Donut tires have recently become the talk of the town for their compactness and performance. When your regular car tires become flat, you can replace them with donut tires. Thus, you can reach the nearby car repair shop and have your original tire fixed and installed. In addition, it frees you from worrying about leaving the car on the road when the tires get punctured.
Therefore, donut tires have become a popular choice. But can you put air in a donut car when you use it? How long should you use the donut tire? Also, does it differ from your car’s regular spare tires?
Firstly, it is possible to put air and inflate the donut tire. You may use an air compressor and hose to inflate the donut tire. Its PSI level should be 60 when you install it. If the air pressure level is lower than 60PSI, then you must put air in it. It is necessary as donut tires are smaller and have less space for the air in than the regular spare ones.
Can You Put Air In A Donut Tire?
Donut tires are preferred over regular spare tires because of their compactness. As it has a compact size, you can easily store it inside the back of your car. It doesn’t take extra space and permits you to store all of your luggage and bags on long-distance tours.
When your regular tires become flat, you can quickly replace them with donut tires. However, due to months of idleness, the donut tires can lose a lot of air. As a result, its PSI level decreases and leaves it unusable.
Therefore, you should inflate the donut tire for proper use. Find the donut tire when you have a flat tire and need its quick replacement. Then, measure its available PSI level. If it maintains proper pressure, you are good to go with it.
You must check the pressure of the donut tire with the pressure gauge. As standard vehicles require 30 PSI pressure, the donut tire must be 60 PSI. You may ask why is an air pressure difference between the two tires.
The answer lies in size. Donut tires are much more compact than regular ones. So, it has less ground contact. It also lacks space to accommodate enough air to put adequate pressure on the wheels for safe and balanced driving. So tire manufacturers increase the donut tire’s PSI level to maintain the same pressure on the road.
Long story short, you can inflate the donut tire. Next, you can connect the air compressor hose with the valve stem of the donut. Then, connect the compressor hose to the power source and switch it on. Finally, pedal the air compressor and pass the air from the compressor to the air. When you have inflated it, check the pressure and ensure accurate PSI.
Related: Can You Put Air In A Run Flat Tire? Everything You Need To Know
How Do You Know When To Stop Putting Air In Your Donut?
Spare and donut tires don’t come with the pressure sensor. So, you won’t see any TPMS light on your car dashboard that suggests the tire’s PSI level. Thus, you must depend on the pressure gauge to measure the PSI level.
However, donut tires are for emergencies. You won’t run for miles after miles with it. So, a regular hand check with the fingers will be good. You can tap on the tire and see its pressure. Even if the donut tire lacks the perfect 60PSI, you can still safely drive the car to the nearby repair shop.
Thus, check the pressure on the tire with your hands and stop inflating it when you are confident. If you have a digital pressure gauge, you can quickly measure pressure and stop inflating it.
Driving Tips With Donut Tires and Safety Concerns
Donut tires are a temporary fix to a flat tire. First, you must fix the punctures of the regular tires and replace the donut ones. Then, as it is temporary, you must follow a few safe driving tips.
1. Be aware of cornering and brakes:
Donut tires lack proper control and brakes. As these tires are smaller in size, they have less ground contact. Therefore, it affects the brakes, controls, cornering, and vehicle handling. So, it would help to be careful while handling and cornering your vehicle.
2. Don’t forget about the disabled safety systems:
As your vehicle runs with donut tires, it will affect many safety functions and systems. You will find the following two safety systems of your vehicle running inappropriately.
- Traction control mechanism
- Electronic stability control
Since these two important safety controls will not work correctly, be cautious. Thus, we suggest you drive slower. Usually, donut tires are recommended to drive at 50MPH. But, we advise you to drive a little slower than the recommended speed.
2. Don’t overspend your vehicle:
When you have donut tires and looking for mechanic shops to repair the regular ones, avoid driving the car at Overspeed. We have suggested that with donut tires, the speed limit should be less than 50MPH. Also, you can’t continue driving cars for more than 100 miles with these tires.
If you continue, the tires will damage and cause accidents. So, you must replace the donut tires with the repaired original ones ASAP.
How far can you drive on a Dummy/Spare Tire?? Here’s my story >> Check out the video below:
Conclusion
Donut tires, with their compactness, are a great alternative to large spare ones. It fits in your car’s back with ease. If it lacks proper PSI, you can put air in donut tires. The inflating system is made easy with the air compressor and hose.
Also, note that the donut tires lack proper controls and safety functions of the car and have less traction. So, you mustn’t cross 50MPH speed while driving the car.
