According to the AAA website they send a truck out to put the spare on. No repair. If no spare they tow you to the closest garage. You would need to let them know up front you need a flat bed because you do not have a spare. If you live in the boonies hopefully the closest flat bed is nearby and not in use. Otherwise you sit and wait.

I would prefer to change the flat myself if the car is in a safe spot. This happened to me with a brand new tire recently on the way to a meeting. C02 cartridge went in the tire and left about 1/8 inch of the fat end showing. No patch would have worked on this hole. I changed the tire in about half hour and was able to get to my meeting. Then drove home and ordered another tire.

Less weight means nothing to me. Saving .01 MPG is not worth getting rid of the spare. If you have a spare they change it for you and you leave, otherwise take a ride home in the front of the truck with your wife.

 

I don't go very far from home with my C3 and I live in a very rural area. I'm a fire fighter / EMT so deal with the local tow companies quite often on motor vehicle collisions so know all the drivers. AAA will send a tow truck (roll back) and bring your car where you want it. I have the premium service so 200 miles limit. They will contact the local tow company which will in turn call you. When they call I usually know who it is and can get a little special consideration. I always tip the driver as well. I haven't had to use AAA for the C3 but have for a couple other vehicles. I've never had to use AAA for a flat tire though.

Usually though, I will just call a buddy and have them swing by my place and pick up my tilt back trailer or just pick me up and bring me home. Then I'll go fetch my car with my trailer.

If I was on a road trip far from home I guess I'd be at the mercy of the local tow service's schedule. What I'd probably do is wait for them to call and then ask if I can give them my credit card number so they I can give them a nice tip ahead of time as an incentive to get to me quicker. Don't know if it would work but worth a try.

 

Yah. I have 200 mile free towing. AAA. etc..... but I'm not about to wait for hours out in the middle of the desert..... that would really suck. I could give a **** that the spare weighs 50 lbs.

 

How many times have you gotten a flat tire in the middle of the desert? When was the last time you got a flat tire anywhere?

I can't remember the last time I got a flat and been driving since 1972. That's why I don't have a spare for my C5 and was thinking about removing the C3 spare.

 

In May it will be 46 years that I've owned my Vette.
The only flat I've had was when a Firestone 500 did it's typical tread separation back in '79.

 

Well I think it greatly depends on location and miles driven. DFW is in a constant state of construction and I have had 4 flats in the past 5 years between the wife and I. I have the unfortunate benefit of seeing the impact of stranded motorists firsthand and do not want to risk being on the side of the Texas Autobahn any longer than I need to be. Statistically each minute broke down equates to 10% increase in chane of getting hit/killed.

Typically these are occasional drivers so chances of a flat are drastically reduced compared to a daily driver. Each of us have to weigh out the risk/reward.

 

it depends on where you drive. I've also been the victim of DFW interstates. Last time I was down there I hit one of those sharp edged holes in the concrete interstate and ended up replacing the tire. I was lucky it didn't blow out. Not in my corvette. Modern car with low profile tires. The corvette with it's 15's high profile tires probably would have fared better actually.

 

Lots of variables that come into play for each individual to make a choice. Where you live, where you drive, cell coverage where you drive, what car (C3 or others), etc. We live in the Rockies. Once up in the canyons (where I really like to drive) the cell service is often non-existent, or very spotty. I drive our C3 in those areas and currently don't have a spare (it was original, and surprise, it doesn't hold air and I wouldn't use it anyway). I carry a plug kit and 12v inflator. We have a couple of other cars (newer) that have no spares, but are on run flats.

It's easy to say 'when is the last time you had a flat'. I used to say that. You don't need a spare until you do. On a ride with my wife up and over a canyon with little traffic, we stopped to take a hike. Got back to the car (Maserati Gran Turismo MC with no spare and no run flats) and the right rear was flat. Had a 1/4" bolt in the tread (who knows - you could pound that with a hammer and probably have a hard time getting it to penetrate the tire). We were 50 miles from the nearest service, with no cell coverage. Had a plug kit, but that's a pretty large hole. Plug kit helped, but I had to refill the air 4-5 times until we got to a place that could fix it.

So now we carry a satellite phone too - because we also go camping a lot where there is zero cell service for several miles.

For our C3 - when I get it out of winter mothballs I'll put a real spare back in it. I don't care about 50 lbs. I care - for us and where we live - that if/when I need it in one of those crazy fun canyons, it'll be there. For others who don't live in those areas, it's a personal choice. Keep on driving!!

 

I couldn’t agree more. What exactly is the huge motivation of saving 50 pounds?

Not to mention, the worst part is taking the carrier off, leaving the gaping ugly hole where it belongs, where it’s obvious some big part is missing and you get a lovely view of rear end, frame and exhaust pipes instead.

(no need for photos of “painted and detailed” areas missing the carrier. The carrier looks much better.)

 

I think the spare tire & wheel would help in a rear end collision absorb some impact so the gas tank would not take all the impact.

 

Unless you spent a bunch of $$$ on a blingy rear suspension...

 

Only spare tire on my late model Camaro is the one above my belt.
There, I have a small Viar compressor (that actually will pump up a tire in less than an hour), and a plug kit.

On my C3 I have what appears to be the original spare, nibs, severe weatherchecking and all. IF i ever need it, I'm going to have to flip a coin on whether or not to actually install it!!

 

Spare delete also allows for straight out the back exhaust. Eliminates two 90degree bends. A few pictures here on CF included with exhaust posts.

 

I was just thinking abut this. How many on here that are adamant about running a spare have checked their spare recently for tire pressure and date code? That is what got me thinking about the spare to begin with. I need to replace my tires and thought I'd better check the spare too and see if I should replace it. Then I thought my C5 doesn't have a spare, do I really need one on my C3?

 

Ditched mine immediately. Threw the carrier in the woods.