas mileage by trading in what is a pretty significant safety benefit of having that spare tire in the case of an emergency.”
Jarmusz says while consumers are getting minimal savings in gas mileage, the replacement cost of a tire inflation kit is nearly 10 times the cost of a tire repair, and can’t be used in all cases. He says the kits can only be used when the tire is punctured and the object is still lodged in the tire, not if the tire is blown out.
For more information about tire and road safety, visit wisconsin.AAA.com
