Spare wheel

50Twuncle

My Suzuki came without a spare - just a can of foam - I would prefer the security of a full sized spare - and looked in to the cost - Suzuki want over £300 for a steel spare and tyre - Tyreman want £200 for a narrow alloy with a 125/70 17" continental tyre, jack and brace - supposedly the same overall diameter as my full sized tyres (185/55 16)
What would you do ?

neilmcl

Ebay. No need to buy new.

50Twuncle

neilmcl wrote: »

Ebay. No need to buy new.

Thanks - just had the same thought - looking now !

Carrot007

I would do what I did. Go to a scrap yard and get one for cheap. It's onlt a spare it don;t have to be great!


Though more likely ebay thses daays as most scrap yards are no longer places you can go to. Still cheap though.


Sure you have a spare jack and brace by now, I have far too many of the things (and make sure it is the proper X one that is actually usable when some idiot forces it on like a dumbass).


Still all depends on the one you want. I will let you do the search if you are so inclined. I paid around a £10 for one 10 years ago, but a smaller size so probably much cheaper! (15 if i recall right, but could have been 16, I really cannot remember (and it bares no relation to current pricing anyway)!).

AdrianC

50Twuncle wrote: »

...125/70 17"...
supposedly the same overall diameter as my full sized tyres (185/55 16)

125/70 17 is a total diameter of ((70% of 125mm) x 2) + 17" = 607mm
185/55 16 is a total diameter of ((55% of 185mm) x 2) + 16" = 610mm

So, yes, they're pretty damn near the exact same overall diameter.

DavidT67

Is it actually worth the expense and extra weight in the car?
When have you ever had to change a wheel by the side of the road in the past?
Could you do it under pressure on the hard shoulder of a busy motorway? Would you want to?

Manufacturers don't put them in new cars by default as it improves the MPG figures.
(Same reason they are making the fuel tanks smaller, but that's another issue)

NB I've used the sealant cans twice and they are quick and simply to use, downside is the tyre then has to be replaced rather than repaired, but that's the compromise. for saving weight and gaining boot space day to day.

AdrianC

DavidT67 wrote: »

Manufacturers don't put them in new cars by default as it improves the MPG figures.
(Same reason they are making the fuel tanks smaller, but that's another issue)

This is not the reason.

The additional weight is utterly negligible, especially given how ridiculously heavy many modern cars are anyway.

The two main reasons that fewer manufacturers supply spares are very simple - cost-saving, and simple packaging given how ridiculously large many modern wheels and tyres are.

DavidT67

Hmm, well Mercedes felt it was worth reducing their 'standard' fuel tank size from 66 to 50 and then 40 litres to make their MPG figures look better. So circa 10 kilos for a spare wheel and associated packaging was no doubt factored in also.

couriervanman

DavidT67 wrote: »

Is it actually worth the expense and extra weight in the car?
When have you ever had to change a wheel by the side of the road in the past?
Could you do it under pressure on the hard shoulder of a busy motorway? Would you want to?

Manufacturers don't put them in new cars by default as it improves the MPG figures.
(Same reason they are making the fuel tanks smaller, but that's another issue)

NB I've used the sealant cans twice and they are quick and simply to use, downside is the tyre then has to be replaced rather than repaired, but that's the compromise. for saving weight and gaining boot space day to day.

"NB I've used the sealant cans twice and they are quick and simply to use, downside is the tyre then has to be replaced rather than repaired, but that's the compromise. for saving weight and gaining boot space day to day."

Well I've had 2 punctures in last 18 months car and small van.....no can of gunk would have worked luckily both had spare tyres
At the end of the day......sods law you have a puncture on a wet windy day in the middle of nowhere and your phone battery is flat,id rather have the security of a spare wheel

George_Michael

DavidT67 wrote: »

Manufacturers don't put them in new cars by default as it improves the MPG figures.
(Same reason they are making the fuel tanks smaller, but that's another issue)

If these figures from the American EPA are correct (and I see no reason to think that they are not),
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/driveHabits.jsp
an extra weight of about 45kg in your car will result in a loss of fuel efficiency of 1%.

Say around 15kg for a modern alloy wheel and tyre (and quite a bit less for a spacesaver) and you are talking about a difference in fuel economy of 0.3% for the full size spare wheel. (or to put it another way, for a car that averages 40 mpg, the reduced figure will now be 39.88 mpg.
Not really too much for manufacturers to worry about.

couriervanman

George_Michael wrote: »

If these figures from the American EPA are correct (and I see no reason to think that they are not),
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/driveHabits.jsp
an extra weight of about 45kg in your car will result in a loss of fuel efficiency of 1%.

Say around 15kg for a modern alloy wheel and tyre (and quite a bit less for a spacesaver) and you are talking about a difference in fuel economy of 0.3% for the full size spare wheel. (or to put it another way, for a car that averages 40 mpg, the reduced figure will now be 39.88 mpg.
Not really too much for manufacturers to worry about.

Spot on......just a way to reduce costs but then charge people £200 plus for a replacement