Hey Buddy, can you change a spare

There is little worse than coming back to your car and finding a flat tyre, but with a little preparation, you can make it less stressful

A RECENT run-in with a nail left us feeling a bit flat, and highlighted the pros and cons of factory tool kits when it comes to roadside stoppages.

We were returning from a day at the racetrack with a full tool kit in the back, including a trolley jack, which did a faster job than the standard wind-up scissor jack.

Also helpful was the battery-powered impact driver and wheel sockets from the race car, while the standard wheel brace would have worked, we would have taken a lot longer.

The big fun was lowering the spare tyre from its recess under the floor, there was a special attachment for the jack handle that engaged a winch system through a slot in the top of the rear bumper.

In fairness, the system worked well, there was no ‘quick fit’ tool in our kit, so we did it using the factory equipment, without putting a stop watch on it, the job took about five minutes to get the spare down on the ground and unhooked, ready to go on the car.

With the flat already off, we popped the centre cap out of the rim, on with the spare, another quick hit with the rattle gun, and then it was time to hook the winch and wind the wheel up into position.

A couple of minutes later, everything was in place, then it was pack the tools up, and we were ready to hit the road.

All up time? About 15 minutes, from stop to start, not too bad, longer than we would be happy with at the track, but reasonable for a roadside repair, and we weren’t sitting waiting for the RACQ.

Would the standard tools have done the job? Yes, no question, but it would have taken a lot longer, with a little more cussing and a lot more sweating, trust me, been there, done that!


Could it be made easier? Yes, a simple hydraulic bottle jack and a pair of gloves (to keep your hands clean), available from auto part stores, is quicker and a lot less work. Once the car is jacked up, the rest of the job takes about the same time, and the same effort.

A extension bar, to slide over the wheelbrace, also makes life much easier when loosening machine-tightened wheel nuts, it becomes a longer lever, acting as a force-multiplier, and you can even stand on it, to put your full body weight into the job.

Without needing to be a mechanic, this is one area you can make yourself ‘road ready’, know where the tyre changing tools are, and be familiar with them.

Some late model cars, including EVs and hybrids, may not have a spare tyre, using a tyre repair foam sealant and a compressor to get you mobile, again, it is good to be familiar with what you have, let’s face it, none of us want to be stuck on the side of the road if we can avoid it.