Spare Tyre - how long can it be used for?

Car_54

mrmot wrote: »

Some manufacturers will stick a steel in as the spare if the car originally had alloy wheels and yet it will still have the warning sticker on the wheel (not the tyre), if the tyre size on the spare is the same as on the alloy, then you can use it for however long you want.

For the MOT, tyre sizes need to be same across an axle, however there is not a requirement for the wheel width to be the same.

When I've cars with such a "full-size" spare, the alloy wheels have been fitted with low-profile (and expensive) tyres. The spare had a normal profile (and much cheaper) tyre.

Since the steel spare saves neither space nor weight, its only purpose must be to save the manufacturer money. It would then make little sense to fit it with an expensive low-profile tyre.