The other day I had the misfortune to wreck my nearside front wheel down a very deep pothole. I'm now trying to find a replacement. My car is a 96 L&K Felicia estate with alloy wheels. So far I've not had much luck tracking one down.

The wheel size is 5.5J X 14 H2 ET 40 made by Exip. If I can't get a matching one then I'm not really bothered as long as the size is the same as the rest.

Any suggestions much appreciated.

Anyfelicia wheel will fit, try your local scrappy

I'd try take a pic of pothole next to a ruler and claim for damage from council.

I'd try take a pic of pothole next to a ruler and claim for damage from council.

the above does work.

keep ya eyes on ebay

Anyfelicia wheel will fit, try your local scrappy

Yes, I was wondering about that, all the steel wheels & some of the alloy options I've seen fitted to felicias seem to be 5.5 X 13, mine are all 14 inch. Is it acceptable to have one odd wheel size just for emergency use? I know a lot of new cars have skinny spares (or no spare at all now!).

Edited 14 February, 200917 yr by felixthebadger

I'd try take a pic of pothole next to a ruler and claim for damage from council.

Thanks for the advice, I've approached the council & they certainly want a lot of information, copy of MOT, photos, road measurements & 2 estimates for damage. Problem is I think they have filled the hole in now & it did happen quite a distance from home.

another point,

Im sure BBS make these alloys too,

(I've seen them in the car modifying magazines, and since people usually want bigger alloys than 14", they dont put that size in the mag)

But im sure they can probably get them.

Give them a try for a quote.

another point,

Im sure BBS make these alloys too,

(I've seen them in the car modifying magazines, and since people usually want bigger alloys than 14", they dont put that size in the mag)

But im sure they can probably get them.

Give them a try for a quote.

Cheers, I'll give them a try.

them L&K 14"s can be hard to get.

them L&K 14"s can be hard to get.

You're not kidding, I went to my local dealer just see what the chances of getting one were. He found it on the database & then said £115 plus VAT ! I nearly fainted. Anyway he did a UK search & found none, anywhere. I did find a set of 4 on the German ebay site 199 Euros( with tyres) but I don't understand German!

4 Reifen Skoda Alufelge EXIP 5 1/2 J x 14 175/ 60 R14 bei eBay.de: Kompletträder (endet 20.02.09 15:53:22 MEZ)

... but I don't understand German!

4 Reifen Skoda Alufelge EXIP 5 1/2 J x 14 175/ 60 R14 bei eBay.de: Kompletträder (endet 20.02.09 15:53:22 MEZ)

I'll wager a translation:

14" wheels, 4x100, offset ET45 (others here will know if that's correct standard for the felly)

Mounted with 5 yrs old Barum Brilliant tyres with 4mm thread left

Only snag I can see is the bit "Paketversand Service nach Deuschland" = Parcel service within Germany. Don't know if seller is willing to ship abroad and if so, what it will cost. But try an e-mail ("E-mail an Verkäufer senden").

There's a Felicia estate at a scrapyard in Cardiff, '97 I think. I know it has a steel wheel in the boot, but I don't know the size, It might also have been fitted with alloys, which the scrappy has put aside. The trouble would be getting it to you.

You asked.......

"Is it acceptable to have one odd wheel size just for emergency use?"

First of all, can we clarify some things

* You damaged a 14" alloy?

* Is your spare wheel a 14" steel or alloy?

I believe that it is ok/legal to drive around with 3 alloys and one steel, as long as the tyre size is exactly the same - otherwise they would not supply cars from new with 4 alloys and a steel spare (which they do).

I also know that you can have any or no spare wheel at all in any condition, legally carried in your boot. So it can be bald, it can be damaged, it can be a 13" even though the wheels on the car are 14". The police would not be able to do anything.

If you did carry a 13" steel (or alloy) spare, and you had another stroke of bad luck, the moment you put the wheel onto the car with 3 x 14" wheels on the other corners you commit an offence and may be booked.

However, if it were me, I would have no hesitation of doing it to get my car to the nearest tyre shop. You will most likely find that the tyre diameters are the same anyway, so you won't notice any difference.

For example 13" Felicia wheels are 165 70 13

Your 14" ones are probably something like 175 60 14

The 13 inch spare tyre would result in a 2.5mm lower ride height on that corner, not noticeable at all and no different to running with tyres of varying tread depth.

You will need 4 steel wheel wheel studs/nuts if you haven't got them already.

Thanks for the info temps, very useful. I wasn't sure of the legalities here.

To answer your question the spare was also a 14" alloy which is now on the front. You are correct in saying the tyre size is 175 60 14.

With the information you've given I might just try & track down a 14" steel from the scrappy or else get an alloy the same size but different design.

good luck with that,

if not you could use it as an excuse to get some really nice 17's or 18's on it?

good luck with that,

if not you could use it as an excuse to get some really nice 17's or 18's on it?

umm.. on a felicia?!

Something I thought of, which you alluded to in your post, but I failed until now to see the reasoning behind it.

Yes some spare wheels for emegency use only are thinner, and obviously have a different tyre size than the other 3 wheels do. Ordinarily this would be an offence, and it is an offence to continue driving on a space saver wheel (which don't IMHO save any significant space) longer than necessary.

I'm sure there is a law in place that allows the user of a vehicle to use a wheel and tyre combination which is different to other 3 wheels for emergency use only and probably includes the caveat that the emergency wheel has been designed by the manufacturer for that vehicle specifically for emergency use. So would not include a scrapyard sourced ordinary 13" wheel.

But I could be wrong and I will look into that.

Edited 22 February, 200917 yr by temps

Just an update to this thread. In the end I couldn't find a replacement Alloy wheel for love nor money! They are as rare as rocking horse ****! I had to get a steel wheel which closely matched the size, bolt spacing & offset to the original. I tried various Skoda dealers but they couldn't couldn't find any 14 inch Steels in their catalogue. The closest match I found was a wheel off a Vauxhall Meriva! I thought all was well & good until I found the centre bore was about half a millimetre too small & it wouldn't fit over the hub. A little time with a file sorted that out. Luckily it's only going to be used as a spare.

why not try vw G60 steels??