Stolen Zafira spare wheels

Inactive

fatpiggy wrote: »

French cars have carried their spare wheels in an under-body cage since the year dot. I've never had a problem with theft, and it leaves the entire boot free for putting whatever you like in it. In-boot spares tend to be those dratted space-saving things with a 50mph speed limit and they upset the brake sensor so the warning light comes on. In-boot spares also do very nasty things to my knackered back.

Indeed, cheapskate engineering by the French, all of the Japanese cars that I have owned have had full size spares under the boot carpet that is easy to access by the owner and doesn't get nicked or covered in crud, I would sooner get a spare out of a nice clean boot than crawl about underneath it.

goldspanners

Inactive wrote: »

Indeed, cheapskate engineering by the French, all of the Japanese cars that I have owned have had full size spares under the boot carpet that is easy to access by the owner and doesn't get nicked or covered in crud, I would sooner get a spare out of a nice clean boot than crawl about underneath it.

i'll second that, my focus has a space saver in the boot, so far ive never had to use it so its spotless. i would much rather fit this than be on my way somewhere with decent clothes on but had to lie down on the hardshoulder to remove my spare from under the car in the snow or rain. dont forget that some of the cages underneath will seize up and be impossible to move, my dad had a renault 18 that suffered this,lots of swearing happened that day,as if a puncture wasnt bad enough!

hewhoisnotintheknow

spares in the boot are ok until you find yourself on the hard shoulder with a boot full of equipment on the hard shoulder in the rain and you have to take it all out to access it

goldspanners

hewhoisnotintheknow wrote: »

spares in the boot are ok until you find yourself on the hard shoulder with a boot full of equipment on the hard shoulder in the rain and you have to take it all out to access it

my boot isnt often full,and if it is im sure i could jiggle things around enough to get at the space saver.or just take the stuff out to get to the wheel then put it all back in again to keep it dry if its raining.

Arlen

Every French car I have owned has had a spare wheel inside the boot well.

Zafiras, Transits and any 4x4 style car are at a great risk of theft as the underside is so accessible. For the Zafira there was (if I recall right) a modification where a chain got ran into the boot.

As for the spare tyre location debate, as long as the tyre is not missing chunks out of it, a can of Holts TyreWeld will get you off the road / home where you can sort it out properly.

mikey72

goldspanners wrote: »

my boot isnt often full,and if it is im sure i could jiggle things around enough to get at the space saver.or just take the stuff out to get to the wheel then put it all back in again to keep it dry if its raining.

Then try to get a filthy, wet, full size wheel back in on top of all the luggage?

goldspanners

mikey72 wrote: »

Then try to get a filthy, wet, full size wheel back in on top of all the luggage?

i'll put it back in the spare wheel well under the carpet.

or you could lie under the car and put it back in the cage.

mikey72

Your spacesaver can't be saving a lot of space if it's the same size as the normal tyre then.

vikingaero

I have one of the Osprey K-Loks fitted to my Zafira. On a good sunny dry day I reckon it would take me about 30 minutes minimum to change the flat with the spare - assuming that I'm going to sling the spare into the cradle without securing it with the K-Lok. :eek: To change the wheel properly and remount the spare securely would take 45 minutes to an hour.:eek::eek::eek:

It's unfortunate that the K-Lok is such a faff to use.

To give you an idea of what is involved you have to:

(1) Move stuff out of boot and passenger area - remove child seats
(2) Slide rear bench forward
(3) Remove floor lining and access tools
(4) Raise OSR third row seat and wedge it in place with it 2/3rds open
(5) Attempt to unscrew the K-Lok with the special yellow nut. At this stage the seat will slip and attempt to guillotine your hands. :mad: I carry a ratchet spanner in the car and even this gives only limited degrees of turn. :mad: Swear profusely as your hand gets guillotined and trapped over the next 5 minutes it takes you to undo the nut.:mad::mad::mad:
(6) K-Lok off and lower the wheel using the rear cradle holder nut
(7) Grab spare from sling and unbolt K-Lok. Swear if you forgot to Coppergrease it.:rolleyes:
(8) Fit spare
(9) Place flat tyre in boot and drive off; or place flat tyre in cradle and re-secure and drive off; or do the job properly and........... fit K-Lok to flat tyre, place flat tyre in cradle, clip on cradle lift and crank up 90% of the way, attempt to locate the K-Lok bolt through the K-Lok plate, whilst trying to hold rear seat that is attempting to chop off your hands, If you do this OK then crank up the K-Lok nut/bolt with the ratchet using minimal amount of room, once K-Lok is tight then secure cradle lift bolt, put tools away, place boot carpet back, place stuff back in boot, reslide back seats, refit child seats, drive off!

Or do I what I do and carry 2 cans of Holts Tyreweld in the car because I really don't want to access the spare except in a dire dire emergency.:D:D:D

vikingaero

Oh, whilst I'm mentioning Holts Tyreweld, Costco are selling a twin pack in a zip up faux leather case with a torch, and a hi-viz vest for £11ish.:beer: