# Can You Replace a Flat Tire **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 4, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-replace-a-flat-tire/523633 "2010-01-04T16:57:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![NoiseBomb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/49beb7/32.png) [@NoiseBomb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoiseBomb)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-replace-a-flat-tire/523633/61 "2010-01-05T07:14:07Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Is that how those things work? I’ve changed my fair share of tires on the roadside (in the trunk or attached to the rear of the vehicle) but always wondered if they really expected you to climb underneath certain vehicles to get at those bottom mounted spares. That’s gotta be real fun in slush and snow. But on the other hand, those are full-sized spares. Worth the annoyance of having to dig out the owner’s manual just to figure out how to get the thing off. ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-replace-a-flat-tire/523633/62 "2010-01-05T10:51:00Z")
In theory I could replace the tire. I know how it’s done, but I’ve never had to do it. I would just call someone else and have them replace it. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-replace-a-flat-tire/523633/63 "2010-01-05T11:55:18Z")
If the question had been about changing a \*bike \*tire, that’d be tougher. I only successfully learned how to do that a couple of years ago in a class, and have never done it ‘in the wild.’ But a car tire? Many times. ---
**Author:** ![LIONsob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/76d3ee/32.png) [@LIONsob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LIONsob)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-replace-a-flat-tire/523633/64 "2010-01-05T12:42:40Z")
Male and have changed more flat tires than I care to count, my first job was in a full service gas station as a pump jockey. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-replace-a-flat-tire/523633/65 "2010-01-05T14:45:31Z")
I\* could\*, yes. I paid attention to that part of driver’s training, and I’ve watched it done many times. Am I going to? Oh, hell no. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-replace-a-flat-tire/523633/66 "2010-01-05T16:18:08Z")
More times than I care to count. Even twice in one day on the same car. Fortunately I actually had two spares in the trunk. > [@NinetyWt](#): > > You left out: > > - all the while being lectured by a Jehovah’s Witness who stopped, seing a captive audience. I’d question the wisdom of attempting to lecture someone who has a tire iron handy and who knows how to use it. eta: obligatory real man changing tire [video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4ZqrZKsB5A). ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-replace-a-flat-tire/523633/67 "2010-01-05T16:21:43Z")
Change it and swap out a new one on the rim if need be. I’m cheating though; I worked as a mechanic in my younger days. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-replace-a-flat-tire/523633/68 "2010-01-05T16:42:18Z")
I’ve done it probably a dozen times. I seem to get at least one flat a year. The last time I had a big problem - I was stuck on the side of a 70 mph highway, _in the middle of a pass-through toll_. In other words, I had about eight feet of shoulder in which to stop the car, and I literally had to wedge myself in between the car and the concrete barrier in order to get the jack under the car and remove the lug nuts. Then one of the studs snapped off while I was loosening it, and I fell over, causing the car to shift slightly… causing the car to fall off the fucking jack. Fortunately, it didn’t fall on me. Less fortunately, the toppling car bent the mount point on the jack, rendering it useless. I was stuck a while until a kindly motorist pulled up with a proper jack. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-replace-a-flat-tire/523633/69 "2010-01-05T16:43:07Z")
> [@NoiseBomb](#): > > But on the other hand, those are full-sized spares. Worth the annoyance of having to dig out the owner’s manual just to figure out how to get the thing off. What’s the advantage of a full-sized spare? I’m curious, because one time I had catastrophic tread separation so bad that it dented the hell out of the inside wheel well and I was thankful I had a donut spare, since a full-sized tire would not have fit into the space. Since then, I’ve made sure to only have donuts. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-replace-a-flat-tire/523633/70 "2010-01-05T16:52:38Z")
I don’t know how many times I’ve had to change a tire, often on primitive roads remote from civilization. Once in Venezuela I had to change _five_ flats in the course of about a week. (On one windy mountain road, I got a flat and when I opened the trunk, found the spare was also flat - so I had to hitch to the next town to get it fixed, then hitch back again with the tire on my shoulder. On a road way out on the llanos, I hit a pothole in the dark and damaged two tires. Fortunately the leak in one was so slow I was able to get to my destination before it went too flat to drive on.) The time I had the most difficulty was in Argentina, when I found that I had some exotic kind of jack that I couldn’t figure out until a policeman came along and showed me how to assemble it. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-replace-a-flat-tire/523633/71 "2010-01-05T16:58:14Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > What’s the advantage of a full-sized spare? I’m curious, because one time I had catastrophic tread separation so bad that it dented the hell out of the inside wheel well and I was thankful I had a donut spare, since a full-sized tire would not have fit into the space. Since then, I’ve made sure to only have donuts. Is it not obvious? You can drive normally on a full-sized spare. Instead of having to put on the donut, get the normal tire fixed, and then switch them again, you just put the spare on, get the normal tire fixed, and stick it in the trunk. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-replace-a-flat-tire/523633/72 "2010-01-05T17:13:30Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > I’d question the wisdom of attempting to lecture someone who has a tire iron handy and who knows how to use it. Well they are called Jehovah’s _witnesses_, not Jehovah’s _wisemen_. But that happened to me. Flat tire on a 1964 Galaxie. Big heavy-ass wheel/tire (big enough I had to hug the tire/wheel to my chest to pick it up off the lugs). Full size spare. Stopped in a curve on a road with little to no shoulder and a high volume of traffic. The dude didn’t even have the decency to help, just sat there next to me yammering about the Witnesses. I would gladly have bonked him with the tire iron, there was no place to hide the body though. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-replace-a-flat-tire/523633/73 "2010-01-05T17:16:28Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Is it not obvious? You can drive normally on a full-sized spare. Instead of having to put on the donut, get the normal tire fixed, and then switch them again, you just put the spare on, get the normal tire fixed, and stick it in the trunk. Well, no, it wasn’t immediately obvious to me which is why I asked the question. Most of my driving is in the city, so it’s no big deal to get the tire fixed and, given my past experience, I prefer the donut. Besides, when I blow a tire I usually swap two out at a time, unless the other one has relatively low mileage on it. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-replace-a-flat-tire/523633/74 "2010-01-05T17:17:58Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > You’d call AAA for a FLAT TIRE? Why on Earth would you wait that long? It’s a ten-minute job. The car’s sitting in the parking lot at my office, so I’m in no hurry, and there’s six inches of slush on the ground. Yeah, I’ll call AAA. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-replace-a-flat-tire/523633/75 "2010-01-05T17:19:36Z")
> [@NinetyWt](#): > > Well they are called Jehovah’s _witnesses_, not Jehovah’s _wisemen_. > But that happened to me. Flat tire on a 1964 Galaxie. Big heavy-ass wheel/tire (big enough I had to hug the tire/wheel to my chest to pick it up off the lugs). Full size spare. Stopped in a curve on a road with little to no shoulder and a high volume of traffic. > > The dude didn’t even have the decency to help, just sat there next to me yammering about the Witnesses. I would gladly have bonked him with the tire iron, there was no place to hide the body though. Too bad it wasn’t a Mormon - they would have been falling over themselves at the chance to change your tire for you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-replace-a-flat-tire/523633/76 "2010-01-05T22:01:01Z")
Certainly, and I’m a lady-type too. Oddly enough, even though I’ve been a member of AAA for years, I never even thought of calling them when I had flat tires - I’ve just always gone ahead and taken care of it myself. Even in dress clothes and 0 degrees (ahh…Madison memories). That time, while some people stopped to ask if I needed a phone (and memorably, one lady to point out that I’d picked an inconvenient place to stop at - duh, I have a flat, lady, I didn’t really _want_ to stop here), only one stopped to help, which I appreciated immensely. That said, I was nearly done when he stopped, so he basically just kept me company. Still appreciated it, though. My last flat tire, last summer, another kindly gent stopped to help me loosen the lug nuts - I simply couldn’t loosen them on my own, even by standing on the tire iron. I appreciated his help too. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-replace-a-flat-tire/523633/77 "2010-01-06T00:08:44Z")
This thread clearly cursed me. Just a day after responding that I could in the poll, I got what looks like a screwdriver handle going from the rim of the tire and sticking out the inner side. Luckily I was on my way to the entrance ramp of I 880 and was able to easily get to an empty parking lot to change it. Took just ten minutes or so. I was in waving distance of a gas station too, and have AAA, but I also have my pride. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-replace-a-flat-tire/523633/78 "2010-01-06T01:31:11Z")
I’ve never owned a car before, so I have to ask the question…how did all of you learn to change tires? Are the instructions written in the owner’s manual of the car? I suppose nowadays you can just look it up on Google or Youtube to figure it out, but how did you learn prior to the internet? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-replace-a-flat-tire/523633/79 "2010-01-06T01:51:58Z")
> [@gladtobeblazed](#): > > I’ve never owned a car before, so I have to ask the question…how did all of you learn to change tires? Are the instructions written in the owner’s manual of the car? I suppose nowadays you can just look it up on Google or Youtube to figure it out, but how did you learn prior to the internet? Pretty sure driver’s ed went over this topic. And dad, too. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-replace-a-flat-tire/523633/80 "2010-01-06T02:11:37Z")
> [@gladtobeblazed](#): > > I’ve never owned a car before, so I have to ask the question…how did all of you learn to change tires? Are the instructions written in the owner’s manual of the car? I suppose nowadays you can just look it up on Google or Youtube to figure it out, but how did you learn prior to the internet? It is in the owner’s manual, but I learned from watching my father. Do it myself the first time concentrated the mind wonderfully also. I don’t remember learning it in driver’s ed; if we did it was textbook or movie only, no actual changing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-replace-a-flat-tire/523633.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-replace-a-flat-tire/523633.md?page=5)