Miniature spare tires

[HughGJohnson]

Is there a reason for these abominations... other than to save me some trunk space? I had to put one of those on and I made it maybe 10 miles driving very carefully over a snow covered mountain pass. It said not to exceed 55 mph right on the tire and coasting downhill I got up to 45 mph and the spare goes flat. The car felt weird the whole time I had the spare on it and I wouldn't have been comfortable going faster than 45, let alone 55. I understand it's a temporary tire until you can get service, but I still don't understand it. Why not use a real tire?

[thebear]

Originally Posted by HughGJohnson

Is there a reason for these abominations... other than to save me some trunk space? I had to put one of those on and I made it maybe 10 miles driving very carefully over a snow covered mountain pass. It said not to exceed 55 mph right on the tire and coasting downhill I got up to 45 mph and the spare goes flat. The car felt weird the whole time I had the spare on it and I wouldn't have been comfortable going faster than 45, let alone 55. I understand it's a temporary tire until you can get service, but I still don't understand it. Why not use a real tire?

Your tire probably failed due to underinflation which is why it `felt wierd'. The proper tire pressure is ~65psi. When was the last time you checked it? There should be no reduction in traction or control with a properly inflated `spare' up to the recommended 55mph. Handling will of course be comprimised and the corner with the spare will sit a little lower.

As to their `existence' it is primarily for weight reduction. Cost reduction is another reason. The proliferation of alloy wheels as standard equipment with their wider cross sections require even more expensive tires. I would hope you replaced yours with one from a junkyard. Chances are those have never been on the road.

Our "Government" in it's mandatory Motor Vehicle Safety Standards uses the weight of the vehicle as one determinant of crash survival acceptability. That originally resulted in slightly smaller fuel tanks as less fuel carried also reduced the weight of the vehicle. Gas mileage has increased slightly so the lower fuel capacity has not caused grat `outcry'.

[HughGJohnson]

Originally Posted by thebear

Your tire probably failed due to underinflation which is why it `felt wierd'. The proper tire pressure is ~65psi. When was the last time you checked it? There should be no reduction in traction or control with a properly inflated `spare' up to the recommended 55mph. Handling will of course be comprimised and the corner with the spare will sit a little lower.

As to their `existence' it is primarily for weight reduction. Cost reduction is another reason. The proliferation of alloy wheels as standard equipment with their wider cross sections require even more expensive tires. I would hope you replaced yours with one from a junkyard. Chances are those have never been on the road.

Our "Government" in it's mandatory Motor Vehicle Safety Standards uses the weight of the vehicle as one determinant of crash survival acceptability. That originally resulted in slightly smaller fuel tanks as less fuel carried also reduced the weight of the vehicle. Gas mileage has increased slightly so the lower fuel capacity has not caused grat `outcry'.

Thanks for the reply and the information. I should have known money is always the answer. I still have a ten gallon tank, but now I have a normal sized tired in my trunk.

[johnh875]

The question has been asked (but not answered!) locally as to whether a car fitted with a space-saver spare tire would actually be road legal - due to mis-match in tire size, lack of stability under emergency braking etc.

I've never had an 'official' space saver tire (although have had 'original' size spare with wider road tires) and would not have one due to the speed and range restrictions - what are you supposed to do if you have a flat in the middle of a long trip at night time?

[markjtaylor]

Probably think I am mad. I owned for several years a Healey 100/4 with a small block chevy fitted, with the boot full of petrol tank. No room for a spare wheel and tyre. Several trips to LeMans etc with a tin in the boot of some rapid fix tyre repair fluid. Fortunately I never got a puncture to find out if his miracle cure would ever work!!!

[Daimlerman]

This whole business of the "space saver" spare tyre is, in my opinion, a complete con!

It does not save any space as it sits in the well where a normal spare would fit. It is just a cost cutting exercise on the part of the manufacturers.

I have been trying for some time to find a full size spare for my wife's Jaguar without success. (can get the size but not the style)

Touch wood, we have not had a puncture yet, but I am dreading the day that we will.

[Daimlerman]

Originally Posted by markjtaylor

Probably think I am mad. I owned for several years a Healey 100/4 with a small block chevy fitted, with the boot full of petrol tank. No room for a spare wheel and tyre. Several trips to LeMans etc with a tin in the boot of some rapid fix tyre repair fluid. Fortunately I never got a puncture to find out if his miracle cure would ever work!!!

I understand that some cars come with this set up as standard from new.

From proper spare to space saver to a can of majic gunk!!!

[Al Weyman]

My daughter has a new Colt CZC steel folding roof convertible coupe, well its a year old now. Anyhow they have taken it one stage further, no spare at all and unbelievable an aerosol can of Tyre sealer fluid and a plug in air inflator in the boot. I suppose on this model there is a little justification as you can only half fill the boot with the roof retracted and there is a little sensor that stops you overfilling it but I dread to think what will happen if she gets a puncture one day as she wont have a clue how to use the thing. Mind you I have a Chevy Blazer and where the spare wheel went is now filled with an Autogas tank, if I go anywhere far I chuck a spare in the back of the SUV apart from that its the RAC!

[JHamilton]

Originally Posted by markjtaylor

Probably think I am mad. I owned for several years a Healey 100/4 with a small block chevy fitted, with the boot full of petrol tank. No room for a spare wheel and tyre. Several trips to LeMans etc with a tin in the boot of some rapid fix tyre repair fluid. Fortunately I never got a puncture to find out if his miracle cure would ever work!!!

It does work, but if you plan on patching the tire, you cannot after using "fix-a-flat". Also, if you ever are forced to use this make sure your tire shop thoroughly cleans the wheel. If they don't you will be chasing a tire imbalance forever.

[bella]

that tyre repair stuff is excellent in my experience - it dealt with an inch square hole in a huge 4x4 tyre many years ago. i've driven on one of the emergency spares as well - in normal weather conditions it just takes a bit of careful driving and being aware that cornering is nigh on impossible. it also managed more than 50 miles and a considerable number of roundabouts and was still almost immaculate when it was replaced.

al, the rac can't supply a new tyre just change the old one, if you don't have a replacement there's nothing they can do. so make sure you've got some of that stuff in the glove compartment

[mattt]

The one time i had to use i used it for two or three days going to school and back, the only problem i had with it was it had more tendency to spin on wet roads. the other main problem with it is once you've changed the wheel u then have to try and fit a normal sized wheel in the space where a small one would go.

[rbs]

If you have the wife, kids and a boot full of luggage and have a puncture, what do you do with the wheel that comes off of the car. It wont fit in the spare wheel well and there is no room in the car as it is full of kids etc. Are you supposed to leave the wheel at the side of the road?

[Al Weyman]

No leave the wife!

[johnh875]

I know a guy who did a 200 mile trip on one (at least one trip, could have been more!), and would have been travelling at 65mph+. He wouldn't have given a thought as to whether it was a good idea or not, the corner of the car was held off the ground so that is all he would have worried about.

[strider]

Originally Posted by markjtaylor

Probably think I am mad. I owned for several years a Healey 100/4 with a small block chevy fitted, with the boot full of petrol tank. No room for a spare wheel and tyre. Several trips to Le Mans etc with a tin in the boot of some rapid fix tyre repair fluid. Fortunately I never got a puncture to find out if his miracle cure would ever work!!!

I ran a kit car for over 20 years in just the same condition. No trips to Le Mans, though.

Originally Posted by johnh875

I know a guy who did a 200 mile trip on one (at least one trip, could have been more!), and would have been travelling at 65mph+. He wouldn't have given a thought as to whether it was a good idea or not, the corner of the car was held off the ground so that is all he would have worried about.

I did nearly 200 miles on a space saver tyre at about the same speed. I would have stuck to 50mph, but a race engineer friend said they were good up to 80mph. He drives faster than me on ordinary tyres, so I split the difference.

[graham bahr]

cost my friends cost, thats the main reason cars have space saver tyres, if a manufacture can save £10-£50 per car by using a space saver think how much money they save in total, off the top of my head i can think of at least 3 different manufacturers cars which all have a spare wheel well deep enough to take a full size spare but are supplied with a space saver and big plastic ring which fills the void left by the small spare.

as an AA patrol i fit loads of wheels at the roadside, when it comes to spacesavers 98% of them are considerably under inflated (although dont tend to look like it) and have to be blown up before they are safe to use, i guess its a result of a small internal area so they dont contain much air plus the need for a very high pressure, in fact i cant remember the last time i fitted one without having to blow it up, typically they have about 40psi in them rather than the 60 needed

[thebear]

Originally Posted by graham bahr

as an AA patrol i fit loads of wheels at the roadside, when it comes to spacesavers 98% of them are considerably under inflated (although dont tend to look like it) and have to be blown up before they are safe to use, i guess its a result of a small internal area so they dont contain much air plus the need for a very high pressure, in fact i cant remember the last time i fitted one without having to blow it up, typically they have about 40psi in them rather than the 60 needed

No, it is a typical driver who neglects to check "ALL" his pressures regularly. All tires loose some air over time. The ones fitted to the road wheels get attention of some sort on a regular basis.

In addition, there is usually a pile of "stuff" in the boot making it difficullt to access.

[Woolley]

Mine has a full size hole and a half size wheel, which I'm planning to change for a full size one when I can find one, for a number of reasons:

It becomes part of the replacement strategy. It has a new tyre, you replace one old one and put the spare on so you have two new tyres and one worn one as spare. At a convenient time, you put a new one on the spare.
Not sure if I can run with a space saver while towing the caravan.
If I need to use the small wheel, I'm forced to get a replacement quickly. That's not always possible (although acknowledging that the alternative is no spare if it's flat).

Newer models have run-flat tyres, but they're limited to 50miles or similar meaning you have to break your journey to get a replacement quickly. On the other hand it does cover the (unlikely) eventuality of two punctures. I did once lose 6 inches of the sidewall of my wife's car after running over something on the motorway. Not sure how they'd cope with that.

[fourWheelDrift]

Originally Posted by thebear

No, it is a typical driver who neglects to check "ALL" his pressures regularly. All tires loose some air over time. The ones fitted to the road wheels get attention of some sort on a regular basis.

In addition, there is usually a pile of "stuff" in the boot making it difficullt to access.

I once picked up a company car (new to me but not new) which had been serviced by a local garage the day before ready for me to take it over.

I had a blow out on the M6 that night and to my horror found the spare completely, and I mean completely, flat. Had to be towed off the motorway. Anyway the point of this story is that there was nothing wrong with the spare, after being towed off the recovery people inflated it for me and it kept it's pressure for months so how long had that been neglected?

We didn't pay the bill for the service, in fact we took our business elsewhere after that.