No spare wheel?

facade

Richard53 wrote: »

Do you mean width? A different diameter would cause all sorts of problems

No I mean diameter (and the width is smaller) The car must think it is permanently going around a corner with it on.
My handbook says to fit it to the back if there is the slightest possibility of wheel slippage, as the electronic stability system will not work properly with it on the front.

Likely the 50 mile thing is just before the differential wears out!

Aretnap

facade wrote: »

My handbook states that the joke spare wheel is for emergency use, and must be replaced by the standard tyre at the first opportunity. Also you must not tow a trailer, and it should be fitted to the rear in wet or icy conditions.

The question arises as to what is an emergency?
Is going to work for a week an emergency?
Is driving from home to a tyre fitter an emergency, when there are many mobile tyre fitters who will come to your home or place of work?

These are the sort of questions that you don't want to be debating if you have an accident, or get stopped by the Police.

What constitutes an emergency isn't particularly relevant, as your handbook isn't the law. The actual law allows the use of "a temporary use spare tyre, unless the vehicle is driven at a speed exceeding 50 mph" and doesn't say anything about emergencies. So in theory you could keep it on for weeks and weeks, so long as you didn't exceed 50mph and didn't intend to leave it on permanently. It probably wouldn't be a very good idea though.

(Certainly if you are exceeding the speed rating of the tyre and crash you won't be insured and will face prosecution for a whole list of offences, but that is a different issue)

What makes you think you wouldn't be insured? Of course you would be. The RTA specifically prevents insurers from making insurance (the minimum 3rd party cover at least) dependant on the condition of your vehicle.

A construction and use offence relating to the tyre, as you could not rely on the temporary spare exception due to the speed. Possibly careless driving as well. Is that a whole list of offences?

I must say that having needed a spare tyre precisely twice in 20 years of motoring I'm quite happy with my spacesaver - I'd rather have the extra boot space and take a chance on suffering some (probably fairly minor) inconvenience once in a blue moon. Not sure I'd want a car with no spare tyre at all though.

Stooby2

As above - the excess speed and/or use of the tyre would have to be a contributory factor to the collision before the insurance companies could even start reduce their liability let alone cancel your insurance. Then they'd have to prove / have proof you were exceeding the speed rating for the tyre - not the simplest thing to do.

Spacesavers are absolutely fine if they're used correctly. There's no problem driving 20 miles home, then the next day driving to a tyre place to get your proper tyre fixed/replaced - if you do it sensibly. They're not as good as a full size proper tyre, but as I've stated before, on small cars they're a trade off to allow some kind of sensible boot space and a decent sized fuel tank.

As for the slime puncture repair - I've used it once on a motorbike for a small puncture - it sealed the tyre and got me home. The tyre place wasn't too happy with it as it's very messy. If it does the job - and it was a lot easier than changing a wheel - I see no problem with it, so long as the tyre is replaced asap afterwards.

Rain_Shadow

I have a Mazda6. It doesn't come with a spare. However, it does come with a full sized wheel well ( presumably for markets where five wheels are obligatory). The wheel well is occupied by a big piece of moulded foam holding all the wheel changing tools. I bought a steel wheel and budget tyre from my Mazda dealer and slotted it in in place of the foam.

Richard53

facade wrote: »

No I mean diameter (and the width is smaller)

I am amazed. Not only will this cause all kinds of issues with the diff (if on a driven axle), but it would totally mess up the dynamics of the car. I don't doubt you, but I am astonished that this is legal.

securityguy

greatgimpo wrote: »

First of all, in the middle of nowhere you may not get a mobile phone signal, so in the event of a shredded tyre, help may not come when your sealant don't fill the gaping hole.
Secondly, if you've only a little puncture, and the sealant does fix it, can the tyre be cleaned inside to get a proper repair at the garage?

I've had that happen precisely once in thirty years of driving, probably a total of over half a million miles. But the same applies to an alternator, and I don't carry a spare one of those.

kerri_gt

This was featured on Watchdog some time ago.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mg74/features/spare-tyre

I'm not sure how 'more boot space' is a valid argument, my wheel sits under the floor of my boot and my boot space (in a Clio) is pretty large and well shaped for the size car (certainly more than a number of similar size vehicles) - yet my friend has a newer mini, with no spare and a boot the size of my glove box (no wonder there's no spare, you'd need to strap it to the roof!)

Whilst I understand the arguments for not having a spare, and I wouldn't necessarily change a spare myself, I wouldn't be inclined to buy a car without one.

paulwellerfan

op i brought a brand new corsa last year and didnt even ask about a spare.
however a few months ago i ended up with a puncture and needed to call the AA.
Seen as how the car was brought brand new they offered this service for free.
i phoned them and told them there was no spare tyre and they said that they could send some one with a new wheel and fit it for only the price of the tyre and also tow me back home.
All in all that tyre cost me 70 quid
no cost for the recovery or the lift home.
it was a really good quality tyre and i saw it as real value for money.
( however i guess i was alone and desperate and female and would have paid double that to get home in one piece.)
i still havent brought a replacement spare tyre.

Richard53

So you got a new wheel and tyre and only paid for the tyre?

Well played!

neil_999

I actually believe you should have a proper spare wheel. However, I don't know why I think that. I can count on one hand the times I've had to change a wheel at the side of the road. And I can actually honestly say, hand on heart - I've replaced more exhausts at the side of the road than tyres.

And why wheels? Car manufacturers have never supplied a spare anything else? So maybe it makes sense to do away with the spare wheel idea, but I think it takes us all out of our comfort zones a bit.

As for puncture repair kits - all or nothing - there isn't a puncture repair kit in the world that will repair a trye in two halfs!