| I was reading through a forum the other day on car | | | | that they are strong enough to remain "vertical" even |
| problems when I found something interesting posted by | | | | when you get a flat. |
| a person that just bought a new Mini Cooper. There | | | | An immediate question may be coming to mind. If the |
| problem was a rather funny one - they couldn't find | | | | run flat tire looks normal when it is flat...how do you |
| their spare tire or jack. The answer was because the | | | | know it is flat?! There are two primary ways. The first |
| car didn't come with them. Instead, the car ran on run | | | | is a visual inspection. A run flat tire is going to hide a nail |
| flat tires. | | | | in the tread. If you roll over a curb and blow the rim up, |
| The flat car scenario is one familiar to every driver. A | | | | then you are going to be able to see it. The more |
| tire goes flat at some inopportune time. Okay, there is | | | | common method of discovery is through the low |
| never a good time for a flat tire, but you understand | | | | pressure warning systems. |
| what I mean. Regardless, the tire goes flat and you pull | | | | By federal law, tire and car manufacturers are |
| over to the side of the road. Out comes the jack and | | | | required to supply a low pressure warning system |
| spare tire from the trunk. You loosen the bolts on the | | | | when run flat tires are used. Every car does it a bit |
| flat, jack up the car, change the tire, stick the flat in the | | | | differently, but you will generally see a tire shaped |
| trunk and head off to the tire store. If you are really | | | | warning light appear on your dashboard somewhere. |
| lucky, you are only slightly covered in brake dust, dirt | | | | The system works by keeping tabs of either the |
| and gunk. | | | | pressure in the tire or the spin rate of the wheel. As a |
| Run flat tires work on a different concept. As the | | | | tire loses pressure, it will actually slow down slightly. |
| name suggests, the tires continue to run after you get | | | | Regardless, you should get your car into a tire shop |
| a flat. Each brand has different specifications. In | | | | quickly or you'll risk the tire suffering structural damage. |
| general, you can drive up to 55 miles per hour for | | | | Are run flat tires the wave of the future for cars? It's |
| between 50 and 100 miles. How so? The trick is found | | | | hard to say. Manufacturers like the weight savings that |
| in the sidewall of the tire. Most sidewalls are air | | | | occur when there is no spare, but run flat tires are |
| pressure dependent. When the air pressure drops, the | | | | significantly more expensive than traditional tires. High |
| sidewall bends out and you get the prototypical flat tire | | | | prices, of course, are not exactly popular these days. |
| profile. With run flat tires, the sidewalls are built up so | | | | |