Updated · Tires
Donut spares: slow and short
The speed limit is printed on the tire or a label on the wheel, usually 50 mph. For distance, most guidance lands around 50 to 70 miles. The tread is thin, the tire is small, and it's built for one job: getting you to a repair.
Drive gently. Braking distances are longer and cornering grip is lower, especially in rain.
Full-size spares
A matching full-size spare can stay on as long as it's in good shape and properly inflated. A non-matching full-size spare can usually be driven at normal speeds, but get your regular tire back on soon, especially with all-wheel drive.
Check its pressure before you drive off. A spare that has sat for months is often low.
Run-flat tires
Run-flats can keep going after losing air, typically around 50 miles at up to 50 mph, though the exact limits depend on the tire and the car. Your owner's manual has the numbers. The warning light is your main clue, because an empty run-flat looks almost normal.
After a run-flat has been driven without air, many makers say it should be replaced, not repaired.
Driving on a donut around Dallas–Fort Worth
Freeway traffic here often moves well above 50 mph, and driving much slower than everyone else is a risk of its own. Where you can, use the frontage roads that run beside most Texas freeways, or surface streets. If the freeway is the only way, stay in the right lane and keep a steady speed.
Summer adds heat. A small tire working hard on hot pavement runs warmer, so keep it at the pressure printed on it and keep the trip short.
Getting off the spare
The goal is to have your regular tire repaired or replaced within a day or two. A spare that stays on for months, forgotten, is how a small problem turns into a blowout.
We can plug or patch the original if the damage is repairable, or bring a replacement if it isn't, and put your regular wheel back on wherever the car is parked.