Hey guys I hit a curb last night because of a sheet of ice I was sliding on and it broke my rim. The tire is fine so I have a new rim on the way but how many miles can I get off of my spare? I have already put about 35 miles on it and thats just in one day, the new rim wont be in till this coming Tuesday. Typically the spare tires says 50 miles max but this one only says 50mph/80Kph max.

 

The only thing is winter conditions. A spare tire shouldn't go on ice or snow.

On dry, I would switch it in the back, but on uncertain road surface better leave it on the front wheels. There is actually no distance limit, more of a speed limit (not good for highway). It can last maybe 5000 miles I guess, it's more a matter of safeness - not very safe on braking, emergency handling, adherence on wet.

 

The roads are fine now. The broken rims was my front right so I swapped the back right up front and put the spare on the rear since braking and turning puts more pressure on front tires while the back tires just follow along. Does anyone know why other car manufactures would put a 50 mile limit while Volvo does not? I know that the quality is not nearly that of a regular tire and durability due to size but this is the first spare tire that I have seen that does not give a mile limit.

 

Please, enough guessing in your posts. Now your guess is downright dangerous. Per the owner's manual, the spare should not be used more than 50 miles. Will it last longer? Most likely. But 5000 miles is very dangerous advice.

 

Back to the original poster, there should be no problem for the tire itself. It might be that having the tire on the front wheels might not be good for the transmission gears in the long term if the spare tire has different diameter. As you already have placed it in the rear there are no worries unless the car is AWD. Just drive very carefully as having a spare tire can be treacherous in emergency or slippery situations, even on the rear wheels.

 

It will be interesting to see if your tire is in fact alright for reuse?
If you hit the curb with enough force to crack the old rim one would expect some damage to the tire wall or the steel belting.

 

Thanks for the posts, I looked through my owners manual briefly and couldn't find anything regarding mileage of a spare. My car is FWD so no issues with transmission problems. There was no visual damage to the tire other than some white scuffing on the side that wiped off without effort.

 

I would drive on the spare until I got another tire.

The owners manual has a WARNING which states that you should not exceed 50mph and not drive further than 50 miles. Man, I know people that use spare tires until they go flat. 50 miles, LMHO, they likely go 5,000 if they last that long.

Here is a tip... GET A FULL SIZE SPARE. Whenever I get a car, I get a full size spare as soon as I can. I love to travel and I try to drive everywhere I go. Going down the highway, get a flat, change the tire and keep on rolling. Fix the NEW spare when I can.