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Show Spare Tire Out? The spare tire is on its way to the automotive archives, according to the Automotive Information Council. It may be a while before the long sought goal of eliminating the fifth wheel and tire on all cars is accomplished but the trend is definite. ONE REASON for going with four tires is ancient in automotive annals more room for luggage. The second and much more important point is the current need to reduce total car weight. By federal order, the car companies com-panies must produce automobiles au-tomobiles in the 1978 model year that will give them an average of 18 miles per gallon on their total output. The mpg figure increases annually until 1985 when the average has to reach 27.5. AT LEAST three tire makers have disclosed programs that either may lighten the spare or get rid of it. Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. has just received a go-ahead go-ahead from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Ad-ministration for its Tempa-Spare, Tempa-Spare, a temporary tire that weighs 17 to 20 pounds less than the conventional tire and rim. It stores fully inflated but takes only half as much storage space. The temporary tire is just that. INFLATED at 60 pounds per square inch, it will give a comfortable ride. Its tread is 2,000 miles, so the motorist, should have the regular tire repaired or replaced. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is testing a tire that will run "flat." Actually, it is a tire with a tough molded fiberglass structure. When the tire flattens, that inner structure supports the "flat" and the car for about 50 miles at nearly legal expressway speed. THE DRIVER will know he has a problem because the tire will thump. The tire has two built-in flat spots so the motorist will be aware of the need for a repair. B.F. Goodrich announced a self-supporting tire at the convention of the Society of Automotive Engineers in Detroit De-troit last March (1977). It will run without air, thanks to a self-supporting inner structure. struc-ture. Goodrich said its tests showed the tire ran for more than 45 miles at 45 miles per hour. THE GOODRICH concept would require some type of a warning device to let the motorist mo-torist know that one of his tires was rolling without air. Auto company researchers have talked about a light on the instrument panel to alert motorists when tire pressure is low. WHEN CAN we expect a new kind of spare or no spare at all? Sooner than you think. Possibly in the upcoming model year. |