donut spare on long drive?

[glorifiedpower]

Good Day!! Last month i celebrated my birthday with my loving family on a roadtrip from california to bryce canyon. on my way back i had a flat on my right front! (yayks), i used my spare donut 176 miles to las vegas on a 50 mph ride! received a lot of angry stare from drivers especially on 2 lane roads.

My question is...
How does it affect my transmission? i heard from some people that im not supposed to use the donut spare on my pilot because of different wheel diameter size,

Is it stupid to drive 176 miles with a donut spare? (it is saturday night and there are no tire shop till monday!)

What are the possible problems my pilot have?

After that incident i always check for a rim suitable for my pilot, is it just enough for a 5 lug rim?

thank you very much, i hope you guys who read this get a full size spare before a long trip or get a AAA's

[humanoid]

It depends which tire you got a flat on. If you had it on the rear tires then you'd be fine, but on the front I'm sure things would get pretty hairy. I always have a full sized spare in all my vehicles.

[glorifiedpower]

oww man! i used the spare on front, i shouldn't have listened to the tire mech that was helping me out. i asked him if it's safe to use it in front
now i can't sleep. i'ts been 2000 miles since...

and why does honda put a donut spare on a suv? it should help if the put a note saying that using it on long drive or whatsoever will eventually damage your drivetrain... or stuff like that!

.......... i cant sleep!

thanks humanoid! sniff!!

[N_Jay]

No harm other than hairy driving.

At least you were smart enough to go only 50.

[hondacuraplanet]

Agreed. I wouldn't worry about it whatsoever.

[rocky]

While it may have driven a little funny, there is nothing to worry about. The reason cars have differentials is to allow the wheels to travel different distances around a corner.

There can be no effect on the car's transmission

[NJGuy]

Unless you have wheels/tires that have a larger overall diameter than stock, you shouldn't have much of a problem at all. Although a the temporary (donut) spare is significantly smaller in size, it's diameter is pretty close to the stock tires. I haven't measured them, but if you get a chance, compare them side by side; you might be surprised.
Whenever I had a front tire failure, I've always moved the good tire from the rear to the front and stuck the donut on the rear. I never knew it was recommended, but I just thought it made more sense, especially on FWD vehicles.

1. Like the others have mentioned, it was good that you drove slowly.
2. ALWAYS make sure that the spare is inflated to the proper pressure before using it. It is good practice to periodically check the pressure in the spare, especially before you go on a road trip. In almost all of the donut spares I've checked, the air pressure was way below the typically recommended 60 psi. Many times, they were around 30 psi and I even saw one at 15. It's like asking for another tire failure. Most people I know negelct checking this. My full size spare slowly loses air over time as well.
3. Yes, I have a full size spare and AAA. I also have a tire gauge and an air pump in the Pilot. It gives my wife peace of mind on long trips, and that goes a long way .

[glorifiedpower]

sorry... i fell asleep! eh!

I would like to tell you guys my warmest thanks!

Humanoid, N Jay, Hondaacuraplanet, Rocky, NJGuy.

[sjlee]

In addition to what the others have said...

1. I'd recommend getting a full-sized spare to replace that donut. Check out the classified section here, that's where I got my full-sized rim.

2. If you don't get a full-sized spare, you should get a new donut spare. I don't recall off the top of my head, but I believe the temp spare is really for one-time usage... particularly if you went that many miles on it.