Not even a space saver any more?

[JOEPRO]

Not forgetting that the space saver needs to be fitted too the non driven wheels, i.e. rear on a front wheel drive car, how this is interpreted on a 4 wheel drive i don't know

Where did you get this from? A space saver intended for a specific car model can fit on any of the 4x corners. It's only a temporary measure to get you to a garage remember and speed limitations are clearly noted on the face of the space saver.

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

That's a bit extreme now, but OK.

I know of at least two large companies with substantial company car fleets who have similar policies with respect to spare tyres...

This leads to some poor sods in the company having a loose spare wheel in the boot as the leasing company just bungs one in even though the car they've been assigned isn't designed with space for a spare.

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

We bought a 2017 Vitara earlier this year and it had a space saver wheel but no jack or wheel brace . It has them now. I have that tyre inflator and it works well.

I am yet to buy a car that comes with manufacturer supplied tool that's even halfway adequate to undo it's wheel nuts once in service.

Thankfully a breaker bar with the right size of impact socket on it, is fairly cheap and easy to store.



There's also no way you're changing an alloy that uses hub (rather than stud) location, with factory supplied "tools"... If it's not been taken off every year it will have corroded on to the point of needing serious force...

A friend of mine asked me to help him change the tyre on his Citroen C1 recently, he'd got the nuts off after having a puncture but the wheel wouldn't budge.

Took us putting it on an axle stand, and me prying it with a 4ft crowbar (padded with cardboard) whilst he tapped it with a big leather hammer to free it.

 

[doubleboost]

Slightly off subject.
In the 80s I was working as a recovery driver doing accident and stolen vehicle recovery .
We had a job to recover a RS 500 Cosworth Sierra.
It had its wheels nicked .
We put 4 space savers on to it and i dove it back to the yard .
Talk about a live wire .
Happy days indeed .

 

[Robotstar5]

Just tie your spare on the bonnet with a bit of rope

 

[Robotstar5]

Slightly off subject.
In the 80s I was working as a recovery driver doing accident and stolen vehicle recovery .
We had a job to recover a RS 500 Cosworth Sierra.
It had its wheels nicked .
We put 4 space savers on to it and i dove it back to the yard .
Talk about a live wire .
Happy days indeed .

A neighbour had one of the limited edition Brookland Capri's stolen, it was found with no wheels or seats, the owner planned to source replacements until the recovery company just winched it onto the wagon doing so much damage the car was written off

 

[Farside]

A proper spare wheel has proved its worth a good many times over the years and, on a fair number of those occasions, tyre gunk alone wouldn't have been able to "fix" the punctures. I would never buy a car without a proper spare wheel.

Ditto. The Fox I bought recently came with a steel spare. I'm not bothered about getting a matching alloy from a breaker, as it will do just fine for occasional use, when and if necessary.
Only drawback is evening out tyre wear including the spare; however, they're very close.

195/50-R15 vs 185/60-R14 Tire Comparison - Tire Size Calculator | Tacoma World

185/60-R14 tires are 0.06 inches (1.6 mm) larger in diameter than 195/50-R15 tires and the speedometer difference is 0.3%

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[Nomad]

As a" get you out of trouble" does it actually matter if you have an alloy wheel or would a steel one of the same size be sufficient as I have ?

Look into it before you decide if it's safe. Some cars are fine to swap steel & alloy rims, others need different nuts to be safe (angle of the nut face etc).
As long as the nuts are the same (or close enough and you're going slowly for a short distance) you will be fine.

 

[MetalMonkey]

Personally, I'm glad all my vehicles can take a full sized spare, I wouldn't want to be without one. The other half's astra has a space saver but she couldn't change it anyway - still it there though and better than nothing.

That said, I can see why they went in that direction. Most people wouldn't or couldn't change a wheel now. That's assuming they could even get the nuts undone. Plus the danger of doing it at the side of the road these days. Even jacking up the lardy weight of a modern car on a small trolley jack is an effort, let alone the OEM suicide rubbish. Even more on an E.V. I'd suggest.

Given all that it is easy to see why they saved the expense and weight of a spare wheel (and I suppose potential injury claims) and just added a token gesture of slime in a can, which I doubt ever gets used.

Still, it would have been nice if they gave you a full sized wheel well, as they used to even with space savers, for you to make your own choice. Another reason I'll be sticking with my gently rusting fleet of relics.

If you had absolutely no option of a spare, I reckon a tyre strings kit and a decent pump would be your best bet for an emergency, even if it is naughty.

 

[JOEPRO]

If you had absolutely no option of a spare, I reckon a tyre strings kit and a decent pump would be your best bet for an emergency, even if it is naughty.

Yes I always carry a "string" tubeless tyre repair kit. I have also used them out on the road with punctures with great success. Ie: the tyre didn't lose any PSI for months after and didn't require any further repair.

Indeed I got the idea by the local tyre places who use them on your car sometimes! Aka you pull up and say there is a screw in your tyre. They get you to hard lock steering and drive slowly to find the screw. They then use a string repair kit and charge you £10 for the pleasure.

 

[Onoff]

Cars used to come with a full sized spare wheel or alloy in boot.

Sod that. SWMBO's pug came with a Noddy wheel sat in a hinge down frame underneath. She now has as full size proper steel wheel in the boot. The lad's Jazz came with a can of foam but space for a proper wheel. He now has a proper steelie the same size as the alloys.

My Mondeo a skinny, steelie, speed / (distance too I think) limited. Actually going tonight to get a proper tyre put on a matching alloy to be the new spare. I don't want to be stuck in "Cornwall" or wherever and travelling back at 50kph.

 

[james butler]

I refuse to have a car with no spare wheel. When i buy a car it tends to be from a garage, if there no spare wheel I ask for one to be included. I’ll walk if they won’t put one in.

totally agree
i do seem to recall that a lot of manufacturers do have the ability to fit the spare wheel as some countries (japan i believe) will not allow vehicles in below certain standard specs and the spare wheel in many cases is one of those.
on the more recent mini coopers they often have the spare wheel well but fill it with foam to take the gunk and a compressor in uk etc but it actually has a spare wheel fitted if going to the higher spec countries

 

[james butler]

Yes I always carry a "string" tubeless tyre repair kit. I have also used them out on the road with punctures with great success. Ie: the tyre didn't lose any PSI for months after and didn't require any further repair.

Indeed I got the idea by the local tyre places who use them on your car sometimes! Aka you pull up and say there is a screw in your tyre. They get you to hard lock steering and drive slowly to find the screw. They then use a string repair kit and charge you £10 for the pleasure.

cant believe youd pay for that when a proper genuine repair is £15-20

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

The Jogger hybrid has the batteries where the spare wheel would normally go .

I need to figure something out even if it's just carrying a spare on long journeys.

 

[JOEPRO]

cant believe youd pay for that when a proper genuine repair is £15-20

They got me once.

After that I either do the string repair myself or go and insist they patch the tyre properly.

 

[pedrobedro]

Not spare related but I needed to take the rear wheels off the Vitara to fit some mud flaps and I literally had to beat the alloys off the disc, they now have copaslip on the mating faces.

 

[Pete.]

Where did you get this from? A space saver intended for a specific car model can fit on any of the 4x corners. It's only a temporary measure to get you to a garage remember and speed limitations are clearly noted on the face of the space saver.

Some spares only fit the rear wheels they wont go over the discs and calipers on the front without fouling. If you get a front wheel puncture you have to jack the rear up, remove the wheel, fit the space saver to the rear then swap the good rear wheel for the flat front one.

 

[jsf55]

Where did you get this from? A space saver intended for a specific car model can fit on any of the 4x corners. It's only a temporary measure to get you to a garage remember and speed limitations are clearly noted on the face of the space saver.

What is a Space Saver Wheel or Tyre - TyreSafe

Discover all you need to know about space saver wheels in our guide. Find the answers to your space saver tyre FAQS. Learn how to use spare wheels & stay safe.

www.tyresafe.org

 

[JOEPRO]

Some spares only fit the rear wheels they wont go over the discs and calipers on the front without fouling. If you get a front wheel puncture you have to jack the rear up, remove the wheel, fit the space saver to the rear then swap the good rear wheel for the flat front one.

Most likely using a space saver which fits but not intended for the vehicle or just plain poor design!

Eg, I could get a mercedes w205 space savee which will only fit the rear of my car. But I chose not to do that as id rather but eithet the correct w205 space saver wheel from dealer or a spare full size alloy this way either solution fits BOTH axles.

This is why really everyone should test fit their spare wheels to make sure the bolts etc too are correct. I do this on my used car purchaes and its amazing how many times I found incompatible bolts etc!

What is a Space Saver Wheel or Tyre - TyreSafe

Discover all you need to know about space saver wheels in our guide. Find the answers to your space saver tyre FAQS. Learn how to use spare wheels & stay safe.

www.tyresafe.org

3rd party website. MB owners manuals for example say It can fit both axles so very car model dependant but can't hurt to try and move the narrow wheel to the back in a front wheel drive yes.

In call cases it's more important to stay slow, under the max speed rating of the space saver and have the original wheel repaired ASAP / same day.

 

[bricol]

I am yet to buy a car that comes with manufacturer supplied tool that's even halfway adequate to undo it's wheel nuts once in service.

Thankfully a breaker bar with the right size of impact socket on it, is fairly cheap and easy to store.



There's also no way you're changing an alloy that uses hub (rather than stud) location, with factory supplied "tools"... If it's not been taken off every year it will have corroded on to the point of needing serious force...

A friend of mine asked me to help him change the tyre on his Citroen C1 recently, he'd got the nuts off after having a puncture but the wheel wouldn't budge.

Took us putting it on an axle stand, and me prying it with a 4ft crowbar (padded with cardboard) whilst he tapped it with a big leather hammer to free it.